I have been in playwork since 1997 and have seen both an increase in after-school clubs and demand for qualified staff. Since legislation requires that 50 per cent of staff should be qualified, I do not see why I should have to pay for this qualification. I agree that all playworkers should be qualified to at least NVQ Level 2 in playwork. But it should not be funded by the playworker - the Government requires us to obtain these qualifications yet refuses to provide the funding for them.
By the Government's refusal to provide funding, playwork will still be seen as a second-rate profession that students, nursery nurses and newly qualified teachers do to earn some extra money. I have seen this happen in many of the settings I have worked in and feel that sometimes the children get short-changed. One of the reasons for playworkers having qualifications is to make it into a profession in its own right and to make sure that all play settings are run to the same high standards.
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