Why Are So Many Educators Leaving the Sector?
Let’s be real. The early childhood education sector is bleeding good people, qualified, passionate, experienced educators who once lived and breathed their work. And I was one of them.
I didn’t burn out overnight. I was a diploma-qualified educator, working my way toward becoming an Early Childhood Teacher (ECT). I loved the mess and the magic of early years education. I loved my team, the families, and the centre I was part of, it felt like home. But somewhere along the way, the ground shifted, and I found myself in a system that no longer valued the people keeping it afloat.
I had worked for years in a beautiful, community-centred long day care. It was the kind of place where families wanted to stay and hang out and educators felt proud to belong. We were trusted. Respected. Seen as professionals, not babysitters. I was happy leading a team and continuing my journey of learning, starting my ECT qualification with pride.
Then came the acquisition.
The service was sold to a large national provider. At first, it didn’t seem so bad. But then came the demands, restricted hours, reduced staffing, cutbacks to food portions and menu variety, less professional development, and less-qualified staff brought in to fill gaps left by our strong, experienced casual pool that the company didn’t want to pay. I went on to have my own family, and while I was on maternity leave, I returned expecting to step back into my director role, only to find the place gutted. A CEO with zero early years experience had taken the wheel. Staff were leaving in waves, and those who remained were stretched so thin they were barely coping. Families were treated like numbers. We weren’t seen, heard, or respected. In less than 12 months, we lost 25 staff, and our occupancy, once sitting at 102%, plummeted into the low 60s.
When I requested flexible working arrangements to return as Director while parenting a baby, the answer was a hard no. No conversation. No compromise. Just no.
So I walked.
And it hurt. I had poured years into this space, just like the rest of the team had. We had supported families through crises, mentored new educators, and worked long days finishing programming and assessments. I was on track to become an ECT, but I couldn’t continue in a space that treated loyalty like a liability and left us drowning in unrealistic workloads.
I paused my ECT journey. I reassessed my career. And just when I felt like the sector no longer had a place for me, something unexpected happened.
We had been using Kinderloop at our service for years. It was more than just a platform; it helped us stay connected with families and made the mountain of documentation manageable. The founder, whose own children had been enrolled at our centre and who built Kinderloop because of what he saw there, reached out. He offered me a job.
I accepted. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could breathe. I could work with a team that shared the same passion, care, and understanding of what this sector is really about.
Now, I work with services not just across the country but the world, supporting educators who are still in the thick of it. And I hear the same stories on repeat:
“We’re constantly short-staffed.”
“There’s no flexibility.”
“The heart of early childhood is getting lost in the paperwork and pressure.”
“We’re expected to do more with less, and smile while doing it.”
So here’s the question: What’s going to keep people in this sector?
Because it’s not going to be more frameworks. It’s not going to be another round of compliance checks. And it’s definitely not going to be CEOs who’ve never stepped foot in a preschool room making decisions from afar.
We need flexible work. Real career pathways. Leaders who get it. Workplaces that honour lived experience over spreadsheets.
To the educators who are still showing up every day, you’re the reason this sector is still standing.
To the ones who’ve left or are thinking of leaving, you’re not weak. You’re not disloyal. You’ve just reached your limit.
And to the people in power: if you don’t listen now, you won’t have anyone left to lead.
And to the small business owners out there keeping their heads above water to support their educators and families, well done. You’re holding the soul of this sector together. Not every large provider gets it wrong, but the heartbeat of early childhood often lives in places where relationships come first.
That’s what drew me to Kinderloop. It’s a small team who understand the sector from the inside and put people at the heart of what they do. Supporting educators isn’t an afterthought; it’s the whole point.
So, what’s your story? What’s going to keep YOU here?
Happy Kinderlooping!
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