CACHE wins bid to develop childcare T-Level

The Education and Childcare T-Level is one of the first three T-Levels coming in from 2020.

The two-year college-based vocational programme of study at Level 3 is equivalent to three A-Levels.

Following a bid to tender in September, CACHE, part of NCFE, has been chosen by the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the Department for Education (DfE) as the sole delivery partner of the T-Level. The contract starts in March.

• Guide to: T-Levels
• DfE concedes longer T-Level work placement needed
• Training: Exclusive  - the end of an era for EYE?

As revealed by Nursery World, it is believed that the T-Level will replace the college-based route to the Early Years Educator (EYE) qualification, with Government funding expected to be transferred to the T-Level once it is established.

The Level 3 EYE apprenticeship is a work-based qualification and, in theory, will not be affected by the new T-Level.

NCFE said that the CACHE-developed Level 3 Technical Qualification in Education and Childcare will provide learners with the ‘knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to progress into skilled employed or higher level technical training or study in the education and childcare sector'.

Within the T-Level, there will be three specialisms:

• Early Years Education and Childcare
• Assisting Teaching
• Supporting and Mentoring Students in Further and Higher Education.

The T-Level will include the following compulsory elements:

• A technical qualification covering core knowledge and skills (0-19) and specialist skills and knowledge.
• A minimum standard in maths and English.
• A work placement.

The sector has previously expressed concern about the length of work placements.

T-levels are designed to follow a standard model –  a set requirement of 45 days, equivalent to 315 hours of placement across all industries offering them, from accountancy to science.

This falls short of the current standard work placement time for childcare courses, which is over 700 hours to enable learners to gain enough experience to count in ratios once qualified.

Ahead of the contract being awarded to CACHE, it is understood the DfE told a member of the T-Level panel that the awarding body chosen to exclusively design and deliver the qualification ‘will be able to include further time for learning and assessment' in the workplace to take it in line with current EYE requirements.

Comments

NCFE’s managing director Stewart Foster said, ‘We are excited to be at the forefront of the implementation of T-Levels. T-Levels mark a revolution in technical education and the CACHE developed Technical Qualification will help ensure that learners entering the education and childcare workplace have been trained to the highest of standards.’

Julie Hyde, director of CACHE, added, ‘We are delighted that NCFE has been selected by the DfE as the delivery partner for the Education and Childcare T-Level. The CACHE-developed Technical Qualification will be delivered as part of the T-Level, signifying another important milestone in CACHE’s long heritage in supporting the childcare and education sector with gold-standard qualifications.

‘We would like to thank the sector for the huge amount of support offered to us throughout this process and look forward to continuing to work together to ensure the future quality of provision in education and childcare.’