A big step

Maureen Smith
Wednesday, May 22, 2002

In the first of a two-part series, Maureen Smith says today's mature students can look forward to plenty of help and moral support A look at the DfES Childcare Workforce Surveys 2001 quickly dispels the notion that childcarers are poorly qualified and very young. The picture that emerges is one of a mature workforce studying hard to upgrade their qualifications. One-third of nursery staff are aged 24 to 39 with another fifth aged 40 or over, while a quarter of nursery managers, one-third of supervisors and two-thirds of other nursery staff are currently studying to improve their qualifications. Mature students, part-time and full-time, come from a wide variety of backgrounds, undertake a broad range of qualifications and return to studying as a route back into work or to enhance their employment prospects.