Nursery World - Why re-qualify?

I am writing about the Government's idea that any childcarer who qualified before the introduction of the Children Act 1989 must now re-qualify. I qualified as an NNEB in 1985 after two years full-time at college and have worked in childcare ever since as a nanny, in a day nursery and currently as a registered childminder. My options are to do an NVQ 3 that I do not have time for and would duplicate my NNEB, or to APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning) my NNEB, but that lasts only three years. Does this mean I have to do it all over again?

My options are to do an NVQ 3 that I do not have time for and would duplicate my NNEB, or to APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning) my NNEB, but that lasts only three years. Does this mean I have to do it all over again?

I know that childcare strategies and attitudes have changed dramatically over the years, but children's needs will always be the same. I appreciate that the Government is trying to improve the childcare sector with better-qualified staff, but I am not sure this is the way to go.

I do not feel a newly qualified person has the same skills, knowledge or experience as a person who qualified years ago. It will be interesting to see how many other pre-1989 qualified childcarers actually decide to re-qualify or leave the profession completely.

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