Training Today: Continuing Professional Development - Filling the gap

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is particularly important in the early years sector, where livelihoods depend on knowledge of current laws and practices. Now, reductions in Government funding are causing a shift from public to private sector provision.

The number of local authority specialist advisers for early years services has been cut by more than half in some areas in England, as Nursery World reported in May. These advisers are there to ensure early education settings are able to access the support of an experienced early years leader, with functions ranging from helping to prepare for Ofsted inspections to the fine detail of helping nurseries use their resources effectively.

The overall picture for local authority courses is now very patchy, with many CPD courses having restricted access or being cut outright, according to nursery managers.

Matthew Byrne, manager of Crafty Wizards Pre-School in New Eltham, says, 'The number of courses has reduced, though our borough has coped well with offering core courses in early years. The worry is that further cuts would impact on this.

'We have been lucky to have had the opportunity to attend our local model classroom, run by specialist leaders who disseminate ideas for enabling environments developed from early years theory and visiting local settings.

'However, the number of lead practitioners has reduced, the model classroom is in danger of ceasing and the focus of the borough's attention appears to be solely on those settings that fall below a good rating with Ofsted. Courses that are more specific, such as training practitioners into management roles, developing knowledge in specific areas of learning or special educational needs (SEN), are either non-existent or have a waiting list.'

Vanessa Warn, owner of Little Green Rascals nursery group in York, says the consequences for the development of practitioners' skills could be dire. 'It is obvious that with less and less funding there will be fewer opportunities for "growing" the professionals in our fast-changing sector. There is already a sense that while there is some funding available to support the initial Level 3 and Level 6 qualifications to ensure a competent staff team, there are fewer and fewer good-quality training opportunities for the qualified professionals at these levels to keep their knowledge current, be challenged and further explore best practice.'

Julie Kirk, manager of The Addingtons Pre-School in Northamptonshire, says that in some areas she has found there are now long waiting lists for training in core services such as safeguarding - forcing nursery staff to attend courses tailored to local schools. Even in areas where provision is not oversubscribed, she says challenges are increasing.

'Funding is becoming an issue and courses are becoming more restricted, so we have a new local network, Northamptonshire Nursery Schools Partnership, which has been set up to provide CPD courses,' she says. 'It will provide a multitude of courses, but there is a cost implication and this will impact on the training we can offer. Potentially, only one member of staff will be able to attend courses in the future, and will have to cascade the training down to remaining staff.'

Ms Warn believes bigger groups are able to cope with the changes more easily. 'We have organised several in-house training sessions with external facilitators, something we have found to be very effective in bringing quality development on fast in our settings, as the whole staff team gets the same input together.

'We can do this as we are a larger setting and have committed a large amount to staff development; for smaller settings, quality CPD like this will probably become very difficult.'

As a result, many private training providers are reporting an increase in take up of CPD courses. Susan McGhee, director of BNG Training, part of Bertram Nursery Group, which provides training both in-house and externally, says that nurseries have already felt the impact of local authority cuts and are now starting to take on CPD themselves.

'Because the local authorities used to provide courses, the training box was ticked for them,' she says. 'When the cutbacks started they felt the gap, but now they are really starting to notice the lack of support, and they're starting to allocate more of their budget to CPD, realising it gives them back some control.'

Sophie Finn, project development assistant at Osiris Educational, which also provides training courses for professionals in primary and secondary education, says it is demand for the company's early years courses that has increased most noticeably in the past year. She attributes this in part to the sector's difficulties with Ofsted. 'Impressing Ofsted is on almost every single one of our courses,' she says. 'It is generally the mention of Ofsted that sells courses.'

Not all practitioners are able to find and fund suitable training easily. Ms Warn adds, 'Much of the training on offer from local authorities has now become multi-agency, which can be beneficial in areas such as safeguarding but in other areas can be difficult, as the training becomes less relevant. One of the issues we have found with having to look further afield is that we have less knowledge and experience of whether the training offered is of good quality or not and relevant to our situation.'

Governmental policy changes are also inspiring training providers to create new courses. Osiris Educational's course New to 2s deals with the imminent increase in numbers of two-year-olds in early years settings (see box).

Ms Finn says, 'The difference between two- and three-year-olds is pretty dramatic, and because of baseline tests it is important to identify where two-year-olds are at and demonstrate progress fairly rapidly.'

However, with most changes to be made later in the year, the demand for the courses may not build until practitioners start to feel the effects.

Ms Finn adds, 'We first ran the course earlier in the year and it didn't do very well. When there are new directives we tend to jump on them straight away, while sometimes, because the sector is changing so often, people respond a little bit later, so we expect take-up of the course to increase in the future.'

Training providers are also noticing a rise in demand for courses that develop leadership skills. Ms Finn says that at Osiris Educational, 'the increased Ofsted focus on leadership and the need to instil that in staff has really seen the popularity of those courses rise'.

Ms McGhee agrees, 'Nurseries obviously deal with the statutory things like first aid and hygiene first, but they are thinking carefully about what to add after that and there is a growing recognition of the importance of a leadership and management role.

'I think as a sector we can be guilty of promoting good childcare practitioners to managerial roles without providing them with good management training.

'Obviously, now funding is getting tighter it is getting tougher and the Government is pushing for a highly qualified workforce. But while they are not necessarily going the right way about it, nurseries are starting to recognise they need staff to respond and are looking for training to help.'

As well as changes to funding and policy, the sector is responding to technology. Reduced training budgets are seeing more settings look for cheaper, online courses, and providers are responding to demand.

Mr Byrne says, 'Online training has benefits. In a busy sector, online courses offer opportunities for staff who want to develop knowledge in their own time when it's convenient for them.

'It's also often cheaper and gets to the heart of the training immediately, whereas face-to-face courses can be slow and airy-fairy. However, they offer opportunities to interact, question, discuss and network. These are key benefits that are at risk of being lost with Government budget cuts.'

TWO-YEAR-OLDS

From September, 40 per cent of two-year-olds will be eligible for funded early education places. Also, the revised EYFS includes the requirement for practitioners to report to parents on the progress of their child in the three prime areas of learning around the age of two.

According to a Department for Education report, 69 per cent of schools would welcome information on sources of funding for provision for two-year-olds, while 29 per cent would also welcome information on developing staff quality and capacity, via recruitment or training.

New to 2s by Osiris Educational

A one-day course providing an overview of the latest Ofsted criteria and EYFS requirements, statutory progress checks and guidance for free early years education. Practitioners will discuss creating flexible provision, promoting parental involvement and planning for progress checks.

Let's Look at EYFS Progress Checks by NDNA

Online training on progress checks for two-year-olds, this course covers what progress checks are needed under the EYFS, what they should cover, when to complete them, the different tools available and how to engage parents.

Other courses

Early Education provides a variety of courses including I Am Two! Working Effectively with Two-Year-Olds and Their Families with Kay Mathieson. Also available is Marion Dowling's The Joys and Challenges of Working with Two-Year-Olds and Being a Key Person: Attachment Awareness for Supporting Two-Year-Olds, led by Helen Moylett.

• http://osiriseducational.co.uk/early-years/new- to-2s.html
• www.ndna.org.uk/quality-training-careers/training/online/eyfs-progress-checks
• www.early-education.org.uk/training-and-associates/two-year-old-training

MANAGEMENT

In November 2013, a new Ofsted framework stated that inspectors must evaluate and report on the quality of leadership and management in settings.

Providers must therefore make sure they display skills relevant to all managers of services, including the ability to manage people, facilities, resources, and the content and quality of the service they offer.

Effective Leadership and Management in the EYFS by the Learning and Training Consultancy

A one-day course providing advice and examples of best practice to help delegates effectively lead and manage the EYFS and challenge and support children's learning.

Managing and Leading EYFS by Kathy Bigio

This in-house course examines the diverse roles of the EYFS leader, looking in detail at monitoring and evaluating the learning environment inside and outside, the role of the adult, relationships, observation, assessment and planning.

Participants work on developing an effective format to use for observing, monitoring, evaluating and identifying next steps as well as providing ongoing coaching for all early years staff.

New to leading in the Early Years Foundation Stage by Early Excellence

A full-day course aiming to give practitioners new to leading in the early years the opportunity to explore their role and think about ways to mentor their colleagues. It considers how to develop a shared understanding of effective practice and encourage professional dialogue across the team about improving teaching.

• www.learningandtraining.co.uk/ training-events-effective-leadership-and-management-in-the-eyfs
• http://kathybigio.com/courses.html
• www.earlyexcellence.com/training_programme.html

FIRST AID

The revised version of the EYFS framework, scheduled to come into effect in September, states that first aid training no longer requires local authority approval. Providers can now choose which organisation they wish to approve their training, as long as the course covers the same content as those provided by St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross and is renewed every three years.

Amber Jones, director of Tigerlily Training, says the change should be positive for training providers, local authorities and nurseries alike. 'Having to approve first aid courses seemed to be a huge admin cost to local authorities more than anything else. As a national company, it makes sense for us to have our courses approved by a national body such as Ofqual rather than hundreds of separate local authorities, and it must be easier for early years providers to have a more uniform approach,' she says.

Paediatric First Aid by BNG Training

A two-day course providing practitioners with a Level 2 award in paediatric first aid (QCF). It includes assessing emergency situations, acting safely and effectively, and providing first aid to infants and children with foreign body airway obstructions, bleeding, shock, chronic medical conditions, extremes of temperature, burns, bites or stings. A special offer will be run on the course in Liverpool on 8 and 9 July.

Paediatric First Aid by Tigerlily Training

This is to be launched in September for anyone looking after children, and will combine a mixture of practical and online learning and including full EpiPen training. All courses are run by trainers with a background in the early years.

Blended Paediatric First Aider by Safe and Sound

A one-day course with material provided for at-home study prior to attending the face-to-face training. The course is designed for professional child carers and content includes the role of a first aider, accident reporting and the first aid box and action planning in an emergency.

• www.bngearlyyearstraining.co.uk/career-development/course-selector
• www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ paediatric-first-aid-2-day-course-tickets-11936146335?aff=eorg
• www.tigerlilytraining.co.uk/first-aid-courses.aspx
• www.safeandsound.uk.net

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

The Children and Families Act, which became law in March, means young people with special educational needs (SEN) now have a single plan for meeting their education, health and social care needs, which runs from birth to 25.

The Pre-school Learning Alliance, among other organisations, has raised concerns that these reforms will create more work for already pressurised early years practitioners, and has underlined the need for adequate preparation in time for the introduction of the new SEN framework in September.

SEN and Disability Code of Practice (Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014) by Concept Training

A three-hour session updating Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators. The session will include the principles underpinning the new code, how it links to the EYFS guidance; the Equality Act; the removal of Early Years Action and Action Plus and what this means in practice; and how to implement the code in settings.

Inclusion of Children with Additional Needs by Early Years

A new course helping participants to develop inclusive strategies and policies for their settings and to become familiar with the steps to inclusion.

Special Needs in Early Years 2014 by Osiris Educational

Practitioners can prepare for legal changes from the Children and Families Act using six key steps from this course. Identifies practical strategies to ensure progress for all SEN children through observation and assessment.

• http://osiriseducational.co.uk/special-educational-needs-sen/ special-and-additional-needs-in-early-years-2012.html
• www.early-years.org/training/course-info.php?courseid=52
• www.concept-training.co.uk/blog/post/06/2014/SEN-and-Disability- Code-Of-Practice-Part-3-of-the-Children-and-Families-Act-2014-.