Level 5 standard in dispute

• IfATE and trailblazer at odds over foundation degree inclusion in apprenticeship
• Decision will impact funding

A tug of war is taking place over whether the Level 5 apprenticeship standard should contain a foundation degree or the standard ‘licence to practice’ at Level 3, Nursery World has learned.

The Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education (IfATE ) has suggested that just a Level 3 qualification should be mandatory. This is despite results of a trailblazer-led survey showing that 97 per cent of employers would enrol practitioners on a Level 5 apprenticeship if they had the choice, and 99 per cent saying that a Level 5 apprenticeship would be more attractive with a funded foundation degree included.

Laura Upton, chair of the Early Years Trailblazer group for developing Level 5 and Level 6 apprenticeship standards, said, ‘Despite the overwhelmingly positive response from the sector in favour of mandating a qualification equivalent to a foundation degree/HND, the IfATE are still not convinced.’

The trailblazers have been told the survey has not proved it was a necessary requirement – only a desirable one, Ms Upton said, adding that the trailblazers have ‘consulted with individuals from the sector who all find this recommendation completely ridiculous. How is the sector ever going to grow and improve if there appears an imposed ceiling at Level 3?’

The trailblazer group was ‘determined to find a suitable resolution’ that both it and the IfATE were happy with, but ‘to attract more people into the early years sector, the standard needs to be attractive’, to ‘open doors’ and ‘enable progression’, Ms Upton said.

‘Our sector is littered with awards and certificates that don’t add any value, are not robust, are not recognised in terms of Early Years Educator criteria and add confusion.

‘The Level 5 must therefore mean both vocational and academic Level 5, and completion of the Level 5 must allow the individual progression onto Level 6,’ she added.

According to Ms Upton, in a feedback letter to the trailblazers sent on 27 June last year, the IfATE said, ‘There is a requirement for individuals working in this field to have a Level 3 qualification in order to count towards staff:child ratios, which is reflected in the job adverts that were submitted. Therefore, the mandated qualification should be at Level 3 only rather than Level 5.’

The IfATE told Nursery World this week that ‘no final decisions have been made on this apprenticeship proposal and we are listening to all feedback.

‘The survey responses indicated that there is a skills shortage that a Level 5 childcare apprenticeship could help alleviate. We will work hard to reach a consensus on how best to meet this need.’

Which qualification is mandated within the standard could also have implications for how much funding it receives. The IfATE said, ‘The institute has updated the trailblazer group of employers about the funding considerations and rules around mandated qualifications. We are now awaiting more detailed cost estimates from our employers to help inform funding decisions.’

Ms Upton said until the issue of the qualification type is resolved, this will be difficult.

The trailblazer group includes Kids Planet, the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network, councils, colleges and training providers among its 42 members, while 23 other bodies sit in an advisory capacity.

Diana Lawton, managing director of Our Monkey Club, who also sits on the panel, told the Nursery World Business Summit in November that Level 5 meant leading practice with small groups of children and being a pedagogical lead, while a new Level 6 standard, which the group is also working on after a previous version was withdrawn, was about leading ‘the strategic ethos of the setting’.

‘What we are trying to do is aspirational. IfATE – they do not want to mandate the Level 5 qualification, they want to mandate the Level 3 within the Level 5. I don’t see why anyone would want to do all that extra stuff without it,’ added Ms Lawton.

Ms Upton is now appealing to the sector for evidence, such as job descriptions requiring a Level 5 accredited qualification, and statements in support of the proposed move to include a Level 5 qualification. TACTYC is among the organisations already to have sent a letter of support, saying that 240 HE credits must be attached to the Level 5 apprenticeship standard to enable it to act as a ‘staging post’ between Level 3 and degree-level qualifications. ‘If other apprenticeship standards have a professional accredited qualification mandated and the early years Level 5 doesn’t then it would be seen as the poorer cousin,’ Ms Upton added.

Level 6

The new degree-equivalent Level 6 standard will be submitted ‘imminently’, pending a meeting with IfATE, Ms Upton said. The knowledge, skills and behaviours, occupational profile and duties which form the standard are written, and the assessment plan is in draft form.

‘We want this qualification to be a gold standard. If [candidates] are at this level then they must be able to perform at this level and hit the ground running,’ she added.

Send testimonials, job descriptions and adverts which can be used as evidence of the importance of a Level 5 qualification to laura.upton@leics.gov.uk