The advice follows an internal Government report, written by Richard Handover and leaked to the BBC, which said that 40,000 teaching assistants could be removed from their posts without damaging outcomes to save on the schools budget (News, 1 October).
SkillsActive, the sector skills council for playwork, said that as many as 4,000 teaching assistants could be absorbed into playwork as the sector looks to hire more people who are qualified to level 3. The expansion of the playwork sector follows Government funding of £250m over three years, which was announced in the 2007 Children's Plan.
SkillsActive has urged the Government to consider developing a transitional module to help teaching assistants transfer to the sector similar to the Level 3 Award in Playwork for Early Years and Childcare Workers, a transitional module for early years workers who wish to make the move.
Stephen Studd, chief executive of SkillsActive, said, 'In the short term, there is a need for around 4,000 more playworkers who are qualified at level 3, and teaching assistants are a supply of people who are already qualified to that level.
'SkillsActive is working with the CWDC to develop an integrated qualifications framework so that people can step sideways. There is already a transitional pathway for early years workers and we are now looking at creating a pathway for teaching assistants.
'We are saying to the Government that, if there is to be a cull of teaching assistants, let's develop a transitional module to help people move from one path to another. The model is already there and it could be put into place after a few months' consultation.'
