Nursery World - Mixed welcome for graduate funding

The Graduate Leader fund is replacing the Transformation Fund, which the DCFS said was 'severely underspent in 2006-07, with further underspending predicted in 2008-09'. But unlike the Transformation Fund, it will not be ring-fenced, and the DCFS said it had enabled councils to set 'a local trajectory towards having a graduate in every full daycare setting'.

Money for training other staff will have to come from the 'outcomes,quality and inclusion' block of the 4 billion funding.

National Day Nurseries Association chief executive Purnima Tanukuwelcomed the support for the PVI sector and 175m for theintroduction of graduate-level leaders. But she warned, 'The futureremains a concern for many providers, as there is no provision forsupporting the higher wages this demands. Parents cannot pay more infees to support this, and PVI settings worry that if they do invest in agraduate leader they could see them leave after training for amaintained setting or another sector completely.'

Andrew Fletcher, director of communications at the National ChildmindingAssociation, said, 'It is crucial that funding for training is availablefor all practitioners, including those working in a home setting.Investment in graduates, while important, is only one part of thesolution.'

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