Free childcare qualifications offered by government as part of Covid-19 recovery
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Free childcare training is being offered by the government, as part of a £95m package of measures aimed at supporting the UK's economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fully funded training includes a number of level 3 courses including Early Years Educators diplomas, such as early years workforce and children’s learning and development courses.
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Children's Workforce Guide to Qualifications and Training
The level 3 NVQ in playwork is also included and Early Years Educator’s Montessori pedagogy – birth to seven course and holistic baby and childcare programme are among other free level 3 diplomas on offer.
City and Guilds level 2 Technical Certificate in healthcare, care and childcare is also on the government’s list.
A full list of free courses can be found here.
The move has been welcomed by National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) chief executive Purnima Tanuku, who said the cost of courses had been a barrier for many students and early years employers.
“This is very positive news for childcare providers across the country and for young adults wanting to develop their careers in early years education,” she said.
“This could save students and employers thousands of pounds in fees so could remove a major barrier to starting the Early Years Educator course in the first place. We hope this will mean that many more people interested in teaching our youngest children will be able to take the first step on the ladder towards their ambitions."
She added: “Research has shown that children in early years benefit from being educated by staff with higher qualifications and greater levels of experience. Improving the access to these qualifications will support professional development in the sector.
“We know from our own early years workforce research that the numbers of level 3 qualified practitioners has dropped alarmingly in the last few years. Equally nurseries and other childcare providers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain level 3 qualified staff members.
“Employers will welcome this news as they will be able to develop their practitioners aged 24 and over who would not have been eligible for funding previously. This training will provide reward and recognition for these members of staff who might not have received it due to employers’ limited budgets."
Meanwhile, PACEY chief executive Liz Bayram added: “The inclusion of early years and childcare courses in this offer is important, as it will help providers upskill their existing staff and help address the long standing recruitment challenges in the sector.”
Michael Freeston, director of quality improvement at the Early Years Alliance, said: "We welcome the news that a number of level 3 early years courses are being included in the government's Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
“At a time when recruitment remains a real challenge for many early years businesses, we hope that enabling all adult learners to undertake these qualifications at no cost will provide a real boost for the sector.
"That said, ensuring that learners are able to easily access these funded courses will be vital to the success of this initiative and to that end, we urge the government to ensure that all registered training providers, and not just those with existing adult education contracts, are able to deliver these qualifications.
"Nevertheless, this is a positive announcement and one that rightly reflects the value of building a career in the early years."
In total the government is offering 400 free professional courses, in areas such as construction, adult social care, computing and design. The £95m cost is being met through the government’s £2.5bn National Skills Fund.
Proud to announce almost 400 free courses from engineering to agriculture and health & social care, start studying from April 2021 under our Lifetime Skills Guarantee, for adults without A Levels or equivalent. https://t.co/eVdWmk3XEJ #planforjobs
— Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) December 9, 2020
“These free qualifications will help open doors to better employment opportunities for thousands of adults and support businesses to access the workforce they need to grow,” said Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.
Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes added: “The qualifications will help people to get the skills they need in the labour market emerging from the pandemic so it is great to see that essential services like child and social care have been included alongside engineering, agriculture, construction and many others.”