Transcript National Children’s Bureau

Childminders: training
qualifications and
professionalism in England
Workshop presentation for
Quality Employment in Care Work with
Young Children
European conference,
Brussels April 21st- 22nd 2008
Sue Owen
Director, Early Childhood Unit, National
Children’s Bureau, England
What are the elements of
professionalism for
childminding?
To quote Moss (2003):
 Improved employment
conditions
 Rising levels of educational
qualifications
 Job related training
 The prospect of career
progression
 Distinctive pedagogical
approaches
Some factors which research studies have
shown to be important in predicting higher
quality provision:
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“Intentionality”, the positive choice to be a provider
Training to do that specific job
Support networks and contacts
Adequate regulatory standards
Small to moderate sized groups of children
Good communication between provider and parent
An orderly physical environment appropriate to
children’s activities
A wide range of activities and toys
A safe and healthy environment
A sensitive and responsive relationship between
provider and child.
Also: a good general level of education
Clarke-Stewart, 1987; Pence and Goelman, 1991; Hennessey and others 1992; Galinsky and others,
1994; Kontos and others, 1995
Mandy Riley: registered
childminder in Middlesbrough in
the north east of England
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A childminder for 2 years, she began when
her own child needed childcare
Had always loved children and enjoyed
having them around “my house was
always filled with children anyway”
Had a background in care work as a health
care assistant and training for playgroup
work
6 weeks introductory training preregistration (required)
Paediatric first aid (required)
Criminal Records Bureau checks
(required)
After registration:
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Diploma in Home Based Childcare
(nationally accreditation
qualification at level 3)
Short training courses including:
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Parents Early Years and Learning
(PEAL)has registered for
accreditation
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Common Assessment Framework
(CSF)
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Supporting Inclusion
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Early Years Foundation Stage
training (Communication, Language
and Literacy and Social and
Emotional Development)
And…..
 Mandy has a waiting list, all
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through word of mouth
contacts
She is part of her local
authority’s network on
listening to the voices of
young children and speaks
about this at conferences but
has not joined a quality
assured network
She has made a video on her
children’s development of
their fire drill
The Childminders
Brian Jackson, New Society 1973
“I suspect, the biggest group of all are
what we might call maternal minders.
They half see minding as a career.
They are not grasping for money…they
are not cruel….They see the “good”
child as the quiet, undemanding,
physically static child. The talking,
playing, exploratory creature is the
“naughty” child.”
How far does her training pattern
meet the requirements we
considered yesterday?
 on-going, not one-off
 leading to recognised
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qualifications
accessible in terms of finance and
timings
arising from their own debates
and situations
linked to improved pay and
conditions (career progression
and status)
Diploma in Home based
Childcare training figures for
2007
New
courses
enrolments
completed
passed
Unit 1
347
4461
4144
3728
Unit 2
43
602
408
372
Unit 3
45
584
362
358
Unit 4
33
510
352
356
Unit 5
28
422
273
273
Other current statistics
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There has been an increase in childminders
undertaking training from 61% in 2003 to
88% in 2005. Most childminders contribute to
their own training costs
The proportion of childminders reported as
holding “any relevant qualification” has risen
from 34% in 2001 to 64% in 2003 and 65%
in 2005.[
There is a substantial increase in the
proportion of childminders holding at least a
Level 3 relevant qualification (from 16 per
cent in 2003 to 26 per cent in 2005 and 26.2
per cent in 2007).[
65,000 people have registered to undertake
the Introduction to Childminding Practice
(level 1) qualification since Sept 2000; 8500
to under the Developing Childminding
Practice (one of the units of a level 3)
qualification and 5000 the Certificate in
Childminding Practice (level 3) qualification
Quality assurance:
• There are around 400 quality
assured childminding networks in
England and Wales of which 383
are NCMA Children Come First
quality assured networks
• This means there are over
10,000 NCMA quality assured
network childminders
• Additionally, 3347 childminders
are undertaking Quality First,
NCMA’s individual quality
assurance scheme
Relationship between training
and professionalism
“The majority of childminders do see
themselves as professional childcare workers.
Yet less than a quarter considered it very
important for childminders to have a childcare
qualification and only a third thought it was
very important for childminders to attend
training courses…
The majority of case study childminders felt
that a childcare qualification was less important
to them in their work than the experience of
being a parent…
Those with a childcare qualification were much
more likely to say that it is training rather than
the experience of parenting which is more
valuable”
Mooney A, Knight A, Moss P and Owen C (2001) Who Cares?:
childminding in the 1990s, London , Joseph Rowntree Foundation
and Family Policy Studies Centre
Early Years Professional
Status (EYPS)
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A graduate in every childcare setting
the Children’s Workforce Development Council
(CWDC) published the updated Early Years
Professional National Standards on 18 July
2006.
Those awarded EYP status must demonstrate
through their practice that they meet standards
regarding:
• knowledge and understanding;
• effective practice;
• relationships with children;
• communicating and working in
partnership with families and carers;
• teamwork and collaboration;
• professional development.
There are 39 standards in all. Guidance to the
standards is being drafted.
Contacts and more
information:
Sue Owen (NCB)
[email protected]
NCMA
www.ncma.org.uk