CWDC extends deadline for existing early years and childcare qualifications

The new Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce was expected to replace all existing sector-related qualifications from January.

However, following recommendations by Ofqual, the CWDC has said that some qualifications on the National Qualification Framework will now be extended to January 2012.

Meetings will take place shortly between CWDC representatives and awarding bodies to discuss the issue.

In a letter to awarding bodies, dated 8 December, Pauline Jones, assistant director at the CWDC, (pictured), said that the CWDC remained ‘firmly committed to full implementation of the Level 2 Certificate and the Level 3 Diploma, which remain at the heart of our qualification strategy’.

But she said that CWDC would provide letters to awarding bodies via Skills for Care and Development to support applications for an extension for certain qualifications to January 2012, subject to the following criteria:

• The qualification is listed on the ‘Qualifications list for those delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage’, as full and relevant for the purposes of registration and regulation

• The qualification is a Vocationally Related Qualification (not a National Vocational Qualification)

• The qualification is a full qualification

The report from the assessments regulator had criticised the new Level 3 diploma for not including enough opportunities for work experience for younger, students with less hands-on knowledge of working with young children, and for not offering opportunities for students to progress to further and higher education.

In response to the assessment regulator’s recommendation that qualifications should be required to include a minimum number of hours of work placement, the CWDC said it will  ‘explore whether adjusting the guided learning hours linked to the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce to include hours of work placement is possible and will meet this requirement.’

The letter also said that CWDC will now consider developing a larger two-year qualification, based on the new Level 3 Diploma, ‘which will include greater opportunity to demonstrate higher order skills, such as analysis and evaluation, through extended writing and research.’