Increasing the amount of training available to early years workers is absolutely vital if ambitious targets for workforce reform are to be met.
But what exactly does 'workforce reform' mean, and how will the sector look in, say, ten years' time? What career pathways will be open to practitioners to improve their skills and gain higher-level qualifications?
In answer to these questions, the Children's Workforce
Development Council (CWDC)has clearly set out its vision for staffing, as follows:
* By 2008 practitioners with Early Years Professional (EYP) status will be in all children's centres offering childcare; and by 2015 they will be in all daycare settings.
* By 2015 all those working in full daycare settings will be qualified at level 3.
* A long-term aim is that all those working in sessional care and out-of-school childcare settings (as well as full daycare settings) will be qualified to supervisory level (level 3).
Finding your level
Over the next two years, training and resources will be stepped up to encourage more childcare workers to achieve level 3.
Those practitioners who obtained an NNEB before the Children Act in 1989 will need to do some professional updating to bring it into line with the NVQ 3. But according to awarding body CACHE, those who obtained their NNEB after that date can consider it as current.
The APEL award is currently available for practitioners who wish to gain a level 3 qualification to reflect their practice and experience.
Accreditation for this fast-track course is available until January 2007 and will be continued after that date if there is sufficient demand.
One of the most significant developments when it comes to career progression is the creation of the EYP. This is pegged at level 6, which places it at the same standard as an early years teacher.
It is important to note that while level 6 equates to degree level, the EYP has 'graduate status'. This has been designed to ensure that those already working at a senior level in the sector will be able to upskill to graduate level in a way that is flexible and practical, rather than having to make the time commitment of studying for a degree.
While in smaller settings it is envisaged that EYPs will provide leadership, larger settings will be managed by a professional at level 7.
This person will have a post-graduate qualification which may include the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL).
Key roles
The CWDC has set out how practitioner roles will be defined. Based on the Children's Workforce Strategy, key roles are linked to qualification levels as follows:
* Level 2 - assistant early years practitioner
* Level 3 - early years practitioner
* Level 4 - senior early years practitioner
* Level 5 - assistant early years professional
* Level 6 - early years professional at an equivalent level to that of qualified teachers
* Level 7 - leader/manager. These managers will have a post-graduate qualification, which can include the NPQICL.
The role of the EYP
The EYP will be responsible for leading and managing the play, care and learning environment of a setting. In some instances, these individuals will have a wider management role.
The development of the EYP has been designed to complement the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
According to the draft standards, candidates will need to demonstrate knowledge of the following:
* Child development
This involves being fully conversant with the expected pattern of children's physical, intellectual, linguistic, social, emotional and behavioural development from birth to the end of the Foundation Stage, and with how children learn and develop from then onwards.
* Early Years Foundation Stage
Candidates should have a secure and up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the EYFS.
* Effective practice
This includes all the practical and intellectual skills that are essential for delivering outcomes such as making a positive contribution and enjoying and achieving. Supporting the development of language and communication is one of the key skills.
* Health and well-being
Candidates must be able to ensure that children are healthy and stay safe through an understanding of issues such as current safety legislation and child protection.
* Working with others
This entails an understanding of the contribution that other professionals make to children's physical and emotional well-being.
* Leading practice
EYPs must establish an environment that is safe and stimulating for children in a variety of ways. This includes providing balanced and flexible routines that meet all children's needs.
Working effectively with others is identified as a priority for good practice and involves not just colleagues, but also parents and other carers who can share information about children and participate in their learning.
Leading practice will involve having high expectations for children's progress and achievement, ensuring that they can enjoy and achieve, and make a positive contribution, in line with the five outcomes.
EYPs will demonstrate that they can lead and provide activities over a sustained period that assist children in progressing through the EYFS.
Observation and monitoring of children is also stressed as an important element of leading practice.
How can I become an EYP?
The CWDC and the Training Development Agency for Schools are working with higher education institutions and other training providers to establish new training routes for those practitioners wishing to gain EYP status.
Some of the organisations will link to deliver the training, such as the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) collaborating with the Open University, and CACHE with the University of Middlesex.
Daycare practitioners who are close to the level of experience required for EYP status can now apply for the training and assessment programmes that will commence in September. This can be done by e-mailing
earlyyears@cwdcouncil.org.uk.
A September launch for the pilot programme means that the first EYPs will be in place by January 2007. It is expected that 100 practitioners will follow the course through the NDNA and Open University, which will be delivering it nationally. Nine other training providers have been appointed to deliver the pilot regionally, and these are expected to bring the total number of graduates to 600 by the beginning of next year.
For most practitioners, a look at the standards will help clarify where they will need to add to their academic or practical experience.
Full details of the standards will be available on the CWD website from 30 June (www.cwdcouncil.org.uk).
Where does the Foundation Degree fit in?
Take-up of Foundation Degrees has been healthy since they were launched in 2001, and the number of students is steadily increasing.
Academic institutions such as the Open University and Kingston University, which have developed popular courses, are now using their experience to help provide the EYP.
According to the CWDC, if you have a Foundation Degree, you are at level 5 and will have to do some top-up to meet the requirements of the EYP.
It is still early days for the Foundation Degree, but as more practitioners gain this award, it is expected that there will be an increasing awareness of its value among employers.
Armed with this qualification, an individual should be able to move to senior practitioner level in their place of work, or act as an assistant EYP in the future.
For many students, however, the most attractive option will be to go on to complete a degree in Early Childhood Studies.
Going higher - gaining an NPQICL
The National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership was launched with a pilot course last year, and has now taken on its second cohort of students.
The NPQICL sits at level 7 and is recognised as a qualification in working in multi-agency and multi-disciplinary environments across education, health and social services.
The award was developed to meet the challenges of children's centres, where leaders are required to co-ordinate different models of early education, childcare, family support and adult community learning. It reflects a new professional development approach to leadership which recognises complexity and actively promotes diversity.
Applicants must be a leader, deputy or deputy equivalent of a DfES-designated or approved children's centre. They may also be a member of a senior management team.
The programme includes:
* opportunities for participants to reflect in depth on their leadership as they engage in leadership life
* a choice of either the study route, focusing on the course modules or, if appropriate, the research route, which allows experienced leaders to undertake a research project based on their own role
* a blended learning approach incorporating face-to-face learning, online learning and collaborative reflection
* access to a mentor
* a leadership learning journal to record thoughts and reflections about key incidents, providing a focus for mentoring sessions
* a tutor visit to see candidates in their settings, and a centre-based assessment visit towards the end of the programme.
Applications for the second cohort have just closed, but information on future courses can be obtained from the National College for School Leadership at www.ncsl.org.uk.
FUNDING
The Government has allocated 250m to the Transformation Fund to be spent between April 2006 and August 2008 to promote the development of quality in early years settings. It will be used to:
* establish training and accreditation routes for the EYP and provide financial support for all those wishing to achieve this status within the time-frame
* help achieve the Government's goal of all full daycare settings having an EYP to lead work with children and parents by 2015. The fund will provide recruitment incentives and quality premiums for eligible providers in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector
* train staff in PVI settings to level 3 and above
* train staff to work with children with disabilities and those with special educational needs
* provide extra funds for the CWDC, which will recieve 51.8m to cover the cost of course development and financial support for EYP students working in full daycare settings, both maintained and non-maintained, and children's centres.
