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CHAPTER 9: WORKFORCE PLANNING
9.1 The main consultation stated:
We know that the early years and childcare sector is changing rapidly and developing to meet the needs, demands and aspirations of children and their families. Growth in the sector has brought significant changes to the numbers and range of people working in it. The people working within the sector are the essential resource to support the delivery of quality services.
There are some key challenges currently facing the sector. The move towards delivering more joined up services, which meet the individual needs of all children and families, places continuing demands on the workforce to respond to change, to be flexible and responsive and to move away from traditional roles.
Although initiatives such as the central funding for early years and childcare workforce development are steadily increasing the numbers of qualified childcare workers, a significant core of staff remain unqualified. Qualification pathways are still complex and somewhat disjointed. We continue to need to raise the status of work in early years and childcare and to improve career opportunities and movement across the sector.
In order for services to meet these challenges, local and national workforce planning is needed to ensure we can continue to provide flexible, appropriate and consistent quality, early years and childcare services not and in the future.
The main consultation asked:
Q16: HOW ACCURATELY DOES THIS ANALYSIS CAPTURE THE KEY CHALLENGES THAT FACE THE EARLY YEARS AND CHILDCARE SECTOR REGARDING WORKFORCE PLANNING?
Overall, 78% of respondents to the main consultation addressed this question.
It was difficult to quantify precisely the number of respondents who considered that the analysis captured the key challenges facing the sector as most consultees provided a general agreement with the analysis but highlighted one or two other elements which they thought should also be mentioned or emphasised more. Against this background, it could be said that around 60% of respondents indicated that they thought that the key challenges were broadly covered.
However, amongst these consultees were many who questioned where the funding would come from to put in place necessary changes to the sector. Many thought that ring-fenced monies should be allocated. Others urged that the Workforce Development Fund continue after 2008. One view was that this section of the consultation document was weak partly on account of its failure to link proposals to permanent sources of funding ( TP).
Other consultees considered this section to be weak because in their view it did not link workforce planning to the SSSC, Care Commission, and Scottish Credit and Qualifications Frameworks ( LA, Rep, CP). Another view was that the proposals should state how the workforce planning issues will be integrated with the Children's Service Planning Framework (Rep).
Others made further recommendations. A few called for the setting up of robust information and data sharing between agencies in order to facilitate workforce planning ( LA, Rep). A call was made for organisations to undertake succession planning ( LA).
A word of caution was raised by one respondent who considered that workforce planning should accommodate a possible drop-off in staffing at first as people who did not wish to take qualifications left the workforce ( LA). One other cautionary note was that efforts should be made to limit the extent of duplication of effort in workforce planning ( LA).
A number of more specific suggestions were made by a small number of consultees relating to elements of challenges which respondents felt were missing or underplayed by the analysis in the consultation document:
- Differences in circumstances between rural and urban settings
- Discrepancies in pay and conditions within the workforce
- Need for higher qualification levels for managers in smaller establishments
- Number of new initiatives and projects coming on-stream
- Pace of change
- Continually changing political climate
- Workforce planning amongst committee-led establishments
Three respondents called for more work to be undertaken to consider these issues further (Rep, Rep, Rep).
9.2 The main consultation stated:
Rather than develop a single workforce planning model for the sector, we have set out some high level and generic attributes of an organisation that uses a workforce planning system which all organisations, regardless of their size or sector could use. We are clear that workforce planning needs to take place at national, local and individual provider level.
Attributes of an organisation which plans its workforce:
- Obtains and retains the number of people it needs with the skills, expertise and competencies required
- Makes the best use of its employers
- Is able to anticipate the problems of surpluses or shortages of employees
- Can develop a well trained and flexible workforce
- Reduces its dependence on external recruitment when key skills are in short supply
The main consultation asked:
Q17: CONSIDERING EACH ATTRIBUTE 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?
This question attracted a relatively lower volume of responses from 65% of respondents to the main consultation.
Around one-quarter of these consultees (largely childcare providers and individuals) remarked that in general, pro-active workforce planning was not well developed and tended to be more reactive than strategic. One respondent remarked that it had been difficult for planning to keep up with the rapid expansion in services (Rep). Others commented that individual organisations were not likely to be paying much attention to workforce planning (Rep), or that such planning presented significant challenges for smaller, independent businesses ( LA).
A contrasting view was that all organisations plan their workforce to some extent, for example, by planning recruitment, interviewing, advertising and so on (Rep, Rep, Rep).
Several consultees (representative organisations, childcare providers and individuals) argued that strategic planning was hampered by what they saw as the current piecemeal attitude towards funding.
A few commented that workforce planning was a national issue (Rep) with Scottish Executive policies having the biggest influence on future plans of organisations ( LA).
9.2.1 Examples of Workforce Planning
Where examples of workforce planning were provided these were, in the main, evident at local authority level.
A common theme was that childcare partnerships were key players in promoting workforce planning. It was reported that such partnerships held promotional events (Rep, Rep); facilitated cross-sector planning ( TP); encouraged planning with voluntary and private sectors (Rep); helped to provide grants, support and training ( CP, CP, LA); forged links with local business development ( LA); hosted strategic childcare partnership forums ( CP); and undertook annual training needs analyses (Indiv). An example was given of the childcare partnership in East Ayrshire which audits areas of service and identifies specific gaps for attention ( CP).
Other consultees provided examples of planning work by local authorities. It was remarked that local authorities were taking steps which will lead to local workforce development plans for all children's services ( CP). Others commented on the relevance of the Integrated Children's Services Agenda to workforce planning ( LA, Rep). Councils were described as undertaking staff audits ( TP), and holding regular inter-agency discussion groups ( LA). One local authority respondent outlined how they encouraged staff to work in more than one area of the sector and ran a staff "bank" to help with supply cover. Another council identified its Early Education Training Advisory Group as contributing to its workforce planning. Some respondents pointed out that many local authorities liaised closely with their respective FE colleges to try to match supply and demand ( CP, Rep). Others funded development worker posts with remits covering workforce planning ( CP, LA). It was reported that some authorities had dedicated staff working on research and planning which fed into early years and childcare strategy ( CProv).
A specific example was given of the Aberdeen Children and Young People's Strategic Planning Group which undertakes workforce planning, including producing a careers' guidance pack for career fairs ( LA, CP). Another example was of a high level working group in Edinburgh which considers how best to use existing staff to support the delivery of integrated services incorporating education, child and family support and health services for young children and their families ( LA).
A few consultees reported that some degree of workforce planning went on in individual organisations. The regular team meetings held by some was noted ( CP). Others reported annual appraisals and training needs analyses (Indiv). It was commented that centre managers were starting to give more attention to business development and staff skills after having taken the SVQ Level 4 award ( TP). One consultee highlighted the annual training needs analysis undertaken by their local out-of-school-care establishment (Rep).
A small number of respondents commented that much data required for workforce planning was already being collected by virtue of, for example, the public sector annual census linked to pre-school provision ( CP, Rep); annual statistics collected from nurseries (Rep, Rep); census and birthrate data ( CP); and local databases holding information on childcare workers ( LA).
9.3 The main consultation asked:
Q18: WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT A LOCAL LEVEL FOR EFFECTIVE WORKFORCE PLANNING TO TAKE PLACE? WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT A NATIONAL LEVEL? WHY?
9.3.1 Local Level Action
A total of 69% of respondents to the main consultation made comments on the action they considered should be taken at local level to facilitate effective workforce planning.
One respondent considered workforce planning to be a national issue and therefore not for local bodies (Rep). The others made the following suggestions:
- Local bodies should implement national strategies with local vision aligned to national policy (many consultees from a variety of categories)
- There should be much more strategic and joined up work across local authority departments (e.g. councils should see that quality early years and childcare provision is integrated into community planning and economic development) (mainly consultees from local authorities and childcare partnerships)
- The profile and use of Integrated Children's Services Planning should be increased (mainly local authority consultees)
- There should be closer inter-agency working between local authorities, childcare providers, training providers, the careers services, and local enterprise companies (many consultees from a variety of categories)
- Decision-makers should listen more to the views of local organisations ( CProv and eight individuals)
- There should be better communication between local authorities, the voluntary and private sectors ( CProv, Rep, Rep, Rep, TP)
- Systematic collection of management information is needed, such as demographic trends ( CP), monitoring of workforce ( CProv, CProv), identification of gaps ( CP, LA, LA, LA, Rep), evidence on successful interventions ( TP), and data on actual and potential users of services ( LA)
- There should be more investment (Rep, CProv, CProv), for training ( LA, CProv), for staff to travel in rural areas ( CP), for IT ( LA), and a rationalisation of funding so as to avoid duplication (Rep, Rep)
- Need strong local leadership and the development of local leadership skills (Rep, LA, CProv, TP)
- Need local training opportunities (Indiv, Indiv, CP, LA)
- More sharing of information (Rep, TP)
- More focus on the role of childcare partnerships in planning (Rep, Rep, LA)
9.3.2 National Level Action
A total of 72% of respondents to the main consultation made comments on the action they considered should be taken at national level to facilitate effective workforce planning.
The following suggestions were made:
- Clear guidance and vision (many consultees largely from local authorities and childcare partnerships)
- Realistic and sustained funding (possibly ring-fenced for training) (many consultees representing a range of categories)
- Joint working amongst national organisations such as Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise, SSSC, Sector Skills Councils, CoSLA, training providers, Department of Work and Pensions (many consultees representing a range of categories)
- Robust and relevant data gathering and sharing (many consultees representing a range of categories)
- National commitment from all sectors to the consultation proposals (largely individual respondents)
- Training and recruitment materials to be commissioned nationally (Rep, Rep); to be consistent ( CP); with support for training providers to increase their capacity ( LA, TP), and opportunities for people to achieve the qualifications they need ( LA)
- Clear communication with decision-makers listening to the views of organisations affected by the proposals (mainly individual respondents)
- Introduction of national pay and conditions ( CProv, CProv, CP, TP, LA)
- Promotion of consistent standards possibly through legislation (Indiv, CP); with rigorous procedures to ensure equal opportunities across the sector ( LA, CP); and prescriptive approach with FE colleges regarding accreditation of prior learning, styles of delivery, and so on ( CProv)
- National profile raising campaign ( CP)
- More involvement with learning networks across areas (Rep)
- Openness regarding how decisions across the sector are made ( LA)
In addition, one respondent recommended some attention be given to the physical accommodation requirements of the sector ( CProv).
9.4 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
- The majority (60%) of respondents who provided a view indicated that they thought that the key challenges that face the early years and childcare sector regarding workforce planning were broadly covered by the analysis presented in the consultation document.
- A few consultees called for workforce planning of the sector to be more clearly linked to that of other related organisations such as SSSC, the Care Commission and the SCQF.
- A substantial minority of respondents (around one-quarter) remarked that in their view workforce planning was not well developed and tended to be more reactive than strategic.
- Where examples of workforce planning were provided these were, in the main, evident at local authority level, for example, childcare partnerships were involved in activities such as facilitating cross-sector planning and undertaking training needs analyses; local authorities were, inter alia, taking steps which will lead to local workforce development plans for all children's services and undertaking staff audits.
- A common theme was that childcare partnerships were key players in promoting workforce planning.
- Many recommendations were made for action at local level to enable workforce planning to take place, including the implementation of national strategies at local level by local bodies, and more strategic and joined up work across local authority departments.
- Many recommendations were made for action at national level to enable workforce planning to take place, including the provision of clear guidance and vision, and realistic and sustained funding.
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