A new national report from The Front Project, Staying Power, confirms what the sector has long understood:
Educator stability in early childhood education is one of the strongest predictors of quality outcomes for children.
This is not theoretical. You can observe it in Assessment and Rating outcomes, workforce data, and everyday practice in high-performing services.
Educator stability in early childhood education and child outcomes
At the centre of quality early learning sits a simple principle: children learn through consistent, trusted relationships.
The report shows that children may experience an average of eight different educators in just over a year. In some cases, they form new attachments every six weeks.
As a result, this level of change affects development. Stable educator relationships support stronger language development, improve emotional regulation, and increase engagement in learning.
In addition, reporting from The Sector reinforces this point. Educator stability in early childhood education is not just a workforce issue — it directly shapes quality.
Why educator stability in early childhood education separates exceeding services
Services rated Exceeding under the National Quality Framework show a clear pattern. They design stability into their daily operations.
First, strong leadership shapes team culture and expectations. It also provides consistent support for educators.
Second, services plan staffing arrangements deliberately. They use consistent rostering and reduce reliance on casual staff.
Finally, they prioritise continuity. Children see familiar educators each day, which strengthens relationships.
Consequently, the data reflects this approach. 79% of Exceeding services perform strongly in continuity of staffing (Element 4.1).
Where educator stability in early childhood education breaks down
By contrast, services rated Working Towards operate under different conditions. They often experience higher turnover, rely more heavily on casual staff, and lack consistent leadership structures.
The data highlights the scale of the issue. More than one-third of educators leave their service each year. At the same time, many services continue to report ongoing vacancies.
As a result, these pressures compound quickly. Staffing gaps increase workload for remaining educators. In turn, fatigue rises and job satisfaction drops. This cycle often leads to further turnover.
Educator stability in early childhood education starts with hiring decisions
Much of the sector focuses on retention strategies such as culture, leadership, and pay. These areas matter. However, hiring decisions shape stability long before an educator starts.
When services hire under pressure, they often rely on limited insight into how a candidate performs in practice. This increases the risk of misalignment. As a result, early exits become more likely, and teams experience disruption.
In many cases, the underlying reasons for turnover are only fully understood after an educator leaves. Independent exit interviews can provide a structured way to uncover these patterns before the same issues repeat.
A more deliberate and structured approach to recruitment — one that goes beyond interviews and validates real-world capability — can significantly reduce this risk.
What this looks like in practice
High-performing services treat recruitment as a long-term decision rather than a short-term fix.
They assess how educators interact with children in real environments. They also examine how candidates align with the service’s philosophy and team dynamics. In addition, they validate experience through structured reference checks.
Some services also place greater emphasis on identifying early warning signs during the hiring process, recognising that issues are often visible before a formal offer is made.
Because of this approach, services reduce repeated hiring cycles. Over time, they build more stable and cohesive teams.
The cost of getting educator stability wrong
Replacing an educator carries a financial cost. Estimates suggest it can reach 40 to 50 per cent of annual salary.
However, the broader impact runs deeper. Instability disrupts relationships with children and families. It also increases workload for the remaining staff and places pressure on leadership teams.
Over time, these effects reduce program quality. As consistency declines, services struggle to maintain stable environments for children.
Case study: stability by design
One service highlighted in the report demonstrates how educator stability in early childhood education can be built intentionally.
The service maintains consistent rostering so children see familiar educators each day. It also includes paid trial shifts as part of recruitment. This allows both sides to assess fit in a real environment.
In addition, leadership remains visible and engaged. The team sets aside time for reflection and professional development.
As a result, the service maintains a stable workforce. Educators stay longer, families build stronger relationships, and children experience consistent care.
What this means for services
The sector is shifting. Instead of focusing only on filling vacancies, services are starting to prioritise long-term stability.
In practice, this means defining what “fit” looks like and aligning recruitment decisions with culture and leadership. It also requires more structure in how candidates are assessed.
For services experiencing repeated turnover, it is often useful to first understand why educators are leaving before recruiting again. This is where a structured workforce insight approach can provide additional clarity.
For services looking to reduce hiring risk and improve educator stability in early childhood education, the starting point is not increasing the volume of applicants, but improving the quality of hiring decisions.
Final thought
The sector has made significant progress in improving access and affordability.
The next phase is quality.
And quality in early learning is built on consistency — the same educators, supporting the same children, over time.
This article draws on national workforce data and sector research to provide a practical perspective on educator stability in early childhood education.
References
The Front Project (2026) Staying Power: The Case for Educator Stability in Early Childhood Education and Care. Available at: https://www.thefrontproject.org.au
The Sector (2026) Educator stability key to boosting child outcomes in early learning. Available at: https://thesector.com.au/article/educator-stability-child-outcomes-early-learning-report
Jobs and Skills Australia (2024) The Future of the Early Childhood Education Profession. Australian Government.
Australian Government Department of Education (2024) National ECEC Workforce Census.
Bull, R., McFarland, L., Cumming, T. and Wong, S. (2024) ‘The impact of work-related wellbeing and workplace culture on intention to leave in the early childhood sector’, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 69, pp. 13–24.
Thorpe, K., Panthi, N., Houen, S. et al. (2024) ‘Support to stay and thrive: mapping challenges faced by Australia’s early years educators’, The Australian Educational Researcher, 51, pp. 321–345.