Training Today - Is less really more?

A major rationalisation and reform of early years qualifications sees the launch this summer of new Level 2 and Level 3 awards amid accusations that the changes are 'dumbing down' training in the sector.

Under the reforms, led by the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC), the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce replace more than 200 qualifications in children's services, and so make it easier for employers to understand.

The new awards 'provide a good mix of practical and theoretical learning,' according to Richard Dorrance, CEO of CACHE. 'Essentially the basic contents of the children's services qualifications haven't changed. The National Occupational Standards, which underpin all of the new qualifications, remain unchanged. The common core of knowledge and skills for all professionals working with children has been updated and has been incorporated into the new Level 3.'

Mr Dorrance emphasises that the benefits are centred on a transparent naming system, less bureaucracy and flexibility for learners with regards to pace of study.

'They will be able to study a unit at a time and eventually "pull together" units into a qualification if they choose to do so,' he says.

Gill Mason, community and society adviser at City & Guilds, explains that there will be four mandatory core units across health and social care and then seven generic units for the children's workforce, so people changing career can take the mandatory units with them.

'There will be the ability to take Level 3 units when doing a Level 2, and Level 4 units when doing a Level 3. So there is a progression and if the workforce is to be skilled and professional that has to be a good thing,' Ms Mason explains.

However, Mr Dorrance suggests, 'The advantages of having only one qualification at Levels 2 and 3 will need to be weighed up against any disadvantages of having a "one size fits all" approach.'

TIGHT TIMESCALE

The Diploma, unlike the current CACHE Level 3, does not have any UCAS points (university credits) attached to it, which Teresa Stroud, head of curriculum at Aylesbury College, says is, 'a huge disadvantage. The current award is equivalent to three A levels.

'This new Level 3 is not robust enough. It is a work-based qualification which is very much what employers want. We have no problem with that, but it is weak on substance and theory compared with the current Level 3 qualification.

'We need to raise standards and have a depth of knowledge, and we should not be dumbing down qualifications. From what we now know, I see this as dumbing down.'

Employers and trainers complain that the tight timescale has left them 12 weeks from launch date and still seeking information.

'Our knowledge of the new qualifications is very limited,' says Janet Elnaugh, proprietor of the Phoenix Day Nursery in Brentwood, Essex. 'We have just employed an apprentice and are obviously looking to send her on training.

'She is at A-level grade so we are hoping to send her straight on to a Level 3 course, but our local community college says the timescale is so tight they have not got their trainers trained. I think we will send her on the old Level 3, which is still valid.'

Ms Stroud says the college does not know where it is going with Level 2/3 apprenticeships. 'The guided learning hours and the funded hours are yet to be confirmed. We are signing up students to the old qualifications while we still can.'

A positive response comes from Justine Spencer, lead tutor for the Aspire Training Team, which is part of the Hadland Care Group along with Tops nurseries. It trains staff from Tops and other settings across Dorset and Hampshire. 'I like what they have done. There is a progression from the bottom level so learners will be able to progress,' she says.

'We coped with the change from the old early years qualification to CCLD so I am sure we will cope again with this.

'We have been using the draft standards to get an idea of what we need to be doing from September.'

WAITING FOR CLARITY

The drive for a graduate-led workforce has seen new routes to graduate practitioner status being created, for example with progression from Level 3 to foundation degrees and through the development of the Early Years Professional Status. But there was already a practical and academic qualification - the Early Childhood Studies (ECS) Degree - with practitioner options ensuring that graduates gained both practical experience and academic insight.

However, Pamela Calder, chair of the ECS Degrees Network, says there is a mismatch between the frameworks for further and higher education and in terms of how the awards are assessed.

She says, 'We want a link between the practical and the academic - this is what we were trying to achieve when we first set up ECS degrees.

'We are concerned that our early childhood studies degrees with practitioner options, although formerly on the list of acceptable qualifications on the CWDC website, are now covered by the replacement Qualifications List for those delivering the EYFS, through a generic statement which is difficult for employers to access and understand.'

Because of the popularity and success of foundation degrees in England, CWDC decided against developing a Level 4 Diploma in Children's Care, Learning and Development on the QCF, but many in the sector are currently lobbying for a change of heart.

The CWDC maintains that early years leaders and managers wishing to develop business and management skills at Level 4 and above have a range of qualification options open to them, but this does not appease employers and trainers.

'I feel very strongly about this,' says Sue Meekings, director of childcare at the Childcare Corporation, who describes the decision not to have a specific childcare Level 4 qualification as 'short-sighted and naive'.

She adds, 'You don't take your GCSEs and go straight to a Master's degree. You progress. Level 4 allows people to progress. Therefore I am opposed to anything that blocks people's options.'

She argues that foundation degrees demand a more academic approach, and study at university tends to be less supported than the work-based alternative.

'Staff at our Kiddi Caru nurseries who have gone down the foundation degree route straight away have found the academic requirements and the lack of support very difficult, and some have fallen by the wayside,' says Ms Meekings. 'By contrast we have had phenomenal results with Level 4 qualifications and more than 100 staff members are either qualified to Level 4 or taking their Level 4 - that is 12.5 per cent of our workforce.

'The increased confidence and competence I see when people take their Level 4 is stunning.'

Pressure from the sector persuaded the CWDC to retain the Level 2 qualification and there are hopes that a concerted campaign now will prompt implementation of a Level 4 Award.

To encourage progression, Ms Mason has written a research unit at Levels 4 and 5 to be included as options in the Diploma. It will carry UCAS points and, as it encompasses academic skills, will be an option for those considering higher education.

The sector is bracing itself to cope with the timescale. Richard Dorrance says, 'This is not the first time the qualifications landscape has changed, so luckily we're quite experienced.'

Ms Stroud says this time next year she will be enrolling students for the new qualifications. 'Hopefully there will be more clarity about it and the Diploma will have UCAS points attached and will be more robust.'

The Integrated Qualifications Framework (IQF), which was to launch in April, is designed to provide a practical guide to sector-approved qualifications for those working with children and young people.

However, implementation of the framework was delayed by the General Election in May and as yet no date has been announced for its launch. A CWDC spokesperson says, 'We are working closely with government officials to plan our delivery to best meet new priorities and are helping officials determine how to achieve the very best for children and young people. Until we have more clarity, we will not be able to discuss detail and would not wish to speculate as this does not serve the best interests of those we work with and support.'

The CWDC intends the IQF to become an essential resource for employers and careers advisers by helping to map out career progression across the workforce and show how various qualifications can be linked.

Meanwhile, responsibility for the Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF) passed in April from the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, which oversaw its establishment, to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This latter department will now promote and manage the framework.

Every qualification on the QCF is made up of units; these have credit values indicating how long they take to complete - a credit is about ten hours' work.

The total credit value of a qualification denotes its size: Awards are made up of one to 12 credits; Certificates 13 to 36 credits; and Diplomas 37 credits and more. There are nine grades of difficulty in the QCF, from Entry level to level 8.

The new Level 2 Certificate for the Children and Young People's Workforce and Level 3 Diploma are being launched in August, and training providers can start offering them from September. To give colleges, which close over the summer, time to prepare for and promote the new awards properly, they will be able to continue enrolling students on the existing Level 2 and Level 3 awards offered by bodies including CACHE, City & Guilds and Edexcel until December.

Early years qualifications are included on the qualifications list on the CWDC website to assist nursery managers in completing the qualification audit tool to track and plan training for their staff.

CASE STUDY: CHILDCARE COMPANY

Sally Eaton, educational director of training organisation the Childcare Company, has been involved in writing training resources for the new qualifications and has been working with the new standards for some time.

'My impression is very positive,' she says. 'One of the big benefits is that the Diploma is a qualification that everyone will recognise. The sector will know it is a base-line qualification. The problem is they have spent so long getting the standards right that the timescale now is very tight. No change is easy or comfortable, but I think once people become familiar with it they will know that if someone has the Diploma they will have undertaken a certain amount of training. It is a basic qualification and it is intended that, by 2020, all practitioners should have it.

'It is a suitable qualification. It is comprehensive and covers everything that a practitioner needs to know, but it is not on a par with the CCLD.

'A bonus is that the Diploma requires 450 guided learning hours. The reason we came into training is that we felt people were being assessed without being taught. They had someone assess them without finding out whether they had the underpinning knowledge. You need to sit down and read about child development. It is not something you can just pick up at work. You need to be knowledgeable about it to be able to carry out your observations.

'Another positive factor is that the units can stand alone so, for example, people could enrol staff to take just the safeguarding unit to update them.'

CASE STUDY: EARLY YEARS CHILDCARE

'We are a childcare company with nine nurseries. We also have an NVQ assessment centre, so these changes affect us quite dramatically,' says Kate Peach, general manager of Early Years Childcare. 'We know there is going to be massive change, but the information has been very slow in coming through.

'We work with CACHE, which has been fantastic, but the first training day we can get for our trainers and assessors is on 15 June.

'This new qualification is going to take 12 to 18 months maximum to complete. What we do now is take people on for three months probation and then put them on a two-year programme. After being with us for 27 months they are Level 3 qualified and have the experience, training and knowledge to work as Level 3 qualified practitioners in a nursery setting.

'We are concerned that this new award will not give them enough time to gain the experience they need. We are going to be rewriting our underpinning knowledge training days and looking at re-structuring the training.'

The company is looking at shifting its staff grades so there is a basic Level 3 qualified grade for recently qualified people and more higher-level posts for experienced staff.

Ms Peach says, 'I look at these things and wonder what they are doing to my industry. When I came into childcare it was because I absolutely wanted to work with children. I worked my way up. I progressed from a Level 2 to 3 and then 4.

'The plan to dispose of the Level 2 provoked a colossal uproar, so it has been kept until 2015. After that there will be a Level 3 that is a watered-down version of what we have had for the past 40 years, or a degree.

'The positive aspect of the changes is that you can move and take your qualifications with you without needing to start from scratch.'