Government efforts to focus on continuing professional development (CPD) will be severely restricted by funding rules, a leading early years professor has warned.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is expected to launch its children's workforce strategy soon. Helen Walker, deputy director of the DCSF's children's workforce team, said the government wants to see "a focus on training and CPD" in the strategy.
But Denise Hevey, professor of early years at the University of Northampton, said this wouldn't be possible because the Higher Education Funding Council for England will not fund graduates who wish to take extra accredited courses that are equivalent or lower than their existing qualification. This would leave early years practitioners to find the funding for CPD themselves.
