The A to Z of Early Years. June O'Sullivan

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СКАЧАТЬ levy funds, would be a very helpful move.

      According to the Ofsted Annual Report (2019a), there is a shift away from apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3 (GCSE/A-level equivalents) towards levels 4 to 7 (degree equivalents) although fewer people do the higher apprentice programmes. The world of apprentices may also be further destabilised with the introduction of the new two-year technical study programme known as T-levels. This classroom-based training was designed by employers to give young people the skills their industry needs and includes a 45-day industry placement. T-levels will become one of three major options for post-16 students to study at Level 3. The other two are apprenticeships, for those who wish to study and train ‘on the job’ for a specific occupation, or A-levels. T-level students will have the option to progress on to university degree courses, but there are reservations from universities, who have the power to accept or reject the qualifications.

      As a provider of apprenticeships, I am concerned that the T-levels will detract from occupational apprentices and knock them even further down the hierarchy. There is a bias towards university among parents, press and schools. Apprenticeships are often seen as a less credible career option because university is considered the key to a successful and prosperous future. They believe in the promise of what is often called the ‘graduate premium', a reference to the gap of at least £10,000 between the salary of a graduate and an apprentice. However, there is evidence from the Million Jobs campaign that for over a third of all graduates (39%) lifetime earnings are below those of the average higher apprentice and nearly half (46%) of those from post-1992 universities earn less than higher apprentices. We need more of this kind of evidence that measures apprenticeships against universities, to challenge misconceptions that remain prevalent in the minds of many school leavers, parents and teachers.

      Today's apprentices must be on training for twelve months (one day a week), and also be paid at least the minimum wage and have sick pay, holiday pay and any work benefits offered, including access to employer training programmes. All apprentices must now complete an independent end-point assessment at the conclusion of their training to confirm that they have achieved occupational competence. Good organisations will often provide some preparation support to help young apprentices step into learning. These preparation programmes are often seen as a ‘nice to have’ but they are very important to prepare young people, often just out of school, to become work ready.

      Many young people can only do an apprenticeship if they live at home, as their wages are too low to cover rent, travel and the rising cost of living. For more vulnerable young people with less family support, this is particularly troubling. For example, there are 800,000 young people classified as Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET), which has a detrimental impact on their physical and mental wellbeing and often leads to a very unhappy life of crime and poverty. Yet we know that by supporting them into apprenticeships, we can give them a head start. It makes no sense to overlook our responsibility for our future generation.

      Childcare is a sector that has welcomed apprentices, not least because in a sector struggling with recruiting sufficient good-quality staff, apprenticeships are the most effective pipeline. Taking apprentices, integrating them into the culture of the organisation, and providing the training and work experience can be the perfect solution for both the employer and the apprentice. The risk is that the apprentice is only as good as the organisation which trains and employs them. A programme that does not build in regular, relevant and robust training and mentoring is failing the apprentice. This is not a cheap option. Good apprentices need a great learning experience, if they are to succeed. The majority of apprentices are trained through independent learning providers: in 2019 that was 457,000 out of a total of 735,000. In the Ofsted Annual Report for that year there was a reference to their concern about quality, especially learning and assessment of progress, access to off-the-job training and the competence of the teaching staff. Half of the provision inspected was judged as requiring improvement or inadequate. As a great advocate of apprentices this worries me, as it can damage the already fragile reputation of apprenticeships as a very credible route to employment.

      In an underfunded sector, there is always the risk that some organisations will use apprentices as cheap labour. Desperation may drive such behaviour. Getting the funding right is critical to ensuring apprentices are trained by well-qualified and capable staff who are able to deliver the best education to all children.

      Apprenticeships are a major part of education and training. Employers must take a lead in developing, implementing and monitoring apprenticeship programmes that will add value to the sector. My small contribution to this was creating a qualification for chefs working in the early years who have much to offer, especially in educating staff and parents about healthy meals for small children. The Level 2 Diploma in Food Production and Cooking in Early Years is the result of my efforts, and is now available through an apprentice route for budding chefs interested in becoming experts in cooking for small children (www.qualhub.co.uk/qualification-search/qualification-detail/level-2-diploma-in-food-production-and-cooking-in-early-years-78).

      Call to Action

      Celebrate and support great apprentices. Join the voices of employers, politicians, schools, colleges and apprentices together to tell the country about why apprentices are a great investment. Let's campaign to raise the status of apprentices nationally.

      Follow on Twitter

       @App4england

       @Apprenticeships

       @Cache

       @nicklinford

      Further Reading

      Bradbury, A. and Wynne, V. (2020) The Apprentice's Guide to End Point Assessment. London: Sage.

      Meggit, C. (2006) Child Development: An Illustrated Guide, 2nd edn. London: Heinemann.

      Tassoni, P. (2012) Practical EYFS Handbook. London: Pearson.

      B is for Babies

      Working life is such today that many people have to seek work in towns or cities away from their existing family networks. Our economy has increasingly becoming a two-person economy. The impact of both those shifts was often felt when a child was born. New parents found themselves far away from family networks and willing grandparents, but still needing childcare to enable them to continue to work. In other words, they needed a strong accessible and high-quality childcare infrastructure.

      For the most part the maternity systems are designed to allow a parent to stay at home for up to approximately twelve months with some level of pay. According to the annual Office for National Statistics figures, 75% of mothers return to work (Office for National Statistics, 2019a). That means we are welcoming babies into nurseries aged anywhere between six and twelve months, although more recently we have been increasingly requested to settle babies into nursery aged four months. This is more common among women who work for international companies in senior positions where there is a limited maternity allowance and also a greater risk of losing their position. This is another strand of work that perhaps needs a feminist perspective.

      When a parent arrives at a childcare setting with a small baby, their first impressions are based on how we support them. Parents, mostly mothers, are anxious about trusting their babies into the care of a stranger. They are weighed down by the practical issues such as breast feeding, infant feeding and introducing solids, and sleep or the lack of it. How we respond builds the foundation of a successful relationship within which a baby СКАЧАТЬ