Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, early childhood educators (ECEs) and child care workers have been on the frontlines. A year in, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario surveyed workers about their current working conditions and mental health and well-being.

Forgotten on the frontline: A survey report of Ontario’s early years and child care workforce reports on a system that was already in crisis and now at the breaking point.  Responses from ECEs and child care workers include:

• 54% reporting decreased job satisfaction;
• 89% reporting an increase in job-related stress;
• 43% reporting that they have considered leaving the sector since the onset of the pandemic;
• 13% were actively looking for opportunities outside the sector;
• 20% have seen work hours increase, but of those only 9.3% reported an increase in wages; and
• 36% reporting a decrease in planning time.

They also present a number of recommendations, encouraging the federal and provincial governments to collaborate to ensure child care is more affordable, high quality, and provides decent work for child care workers.

Read the report here.