Last week the Welsh Assembly agreed to measures including removing the need for all members of voluntary committees to possess childcare qualifications. The next set of changes will be more far-reaching, including dropping the requirement for all carers to have an NVQ Level 3 qualification.
Health minister Jane Hutt told the Assembly that care regulations introduced in April 2002 had had 'unforeseen circumstances which placed regulatory burdens, sometimes in the wrong place'. She added, 'This year, the Assembly Government became increasingly concerned that we might lose valuable existing playgroup provision, and slow down our recruitment of childminders and the establishment of new childcare businesses.'
As Nursery World went to press, officials of the Care Standards Inspectorate of Wales (CSIW) were meeting two of the main voluntary organisations involved - the Wales Pre-Schools Playgroups Association and the Welsh-language Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (MYM). The groups argue that the rural nature of much of Wales makes it difficult for people either to find colleges offering suitable training courses or to access them due to transport difficulties.
Last week the Assembly said volunteer committee members would no longer have to meet the same requirement as individuals directly looking after children to supply details of their employment history and financial references. Childminders would no longer have to provide bank references or details of their accounts at the time of their inspection.
Ms Hutt said, 'In the light of experience, we can see that the legislation forced CSIW to treat volunteer committee members as if they personally were going to look after children. The new regulations recognise that volunteer committees care for children through a manager. In these cases, CSIW will look at the manager's suitability for childcare, and no longer require of the volunteer committee members any employment history or financial references. CSIW will no longer be obliged to interview applicants for registration in these cases.'
Kirsty Williams, Assembly Member for Brecon and Radnor, told the minister of problems faced in one of the most rural constituencies in Britain. She said training was unavailable, and the tiny rural nurseries were threatened with closure, as owners were not allowed to count themselves as a member of staff.
GP Dr Dai Lloyd said MYM had expressed concern that over-regulation of voluntary committees had made them consider disbanding, 'because of the hassle'. He said that an alternative to Level 3 should be available to people who had looked after children for perhaps 30 years 'and who know more than someone who is wet behind the ears'.
When Ms Hutt first signalled that changes would be made in regulations, speaking at the National Eisteddfod cultural festival in August, she said the deadline for having to attain NVQ Level 3 would be put back to 2008, so more people could be trained.
She added that people with 'a mix' of other qualifications and experience 'should be accepted as equivalent to Level 3'.
