Senior posts in early years for 1,000 aspirants

Alison Mercer
Wednesday, April 25, 2001

* The Government plans to help up to 1,000 people in England obtain senior early years practitioner status by 2004 if Labour remains in power. Employment and equal opportunities minister Margaret Hodge told a House of Commons debate on nursery nurses last month, 'By 2004, we hope to be working with 1,000 people towards establishing a senior early years practitioner route that will be just below degree level and will enable the desired career progression for those who enter at NNEB level.' The plan is set out in a Green Paper published in February, Schools: Building on Success, which presents a string of targets for early years provision. It says that the Government wants more early education specialists to come through teacher training and will work on new routes into teaching and other senior early years practitioner posts 'so as to make the best of the skills and experience of the very large early years and childcare workforce'.