Publication of More Great Childcare (January 2013) Information for Early Years Professionals

The Department for Education has published More Great Childcare (January 2013). This report sets out the Governments plans for improving quality in early education and child care. The publication includes the Government response to Professor Cathy Nutbrowns report Foundations for Quality published in June 2012. One of the Governments key priorities is to raise the status and quality of the workforce. The plan of action to achieve this includes the introduction of Early Years Teachers from September 2013, building on the strengths of the Early Years Professional Status programme. What is an Early Years Teacher? Early Years Teachers will be specialists in early childhood development, trained to work with babies and young children from birth to five. They will be graduate leaders responsible for organising and leading high quality practice in early years settings. To ensure that the training and assessment of Early Years Teachers is appropriate for trainees a set of Teachers Standards (Early Years) will be developed. These will build on the Early Years Professional Status Standards and operate in parallel with the current Teachers Standards. Those who successfully meet the Teachers Standards (Early Years) will be awarded Early Years Teacher Status. Why is the Government introducing Early Years Teachers? The Government wants to move decisively away from the idea that teaching young children is somehow less important or inferior to teaching school age children. As part of this we will build on the achievements of the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) programme by introducing Early Years Teachers to lead further improvements in quality. There are now over 11,000 Early Years Professionals across the country. Evidence from the Graduate Leader Fund final report in 2011, and the three-year Longitudinal Study of Early Years Professional Status (September 2012) shows that these graduate leaders are having a positive impact on the quality of early education and care for pre-school children. Does this mean the end of the Early Years Professional programme? In due course yes. The last recruitment to the EYPS programme will be January 2013. All candidates on the programme will be supported to complete their training. The new Early Years Teacher training programme will commence in September 2013. We are working closely with the EYPS training providers to enable a smooth transition and a continuous supply of graduates to support babies and young children. If EYPS is having such a beneficial effect, why change it? Professor Nutbrown identified concerns that Early Years Professionals do not have the status or public recognition that teachers have. The Governments vision is to increase the status of the

profession so that many more graduates consider a career in early years teaching. The change will give one title of teacher across the early years and schools which can be easily recognised by parents and colleagues in other agencies working with children. Does the Government believe Early Years Teachers will be better than Early Years Professionals? Early Years Professionals have had a positive impact on the quality of early education and care for pre-school children. The introduction of Early Years Teachers will build on the EYPS programme to raise the status of the early years workforce. The change will give one title of teacher across the early years and schools. I am an Early Years Professional. What does this change mean for me? Those who hold EYPS will continue to be valued as graduate leaders and will be recognised as the equivalent of Early Years Teachers. Early Years Teachers will be able to work in all private and voluntary sector settings. Free Schools, new mainstream and alternate provision academies, and existing academies can employ teaching staff without the requirement for them to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). QTS is currently a requirement for teachers working in the maintained sector. Will routes be available for Early Years Professionals to undertake further training to become an Early Years Teacher with QTS as suggested by Professor Nutbrown? Those with EYPS are graduates already trained specifically to work with babies and children from birth to five years. Existing Early Years Professionals will in future be seen as the equivalent of Early Years Teachers. Early Years Professionals will therefore not need to obtain QTS to increase their status, although routes are already available to QTS if they wish to take them.