Findings from a survey of 714 early years providers by National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) reveals that 70 per cent of respondents do not have sufficient staff to operate at maximum capacity, with nurseries, on average, carrying 4.2 full-time equivalent vacancies per setting.
More than 90 per cent of vacancies are for Level 3 staff, according to the research.
In order to operate at maximum capacity, the average nursery needs 3.3 more members of staff, says NDNA which has released the findings on the day of its annual conference, which is taking place in Liverpool on Friday.
According to the survey, providers continue to struggle the most with finding Level 3 staff, with 93 per cent holding vacancies for this level of qualification. Around 32 per cent need more qualified staff below Level 3 and a similar percentage for staff at Level 4 and above.
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