The late 1990s saw huge growth in the number of specialist and advisory teacher roles in local government. Under a newly elected Labour Government with a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children, the idea was to build teams of experienced teachers and practitioners that could support schools and early years settings by modelling good practice, providing training and helping to implement new policies and curriculum changes.
This was part of the Government's commitment to deliver quality childcare and early years education for all children, and led to the expansion of early years departments in local authorities. Along with the creation of new roles (such as early years advisers and link teachers), there was significant investment in training.
A decade on, with many local authorities being forced to make substantial budget cuts, there are fears that advisory roles like these could be under threat. So far it is difficult to predict how the early years sector will be affected.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, says it is a 'mixed picture' for nurseries in terms of local authorities and for many the impact is not yet fully clear. 'Some members report that free training is no longer available, others have highlighted that early years support teams are on notice of redundancy pending budget decisions. However, support from local authorities is critical, and while councils have difficult decisions to make it is important that the help that is available is effectively targeted.'
But many local authorities remain tight-lipped about the changes. Durham County Council is the only local authority contacted by Nursery World that would confirm it was making cuts in this area. A spokesperson said that early years link teacher roles are to go. 'We had a number of link teachers working for us on a part-time basis up until a review last year. This was equivalent to the post of one substantive advisory teacher. We considered it appropriate to redirect the work of these teachers to advisory teachers, working for us on a full-time basis. Currently, work is being reshaped to ensure there is a named person who will visit each daycare setting to carry out a similar role to the one of link teachers.'
DECISION TIME
Lewisham council in London says that the Government grant which provided for the Lewisham Early Years Advice and Resource Network (LEARN) has been cut and it is looking to maintain a service with funding from other sources. A spokesperson said, 'We are in the process of transferring from ring-fenced grants to a new Early Intervention Service and anticipate that this will include an Early Years Improvement team which will provide schools and other settings with support.'
Tower Hamlets in London has confirmed that cuts from central Government will mean making 'substantial savings' over the next few years, but it is not yet clear whether this will affect advisory roles. A council spokesperson said, 'While the details of this particular restructure are yet to be finalised, we can confirm that we have no plans to charge parents for services provided to children under five and these will continue to be provided from all existing locations as well as a number of "community hub" venues in the local community. As part of this approach, not a single children's centre in Tower Hamlets will be closing.'
The picture is similar in Derby, where a spokesman for Derby City Council said, 'At present we are still in the process of consulting on a number of options for the future model of service delivery.
Areas under discussion include the quality assurance functions and statutory duties as well as frontline delivery of our early years team. Decisions will be taken later in the year about the final levels of staffing once a period of consultation is completed.'
London's Haringey Council is also at the consultation stage. A spokesperson said, 'We are in the process of consulting on changes to our central early years team, and are taking into account both our statutory duties and the needs of the most vulnerable children in Haringey. We will retain some advisory teachers and SENCOs to ensure support for our settings and childminders. The final structure of the early years team will be clarified following the consultation process.'
Also among those thought to be making cuts is Sandwell council in the West Midlands. While it has confirmed 62 education jobs are to go, the council says it is not yet in the position to confirm which ones.
The London Borough of Bromley is said to have agreed to cuts of up to £33m overall and there is a proposal to cut the number of children's centres, but there are no plans to cut advisory roles so far.
LIKELY IMPACT
So, if early years advisory roles are to go, will they be missed? Only by some providers, says Ken McArthur, owner of Pollyannas Daycare Nursery in York. 'I think the big chains, many of whom already have their own training departments, are unlikely to feel the impact. The biggest impact is likely to be on smaller settings who may not have the funding to access support on that level.'
Early years consultant and author Penny Tassoni agrees. 'Were local authorities restricted in the amount of training at reasonable, subsidised cost, it raises the question of whether pre-school or smaller providers would have sufficient resources to fund the full cost of CPD.'
Elephant and Castle Childcare Centre, a 30-place day nursery in Norfolk, is one such example. Manager Lisa Clarke is already feeling the pinch after the local authority stopped fully funded professional development for nursery staff last September.
'We now have to pay £20 towards courses, which doesn't sound like a lot, but we are not in the position to pay for cover when staff are out on courses,' she says. 'So we pay half and staff pay half out of their own pocket, and we try to juggle around the shifts so they don't have to take the time as unpaid leave.'
Cuts to advisory roles would have a big impact on her setting, she says. 'We are quite a successful setting, but my biggest worry is that if further cuts are made, there will only be support for those settings that aren't doing so well. But even successful nurseries need to be constantly improving and developing.'
HINDRANCE OR HELP?
Other practitioners, particularly those in school settings, seem less concerned. 'I'm sure there are good advisers out there who can offer quality support to early years settings, but I have to say, I am yet to meet one,' says one nursery manager who did not want to be named.
Another, from a school setting, said they felt early years advisers were a hindrance and not a help. 'All I've ever had from them is interference - not advice. We know our children and we know what is best for them. We just want to get on with our job.'
Penny Tassoni says the biggest challenge for practitioners at the moment is dealing with uncertainty. 'There has been a lot of investment in the sector in the last ten years, but at present, it seems this may be cut drastically,' she says. 'This creates problems in terms of being able to plan for the future for training and future progression. In some parts of the early years sector, things are very stable. In others there is rapid turnover. Were this investment pulled back, some of the wonderful work achieved in terms of raising standards for children over the last 20 years could be eradicated.'
But Pauline Hoare from the Cordis Bright consultancy offers an alternative perspective. 'After generous funding for ten years there have been huge improvements to early years education and a significant improvement in the percentage of settings with good ratings by Ofsted. There is an argument to say that, at this point in time, some settings might value greater independence.'
ON THEIR OWN
If there are job losses for early years advisers and link teachers in the latest round of cuts, some practitioners may look to strike out on their own as independent advisers. That is the certainly the route being taken by some of the early years team of local authority advisers in National Strategies, an early casualty of the cuts which is due to be disbanded at the end of this month.
Among them is Gail Ryder Richardson. She has just set up an independent consultancy called Outdoor Matters, but it is a step she has taken with apprehension. She explains, 'Although I think there will be consultancy opportunities in specialist areas like outdoor learning, if the cuts are as extensive as some people are saying, I do wonder if the market could become flooded with general early years advisers and not enough work to go round.'
