Ofsted finds 'outstanding' nurseries more likely to have better-trained staff

In settings where 75 per cent of more of staff are qualified to NVQ Level 3 or above, 14 per cent of providers were rated outstanding. By comparison, just eight per cent of settings achieve the highest rating when 75 per cent of staff are below Level 3 standards.

In addition, settings with less than 75 per cent of Level 3-qualified staff were also twice as likely to be rated "inadequate", according to data from over 15,000 settings on the Early Years Register.

In August, the government U-turned on entry requirements for childcare training courses.

This meant that practitioners with Level 1 and 2 early years educator qualifications will now be able to go on to study the Level 3 qualification without first having to achieve a GCSE grade C or above in maths and English.

Ninety-eight per cent of providers employ Level 3 practitioners, according to National Day Nursery Association's (NDNA) 2015 Workforce Survey. They form the highest proportion of staff employed in nurseries, with 63 per cent of the workforce qualified to this level.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: “Research has showed that highly qualified staff have a positive impact on the quality of early years provision, and so we are unsurprised at these findings.

"Given that Ofsted inspectors are now expected to take qualifications into account when judging providers, we would expect this trend to continue going forward.
 
“The alliance continues to fully support ambitions to develop and maintain a highly-qualified early years workforce, though it is of course vital that there is also a recognition of the value of experience, compassion and a nurturing approach, alongside that of formal qualifications.”

Stella Ziolkowski, director of quality and workforce development at NDNA, said: “NDNA believes that for providers, employing a well-qualified, professional workforce, with clear career progression paths, is key to high-quality care and education.
 
“As part of the current funding review, ahead of free hours expansion in England, it’s crucial that the government takes into account the need for employers to fund staff learning and development as well as considering the impact of the national living wage and other financial pressures on providers.”