Nursery World - Editor's view (104)

We are delighted to report this week (News, page 4) that Nursery World's 'Stop the Drop' campaign over the lowering of staff qualifications in the national daycare standards has achieved a partial victory. The Government has made concessions and said that all those in supervisory roles in full daycare settings must have gained NVQ level 3. The outcome still falls short of what our campaign and many in the sector asked for, in that the qualifications for staff in a supervised role remain at 50 per cent having NVQ2. And pressure is still required to make sure that the eventual definition of 'supervisory' is explicit and covers all those with level 3 responsibilities. The National Day Nurseries Association, which has been lobbying tirelessly behind the scenes, has set out its definition of supervisory to include all those who plan and evaluate the curriculum, are involved in child protection, and communicate with parents as keyworkers among others.

The outcome still falls short of what our campaign and many in the sector asked for, in that the qualifications for staff in a supervised role remain at 50 per cent having NVQ2. And pressure is still required to make sure that the eventual definition of 'supervisory' is explicit and covers all those with level 3 responsibilities. The National Day Nurseries Association, which has been lobbying tirelessly behind the scenes, has set out its definition of supervisory to include all those who plan and evaluate the curriculum, are involved in child protection, and communicate with parents as keyworkers among others.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included