The policy paper sent to MSPs says that although nursery managerswelcome the Government's vision of a highly skilled and qualifiedworkforce, they are concerned about how they are expected to paygraduate and teacher salaries without increasing costs.
The Scottish government has said that all pre-schools should be led byqualified childcare leaders at SCQF Level 9, the equivalent of degreelevel, by 2011, and that having a graduate-level qualification will beone of the Scottish Social Services Council's registration requirementsfor early years managers and leaders.
The NDNA' s policy paper calls for private and voluntary settings inScotland to be given the same support as those in the maintainedsector.
Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'Many of our nursery members inScotland are concerned about the requirement to have a centre leader atSCQF Level 9 and provide access to a teacher. Guidance about exactlywhat access should and will entail is still unclear to nurseries, andsome question how the relationship between the two will work should anursery use a peripatetic teacher with the centre manager having overallresponsibility for planning the curriculum. NDNA Scotland believesfurther clarity is needed on the role of the teacher, including how thecost of providing access will be covered, the role of local authoritiesand how many hours of access are required.'
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said, 'All early years managerswill have to hold, or be working towards, an SCQF Level 9 qualificationfrom 2011. Re-registration for managers takes place every five years sothey have plenty of time. We notified the sector around four years agoof the intention to upgrade qualifications and the associateddeadlines.'
