Several training organisations in Scotland are poised to be approved to provide the new Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in early years and education to Level 4, according to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
SQA qualifications manager Anne Boyd said that the authority's chief external verifier had been 'very busy' in recent weeks with approval visits for Level 4. 'There seems to be a great deal of interest in it and we expect the new qualification will be a considerable success in Scotland,' she said.
The SVQ Level 4 was accredited last November but, because the SQA was working with the Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education (CACHE) on a joint award, arrangements for its introduction were only finalised during the summer, said Ms Boyd.
Alice Sharp, early years executive for the Scottish Independent Nurseries Association (SINA) said she had obtained details of the units for the SVQ from CACHE. She said she hoped SQA officials would provide standards for the qualification at a meeting with training organisations due to be held this week.
'There is huge interest in the SVQ Level 4 among colleges but there have been difficulties in getting hold of the standards. We have sent a flyer to all our members explaining that SINA will be seeking approval as a training provider and begin offering it early next year,' she said.
Lorraine Gray, communications manager of the Scottish Social Services Council, which is responsible for setting professional standards for the workforce in all settings regulated by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care, said it had not yet made a final decision on the appropriate management qualification for early years. The Council is currently registering workers in residential childcare and adult daycare settings, and the second phase of registration, which will include early years workers, will not take place for another four or five years. Managers would be given three years to get a qualification if they did not have one at the time of registration.
The first organisation in Scotland to offer both the SVQ and NVQ at level 4 is Aberdeen childcare training company The Children's House. The company has just been given approval to offer the SVQ and received accreditation earlier this year for NVQ Level 4 (News, 28 February).
Some training organisations have been sceptical about the validity of The Children's House's decision to start offering NVQ Level 4 earlier this year, querying why it had not waited for the introduction of SVQ Level 4. However, Kathlyn Taylor, principal of the Hamilton School where the Children's House is based, said, 'This was really due to the delay in bringing in the SVQ and also because, in some cases, it might be in a candidate's interests to have an NVQ, especially if they are planning to leave Scotland.'
She added, 'The Government has recognised the importance of getting the new qualifications so the industry can have effective managers in place. The development of the National and Scottish qualifications in Early Years Care and Education Level 4 has been the natural progression from Levels 2 and 3 which concentrate on practitioner skills only.
'We've all been aware for a long time that nursery nursing has moved on from being a practical qualification to a profession. Career development has been limited in the past, but this qualification recognises the need to encourage people into management and enhance standards.
'There is no doubt about the enormity of the demand for Level 4. Of course funding will be an issue, but if the Government is making such qualifications the pre-requisite for managing a setting then they will have to ensure it is funded properly.'
