« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Section 8: Taking the First Steps
We think it is vital that there is an opportunity for the sector to comment on the direction for development that we have set out. However, we do want to see change. That means work needs to start now.
Taking the First Steps
8.1 The vision is a long-term one - an aspiration of where we want to go over the next 10 and more years. It is the initial step in a process. We have not covered in any detail how the vision should be implemented. That is the second, and even more challenging, phase of the process. We have suggested 10 years as a reasonable timescale based on experience of supporting the workforce to gain qualifications to register with the SSSC, a process that is likely to take 10 years to complete. This Review's proposals build on this but are even more ambitious and for some parts of the early years and childcare sector they will appear unrealistic, for others less so.
8.2 Throughout the document we have posed a number of questions - on implications for different parts of the sector and around how the recommendations should be implemented. We think it is vital that there is an opportunity for the sector to comment on the direction for development that we have set out. However, we do want to see change. That means work needs to start now. We have set three areas where, in our view, some initial development work would build the foundations of the longer-term change we have proposed in this Review.
Increasing Professionalism |
|---|
Initial work should be carried out to develop the professional base - the skills, knowledge and values of the sector. This would include work to ensure that the roles and responsibilities are fully developed and fit for the early years and childcare workforce going into the future. Once we have these building blocks of the professional we will need to align all qualifications to a new professional benchmark and develop the new qualifications where we need them. Increasing professionalism is about more than qualifications. Employers and regulators both have a major part to play. |
Increasing the Profile of the Sector |
|---|
It will be important to publicise the changes to working in the early years and childcare sector such as new career development opportunities as they are developed. An initial phase of raising public awareness about working in the sector could start relatively soon and would help address some of the more immediate issues round recruitment of staff. This should be set in the wider context of asserting the importance of the value of working with children and about how we value children and childhood. |
Workforce Planning |
|---|
Based on existing good practice and information gathered from the Review consultation process, a model of workforce planning should be developed for the sector. This would be the first step towards creating a robust, shared approach to workforce planning. |
« Previous | Contents | Next »