Editor’s view - Experience counts

I’m hearing a lot at the moment about the need for the workforce to prioritise a knowledge of child development. It’s seen as the key to best practice in an early years world beset by new challenges.

So it seems there couldn’t be a worse time for the sector to be faced with a recruitment crisis, particularly when it comes to experienced, Level 3 staff. These candidates were declining steeply before Covid struck and now come at an ever greater premium. For those settings who can afford to grow their own, there is the problem of accessing L3 courses locally, with many colleges having dropped them due to low take-up (see page 44).

Covid has undoubtedly had a widespread impact on student placements in the past 18 months. Inevitably students have missed out on opportunities to gain experience working directly with children and colleagues, and as a result are lacking an understanding of how theory plays out in practice.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on how the new, vocational T-Level qualification can provide a quick route to addressing this crisis of skills and experience. The T-Level in Childcare is equivalent to three A-Levels and is being phased in to replace all other Applied General Qualifications, including BTECs – something which has been criticised as limiting training opportunities for many young people. And while the sector originally fought for the T-Level to require 750 work placement hours, this has now been reduced to 415 due to Covid. In their favour, T-Levels could provide a clear route to a career in the early years. It’s well documented that a true knowledge of child development cannot be learnt from books alone and the practice element of gaining early years skills is both crucial and rewarding. With the opportunities for real experience as part of vocational study curtailed, it is understandable that a lot of employers are keeping an open mind about what recently qualified candidates will bring to the job.