Early years SSC set to launch

The establishment of the long-awaited Sector Skills Council (SSC) bringing together those working in early years and childcare as well as children's social care was expected to be announced this week.

As Nursery World went to press, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was due to confirm that Paul Ennals, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, will be interim chairman of the SSC's Children, Young People and Families Workforce Council.

The DfES said that in England the SSC would have two elements - the Children, Young People and Families Workforce Council and the Adult Care Council. They will be part of a five-pronged UK-wide federation also comprising the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, the Care Council for Wales and the Scottish Social Services Council. The councils in these three UK countries are based on their statutory regulatory bodies for the social care sector.

A DfES spokeswoman said, 'The idea of a federated SSC is to allow each partner the flexibility to develop its programmes under a secure SSC umbrella.'

However, the SSC's name has not been finalised and is due to be discussed, along with a business and strategic plan for the new body, at a meeting in Cardiff on 7 July.

The DfES said the timetable for obtaining a licence for the SSC was being managed by the training organisation, TOPSS UK, and the Sector Skills Development Agency.

Meanwhile the shadow council is expected to run the fledgling SSC until next April, when it will hand over responsibility to a new council, which will handle issues such as the national occupational standards.

Mr Ennals said he had been appointed as interim chairman because it was felt that he could best draw together a range of employers and professional groups. But he insisted he would not be the permanent chairman, as that post should reflect that the SSC is employer-led.

Emphasising the SSC's importance, Mr Ennals said, 'The Government is bringing about a lot of changes in children's services. But none of them will be effective if the workforce itself is not encouraged to change. That won't happen overnight, but the SSC is an important first step.'

Delay in creating an SSC covering those working in early years has meant that many staff are already part of existing SSCs. Instead of reconstituting these SSCs into one all-embracing SSC, the Government chose to set up the Children's Workforce Network, which met in London on 30 June.

The DfES spokeswoman said the network was 'a UK-wide grouping of SSCs, all with interests in the children's workforce'. It is regarded as central to the process of developing co-ordinated approaches in implementing the Government's Green Paper, Every Child Matters.