Opinion: Ratios, Respect, and Retention — Why Educators Are Walking Away

Early childhood education is facing a crisis that cannot be solved with more training modules or compliance checklists. Educators are not leaving because they lack skills or passion. They are leaving because they are being treated as expendable, micromanaged to exhaustion, and denied the respect they deserve as professionals and as people.

Qualified educators know their jobs. They have studied, trained, and spent years honing their craft. Yet many are subjected to constant micromanagement that strips away autonomy and erodes morale. Instead of being trusted to deliver quality care, they are monitored, second-guessed, and burdened with unnecessary oversight.

Example: An educator carefully plans a sensory activity for toddlers, but management interrupts to demand a change because “it doesn’t look structured enough.” The children lose the chance to explore freely, and the educator feels undermined despite their expertise

Educators are human beings with families, commitments, and personal lives. Forcing staff to stay 1.5 hours past their finish time or assigning them the most inconvenient shifts week after week shows a disregard for their well-being.

Example: A staff member who lives furthest from the centre is repeatedly scheduled to close on Fridays. By the time they finish, commute, and collect their own children, family time is gone. Over months, this pattern drives them to resign.

The sector’s fixation on minimum ratios is dangerously misleading. Ratios may look compliant on paper, but they collapse in practice when one staff member steps away to “prep” or handle administrative tasks, leaving another with ten children outside.

Example: One educator is left supervising a playground of 12 children while their colleague spends 45 minutes inside “preparing.” If a child falls or a conflict escalates, the lone educator cannot safely manage the situation.

Employing one extra staff member above the minimum ratio is not a luxury—it is a necessity. That additional pair of eyes ensures safety, relieves pressure, and allows educators to connect meaningfully with children rather than simply “manage” them.

Families feel the impact when their child’s favourite educator resigns. Children lose trusted relationships, parents lose confidence, and centres lose stability.

Example: A preschooler who has formed a secure bond with their educator cries daily after that educator leaves. Parents notice regression in behaviour and question the centre’s stability. Retention is not about saving money—it is about valuing people.

The solution is not more mandatory training. Educators already undertake annual courses and professional development. The solution is structural:

Lower ratios and increase staffing to reflect the realities of supervision.
Respect educators’ time by ending exploitative rostering practices.
Recognise educators as professionals whose expertise deserves trust, not micromanagement.
Invest in retention by valuing people over short-term savings.

Until these changes are made, the sector will continue to bleed talent. Children will lose the educators they love, and families will face instability. Respect, ratios, and retention are the keys to restoring dignity in early childhood education.