I agree with Lisa that students are only taught to achieve the NVQ and that there is a massive lack of practical training. I think this is primarily because at colleges, students are taught NVQs by lecturers who are not occupationally competent and have no ideas of what the standards are about, and/or they have never worked with children.
There is also the issue of funding, and the way that colleges are required to complete the courses during a set timescale in order to receive the funding.
I sold my nurseries and set up a training centre to provide the training that students need and give them a realistic insight into working with children. However, I have experienced difficulties in securing funding due to the fact that the early years partnership in our area cannot afford to give students realistic funds to pay for quality training because they have run out of their training budget! Students are therefore not given the choice as to where they would prefer to receive training. They are forced to go to colleges because their fees are lower than private training providers.
I think that central government needs to address the issue of training the future staff and the allocation of funding if Labour's ten-year childcare strategy is to be fulfilled. It needs to set up an independent organisation that is responsible for training, rather than the EYDCPs in local authorities.
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