Nursery World - Qualifications link to quality provision

Managers of half the playgroups in England hold a childcare or education qualification at only NVQ level 2 or under, a major study funded by the Department for Education and Employment has found. The study, which is part of the five-year Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) project, the first large-scale British study of its kind, suggests that playgroups and pre-schools face an uphill struggle in reaching the new national standards for the regulation of daycare. The standards, to be introduced from September, will say the manager of a playgroup should be qualified to NVQ level 3.

The study, which is part of the five-year Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) project, the first large-scale British study of its kind, suggests that playgroups and pre-schools face an uphill struggle in reaching the new national standards for the regulation of daycare. The standards, to be introduced from September, will say the manager of a playgroup should be qualified to NVQ level 3.

The EPPE study also found a strong correlation between the quality of the childcare environment provided and the qualifications of the centre manager, in terms of both activities and facilities and communication and supervision. Level 5 - that is, degree level - qualifications were consistently associated with better provision when compared with level 3 or 4 and level 2, and levels 3 and 4 were associated with better provision than level 2.

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