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Annex G: Consultation Questions from Within Main Report
The Scottish Executive Consultation Process
Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Executive consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.
While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body. Consultation exercises may involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises.
Typically, Scottish Executive consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the area of consultation, and they are also placed on the Scottish Executive website enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses. 6 Copies of all the responses received to consultation exercises (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Executive library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4552).
The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision-making process. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:
indicate the need for policy development or review
inform the development of a particular policy
help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented
If you have any comment about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to:
Early Years and Childcare Workforce Review Team
2B-North
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQNational Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce
We are inviting written responses to this consultation paper by 22 December 2006.
Response form is available in Word format
Please respond by:
- posting your consultation response to:
Early Years and Childcare Workforce Review Team
2B-North
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQIf you don't have internet access you can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.
If you have any queries please e-mailEYCWorkforceReview@scotland.gsi.gov.ukor phone Steven Bell on 0131 244 7657.
We would be grateful if you could clearly indicate in your response which questions or parts of the consultation paper you are responding to (using the consultation questionnaire if appropriate) as this will aid our analysis of the responses received.
For future engagement:
SEConsult
A new email alert system for SE consultations (SEconsult) was launched in December 2003. This system will allow stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new SE consultations (including web links). SEconsult will complement, but in no way replace, SE distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to "keep an eye" on all SE consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We encourage you to register as soon as possible.
Access to consultation responses
We will make all responses available to the public in the Scottish Executive library by 16 February 2007 unless confidentiality is requested. All responses not marked confidential will be checked for any potentially defamatory material before being logged in the library or placed on the website.
Please photocopy this form or download it from the website, complete the details requested and ensure you include it with your consultation response.
Consultation Questions from Within Main Report
For convenience the consultation questions from within the main Review Report are grouped together in this annex. The page numbers have been provided to help you refer back to the sections of the main report these questions came from.
Roles and Responsibilities (Section 2: pages 10 ~ 16)
The main challenge identified in this section is how to create a coherent early years and childcare workforce which shares common roles and responsibilities, and which has a shared understanding of its contribution to securing the best outcomes for children.
1 | What are the barriers to developing a coherent early years and childcare workforce with a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities? How can they be overcome? |
The main proposal is to develop a single shared framework of roles and responsibilities for the early years and childcare workforce that is based on the vision for children and young people.
2 | To what extent does the Roles and Responsibilities Framework provide a useful basis for developing a shared professional identity across the early years and childcare workforce, and for driving forward the integrated working agenda? |
3 | Does the Roles and Responsibilities Framework reflect what workers in all sectors of the workforce are likely to be doing as services develop over the coming years? |
4 | Is the Roles and Responsibilities Framework a useful basis for developing professional qualifications in the sector? |
Career Pathways (Section 3: pages 17 ~ 22)
This section highlights some of the current barriers to career pathways in early years and childcare e.g. qualification structures, cultural differences or misconceptions across the different parts of the workforce, wide differences in pay and conditions between parts of the sector, and a lack of advice about career development opportunities.
5 | How accurately does this reflect career pathways in the early years and childcare sector at the moment? |
The proposals are high level principles that should enable workers to pursue a career pathway while ensuring that employers have the flexibility to deliver services to meet local circumstances.
6 | How effective will these proposals be in promoting career pathways across the different parts of the early years and childcare sector, and more widely? |
7 | Are there other ways to promote career pathways? |
Qualifications, Training and Development (Section 4: pages 23 ~ 32)
This section outlines the case for a more integrated qualification structure which supports career pathways and integrated working.
8 | What are your views on a single qualifications framework with a shared base (or "common core") for the whole early years and childcare sector? (this includes early years workers, out of school care workers, playworkers, childminders and others) |
The Review proposes a case for higher levels of qualification in the early years and childcare workforce.
9 | The Review proposes that services should be led by SCQF level 9 (ordinary degree or work-based equivalent) qualified professionals? Should it be higher than SCQF level 9? Why? |
The Review proposes that there should be higher levels of qualification for practitioners and support workers.
10 | Many workers will develop their skills and knowledge through continuing professional development. What are the important features of a CPD framework for the early years and childcare workforce? |
Recruitment and Retention (Section 5: pages 33 ~ 40)
This section makes a case for improving the status of working in early years and childcare as the fundamental step to improving recruitment and retention of staff.
11 | How accurately does the report reflect the issues that affect the status of work in early years and childcare sector at the moment? |
12 | Are there factors other than status that affect recruitment and retention of staff? |
The Review proposes a number of ways to improve the status of the workforce, e.g. increasing professionalisation of the workforce (more coherent identity to the workforce, increased qualification expectations), and awareness raising about the value of working in the sector and the skill involved.
13 | To what extent do you think that the proposals in the Review improve the status of the early years and childcare workforce? |
14 | How do we ensure the sharing of good practice on recruitment and retention? |
15 | How do you think we can attract men and other under represented groups into the sector? |
Workforce Planning (Section 6: pages 41 ~ 46)
This section outlines the case for all organisations to undertake workforce planning now, in order to deliver the type of workforce we will need to deliver services in the future.
16 | How accurately does this analysis capture the key challenges that face the early years and childcare sector regarding workforce planning? |
17 | Considering each of the attributes of workforce planning described in this section, what activities are you aware of that currently take place to help achieve each of them? Do different activities occur at an individual (business) level, local level and national level? |
18 | What needs to happen at a local level for effective workforce planning to take place? What needs to happen at a national level? Why? |
Early Years and Childcare - A Developing Profession (Section 7: pages 47 ~ 51)
This section sets out the conclusion of the Review which is that we need to build on the existing steps that the sector has been taking towards an even more professional workforce if we are to deliver the best possible services for children and young people.
19 | The Review sets out proposals intended to create a single, coherent profession for all those working in early years and childcare. Are there other actions which would support the development of a single profession? |
20 | What are your views on the title "pedagogue" within a Scottish context? |
21 | How would you like to see the early years and childcare workforce named? |
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