The colleges have broken up for the summer holidays, but the work of trying to sort out the implementation of the new level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce, due to start in September, continues apace.
The routes available from this September do not include a full-time, two-year equivalent course, which would carry enough UCAS points to allow students to progress to Early Childhood Studies degrees or teacher training, as many of those taking the current Diploma in Childcare and Education etc have been doing.
Previous advice to candidates to do A-levels at the same time to earn the UCAS points just does not stack up - the timetabling doesn't work.
As we report this week (see News, page 6), awarding body CACHE is now exhorting colleges to write letters of support for a new Diploma that would incorporate the planned new level 3 but add an extra year, extend the breadth of knowledge and experience gained, and enable students to get the UCAS points needed for progression.
There has been unease about the reduced teaching hours and lower academic status of the new qualification since details were released. It will not be an easy process to win approval for a new Diploma to supplement the incoming level 3, both in terms of persuading Ofqual that it is needed and in getting the funding for it.
However, we should all back the attempt. Otherwise, the colleges will struggle to attract the best and brightest students to go into early years education and childcare, and the sector will ultimately lose out.
And let's not forget, either, the lack of a level 4 qualification to bridge the gap to degrees for mature practitioners.
