In its response to the DfES consultation on the Children's Workforce Strategy, the council welcomed the proposed Local Transformation Fund but insisted it should be 'clearly designated and only invested in workforce reform at local level'. It should be used to resource activities set out in the Children and Young People's Plan, and the DfES and local authorities 'should put in place mechanisms to ensure that this happens'.
The CWDC emphasised that the private, voluntary and community sectors are significant employers in the children's workforce and said that local change plans led by local authorities must ensure their involvement in reshaping the workforce.
Jane Haywood, CWDC chief executive, said the council looked forward to working with the DfES and employers 'to reach our goal of creating a world-class workforce'.
Meanwhile, a group of researchers from the Thomas Coram Research Unit at London's Institute of Education urged the Government to consider the creation of a pedagogue role and a pedagogue's assistant as a key way of developing the early years workforce.
In their response to the consultation, they argued, 'While we see the need for a specialist early years teacher, we do not see a "new" teacher as forming the core professional in the children's workforce: we see teaching as an essential part of the children's workforce, but as a more narrowly conceived profession than pedagogy, which has relevance across the wide range of services and settings for children and young people.'
The CWDC said it it believed use of the word 'pedagogue' was 'unhelpful, as it carries different meanings for different people'.
