YES - Deborah Lawson, chair, Professional Association of Teachers
Nationwide, our members are telling us that they feel that some studentsare not able to meet the criteria to look after children and providequality care.
For example, they've had students in the classroom and they say it'slike having another child there.
We are concerned that there is still a perception that anyone can lookafter children - some national recruitment campaigns have implied justthis. We need to look at introducing national minimum entrystandards.
NO - Steve Alexander, chief executive, Pre-school Learning Alliance Thiswas a very unhelpful contribution to the debate on suitablequalifications for childcare workers.
It denigrates a group of staff who are already experiencing low status,yet are hard-working, self-motivated and doing what has been recognisedby government as one of the most important jobs. There is a debate aboutsuitable vocational qualifications for people in early years.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
