Nursery World - Vocational diploma for childcare study

Early years organisations have broadly welcomed the Government's proposals to improve vocational training for 14- to 19- year-olds, but some have expressed disappointment at the 'piecemeal approach' to reform. The long-awaited White Paper on 14-19 education, based on the proposals set out by the former Ofsted chief Sir Mike Tomlinson, was unveiled by education secretary Ruth Kelly last week.

The long-awaited White Paper on 14-19 education, based on the proposals set out by the former Ofsted chief Sir Mike Tomlinson, was unveiled by education secretary Ruth Kelly last week.

It introduces 14 new vocational diplomas designed to give clear routes to higher education and employment. Crucially, A-levels and GCSEs will remain.

From 2008, students who want to work with children will be able to opt for a vocational qualification in health and social care - one of the first four specialised learning lines to be developed under the proposals.

But Michael Freeston, director of training and quality assurance at the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said that although this reform would 'contribute towards the aim of increasing the qualified childcare workforce by 180,000', he was disappointed that a key proposal of the Tomlinson review - to create a single qualification framework, covering both academic and vocational study - has been rejected.

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