While we are all waiting for the new and improved Early Years Foundation Stage to appear (this week?, next week?,next month?), at least we won't be short of reading matter with plenty to think about, as Professor Cathy Nutbrown has published her interim report on early years and childcare qualifications.
At this stage, of course, there are no firm conclusions and recommendations, but there are lots of indications as to the direction that Professor Nutbrown's final report will head, and a very interesting summary of the early years sector's concerns about qualifications and training gathered in the course of the review's work.
The interim report is very measured in tone - acknowledging for example that Dame Clare Tickell's recommendation for a minimum of level 3 qualification for staff would be desirable, but also pointing out potential problems of excluding groups that the sector wants to attract.
The report does reveal the depth of unease about the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce, as Sarah Teather recognises.
Read our exclusive news story (page 4) about the lack of consultation with early years employers that went into its development.
If there had been a proper sector-wide consultation on what was intended to be the single level 3 qualification for the workforce, we surely could have saved time, effort and money, and could maybe have a qualification that is rigorous enough and more targeted at working with early years children. And that would have left the Nutbrown Review with a slightly easier task!
