Be in Demand: Study
Education & Early Years

This is Education & Early Years.

Education and Early Years is about helping children learn, grow, and thrive from birth through to school age. Careers in this sector focus on child development, learning support, creativity, safeguarding, and building strong foundations for future education. There are currently around 300,000 people working in early years education and childcare roles across the UK.

Growing Demand. 

The expansion of funded childcare, such as the UK’s rollout of 30 hours of free care, creates a need for thousands of new, qualified early years workers to handle the higher demand. The Department for Education estimates around 36,000 new staff are needed to deliver expanded funded childcare places.

Education & Early Years in Bedfordshire.

 Early years roles are in consistent demand across Bedfordshire. There are many job opportunities, a wide range of settings, and strong employer demand across the county. There are opportunities across:

• Nurseries (private, charity, and school‑based)
• Primary schools with nursery units
• Children’s centres
• SEN settings
• Multi‑academy trusts (e.g., Chiltern Learning Trust, Bedfordshire Schools Trust)