Our passion is strong, but many early educators are being forced to walk away from a job we love

‘Children’s needs are not being met and my heart breaks,’ writes Belynda Kennedy. Photograph: Daria Nipot/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In 2020, when Covid hit, early childhood educators pondered what the future might look like. As the year went on and industries shut down, our sector kept on going.

Fast forward to 2022 and the effects of working through lockdown after lockdown are emerging. Like health and aged care, staff are now leaving the sector in droves as the true impact of burnout, stress, illness and underpayment reveals itself.