The report by the Early Childhood Unit, which was carried out on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, said that there were problems in getting staff 'with appropriate skills and knowledge' and that teachers found it hard to move out of their traditional role, where they enjoyed higher professional status.
The latest planning guidance from the DfES on phase two of the children's centre programme suggested that 'co-location with primary schools could lead to better ways of using existing teachers which would solve this problem'.
Sue Owen, head of the Early Childhood Unit, said that teachers' concerns over pay and conditions and the entirely different work offered by children's centres may be deterring them. Many local authorities have yet to encounter this shortage, as they are converting existing maintained day nurseries into children's centres and already have teachers on site.
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