The news item 'Single status cuts pay for nursery staff' (6 October) should raise concerns from all early years professionals. This is an all-too-common outcome of the job evaluations taking place across England.
In all the workforce development discussions, we seem to have lost sight of a group of professionals who have made a substantial contribution to the development of quality nursery education over the years.
For many years I've had the privilege of working with nursery nurses who had the benefit of a two-year initial training with opportunities for practical experiences in settings spanning the birth-to-seven age group.
Our archives at Early Education show that they were required to spend a minimum of 45 days placement with each of the age groups birth to three years, three to five years and five to seven years. Their placements were carried out with families, childminders, foster parents and in schools and hospitals. Students were also expected to have experience of 24-hour care of children. This training makes them well-suited to the challenges of the children's centre agenda and developments in the Early Development and Learning Framework.
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