At a recent conference I listened to a presentation on the Early Years Professional initiative. As a training provider this development strikes me as very sound. It marks the coming of age of the childcare profession - a long-overdue opportunity to confirm its rightful status. But it concerned me to hear delegate after delegate complain that the 'validation pathway', designed to provide accreditation on the basis of existing experience, still stipulates at least a grade C GCSE in maths. Why this insistence?