Editor's view - On course for a recruitment nightmare

Although the need for GCSEs at A-C grade in Maths and English is still in a state of flux, with various temporary exemptions in place, it is obvious that the number of students signing up for work-based EYE courses and apprenticeships has been hit hard.

And further, nursery employers are asking for job applicants to have the GCSEs even if they have an older qualification for which no such requirements were in place.

One recent traineee nursery assistant job ad also asked for the GCSEs, presumably as if the practitioner was to progress, they would be needed in the future, and the nursery didn't want the risk of having hired someone who wouldn't qualify.

The effects of all this will be to make recruiting good practitioners even harder (nurseries are already struggling). And the knock-on could be that colleges stop running work-based EYE courses if sufficient numbers don't want to take them.

The intention behind making course requirements more stringent and ultimately workforce standards higher is laudable, but careful planning is needed to avoid a recruitment crisis, which will do nothing for quality.

First, school students must be encouraged to see early years education and childcare as a career of choice. Meanwhile, older applicants may need some form of dispensation. Then progress will be possible.