Working for children matters: An overview of service delivery and workforce in Europe

This report provides an overview of the state of play of services that are key to tackling child poverty and promoting the well-being of children. The services analysed are healthcare, education, and early childhood education and care (ECEC). In addition to these services, the situation regarding nutrition and housing, which are part of the European Child Guarantee, is also analysed.

The people working with children are integral to ensuring the accessibility of high-quality services, which is the objective of the European Child Guarantee and other EU policy initiatives such as the European Education Area. Workers in ECEC, education and healthcare are the key guarantors of the European Child Guarantee. The report therefore looks at their working conditions and how they can be improved; it also examines how recruitment and retention can be enhanced.

Policy context

The importance of services for children was reiterated in the La Hulpe Declaration on the Future of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The declaration emphasised the necessity of reaching the renewed Barcelona targets on ECEC, and recalled the importance of investing in universally accessible, affordable, high-quality childcare, including by guaranteeing workforce professionalisation and fair working conditions. It also stated that further implementation and strengthening of the European Child Guarantee is essential, along with improving its monitoring. As stated in the Competitiveness Compass for the EU, access to affordable and high-quality childcare is key when it comes to increasing labour market participation and productivity.

The political guidelines for 2024−2029 state that the European Commission will strengthen the European Child Guarantee. These guidelines envisage a new action plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy. In addition, this report will also support the achievement of the benchmarks set out in the European Education Area.

Key findings

• Child poverty trends over time are progressing towards achieving the goals set at EU level. In 2024, the percentage of children in the EU-27 at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) stood at 24.1 %. This constitutes a decrease from 2015, although the situation deteriorated each year from 2020 until 2024. This is in contrast to the AROPE rate for the total population, which has decreased since 2021 and stood at 20.9 % in 2024.

• Participation in ECEC has increased over time. More than one third (39.2 %) of children under the age of three participated in formal childcare in 2024.

• The data show progress in the area of housing, and disparities between EU Member States are decreasing. Nevertheless, the gap between children who are AROPE and those who are not is still notable, with the latter being nearly 10 times less likely to live in a household facing housing cost overburden.

• The mental health of children worsened slightly in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic and then plummeted between 2018 and 2022, especially among young teenagers. Unmet healthcare needs have also increased over time.

• Performance in education is one of the areas most affected by the pandemic, with plummeting scores and increased disparities. Additionally, the rates of early school leaving are increasing, even when controlling for the degree of urbanisation and the household’s economic condition. Women with childcare duties have the highest dropout rates.

• The healthcare sector is negatively affected by precarious working conditions such as poor work–life balance due to long and unsocial hours. Poor job quality is widespread, with above-average levels of work intensity combined with elevated levels of emotional demands that lead to burnout.

• The high level of labour mobility of healthcare professionals allows labour shortages to be addressed in some countries at the expense of brain drain and increased labour shortages in others (especially those in eastern and southern Europe).

• The mismatch between the level of skills required and that provided by healthcare workers is particularly apparent regarding the lack of knowledge and skills needed to address mental health issues.

• Childcare staff and ECEC workers in most countries are paid at around minimum wage levels. Temporary, part-time and term-time-only contracts are also fairly common. Overall, the sector’s working conditions, pay and career opportunities are worse than those of primary school teachers, so many workers choose to change careers.

• The education sector has a U-shaped attrition rate: newly qualified teachers leave after a few years, and teachers over 50 years of age take early retirement. There is also a higher turnover rate for teachers in schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged students and there is a lack of training and resources in relation to working with children with special needs.

• Career advancement and progression in the education sector is often sought by leaving teaching and taking up roles in school leadership or education administration. This creates further shortages in the area of teaching.

Policy pointers

• Public expenditure on education is fundamental. A renewed effort in relation to education funding and policies should follow up on the ambitious agenda that puts high-quality education and well-being at its centre.

• Despite the progress registered among Member States, large disparities still exist between socioeconomic groups, particularly in the area of housing. Reducing disparities is of paramount importance to ensure that all children can afford a good education and good living conditions.

• The COVID-19 crisis showed that certain households may be more financially unstable, which may have a cascade effect on house utilities and arrears. Energy poverty and food poverty are still salient topics that need to be addressed to guarantee children’s health.

• There is an opportunity to capitalise on the funding and support available within the framework of the European Child Guarantee, the European Education Area and the EU action plan on labour and skills shortages to improve the working conditions and training opportunities of those delivering services for children.

• Similarly, the forthcoming review of these and other EU policy initiatives (e.g. the new European Pillar of Social Rights action plan) should increase funding, support and monitoring in relation to the working conditions and training opportunities in services for children in order to reach these policy targets by 2030. Monitoring can be enhanced by using data from the European Working Conditions Survey and the European Jobs Monitor.

• The points above are also relevant to initiatives at national, regional and local levels. Many public policies tend to focus on ‘services’ in general. This can entail one-off investments to set up infrastructure, whereas the workforce requires continuous funding and support. It is therefore important to acknowledge this explicitly in policy initiatives and allocate enough funding.