Many people can’t wait to put their school days behind them, but a bad experience at school can have knock-on effects throughout a person’s life, affecting their employment, income, social status and wellbeing.
There have been concerns about the educational levels of the early years workforce for some years. According to the Education Policy Institute, for example, the female childcare workforce is significantly less qualified than the female workforce in general: a third of female childcare workers had left full-time education at age 16, and 65.8 per cent by age 18.
In the past, there has been a feeling in the sector that young people are steered towards childcare if they are struggling academically. ‘Students who either didn’t have any GCSEs or had very low levels would be advised to go down the “hair or care route”,’ says Jackie Musgrave, programme lead for Early Childhood and Education Studies at the Open University, and previously a lecturer at Solihull College. ‘However, we also had many students who would come in to do the A-Level equivalent diploma work-based learning, and then go on to university.’
Today’s careers advisers tend to have a better knowledge of early years pathways, says Andrea Layzell, workforce development leader at St Edmund’s Nursery School. However, she says, it is still the case that more academic students are steered towards teaching rather than early years.
Lack of confidence
Lower levels of education are not just associated with numeracy and literacy difficulties, but can also result in a lack of cultural and social capital. Research from Cardiff University found higher education levels are associated with higher levels of political interest, social trust, health and wellbeing, and lower levels of hostile attitudes towards immigrants. A Government study found attaining five or more GCSEs (A*-C) is strongly associated with higher levels of life satisfaction.
Of course, a bad experience at school does not mean that a student will fail to be an excellent early education worker, and many who struggled at school flourish under a more hands-on learning environment. However, a poor experience at school can instil a lasting lack of confidence. The Cardiff University study found the emphasis on attainment in today’s society makes it much harder for people with low levels of education to develop a positive social identity, which can negatively affect self-esteem and wellbeing.
‘The pool of workers from whom we draw our workforce overwhelmingly are those whose wellbeing and self-confidence may have been affected by not being the highest fliers at school,’ says Michael Freeston, director of quality improvement at the Early Years Alliance. ‘There is an additional responsibility on us to support that.’
Vulnerable children including young carers, looked-after children, those living in poverty and those with adverse childhood experiences are more likely to struggle at school, and their low attainment then puts them at risk of further disadvantage.
‘Professions that involve people skills attract people whose first educational experience hasn’t always been the best,’ says Eunice Lumsden, head of early years and associate professor at the University of Northampton. ‘It may not have been the best because of their adverse childhood experiences, which could be abuse, it could be poverty, it could be living in the margins, all of those factors we know impact on people’s education.’
Being ambitious
Early years settings can apply their approach to children’s learning to support their practitioners’ wellbeing. ‘The characteristics of effective learning that we have in the EYFS are actually what we should encourage in the adults,’ says Mr Freeston. Settings need to be ambitious for their staff in the same way they are for their children, he adds, stretching everyone to improve, regardless of the starting point. ‘The new EYFS makes a big play about practitioners using their “expert knowledge” but assumes that everybody has got that expertise,’ he says. ‘Our CPD programmes have to maintain this ambition for all of our practitioners to reach that level of expertise, and with that comes confidence to do your job, and hopefully that spills into your wider life as well.’
A lack of confidence can also impact practitioners’ relationships with parents, especially when they may have to talk to parents about an emotive issue. ‘Working with my own students, that’s definitely the area they struggle with,’ says Dr Verity Campbell-Barr, associate professor in early childhood studies at Plymouth Institute of Education. ‘I don’t think we do enough to talk to students about how to engage and talk with parents.’
Current school-leavers – Generation Z – have many of the same issues as those who left school 30 years ago, but there are some differences. ‘In the old days, you might have got a better calibre of writing, for example, because schools had more of a focus on traditional skills,’ says June O’Sullivan, chief executive of London Early Years Foundation. ‘Now they may be quite weak around some of that, but actually they are more open for debate and discussion, and more creative.’
One issue, however, is ‘text talk’, which needs to be rooted out, Ms O’Sullivan says, and another is difficulties in ‘switching code’. ‘We do struggle a bit with teaching them professional code, and also the ability to switch code, which a lot of them have not learned – we’re a respectful environment so therefore slang and street talk is left outside,’ she says. The nursery group has a range of tools to boost confidence, including getting staff involved in action research projects, coaching and mentoring, and regular supervision.
‘It’s important to realise that people don’t stop being themselves when they put their coats on the hanger and go into work,’ says Mr Freeston. ‘They are the sum of their experiences outside, and that has to be recognised by the organisational structure, and their colleagues.’
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust nurseries and National Numeracy
Cara Mitchell manages three nurseries for Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust: Butterfly Nursery in Hove, Hilltop Nursery in Brighton and Rainbow Nursery in Crawley. ‘One of our apprentices, Sharon, was in her fifties, and had been a hairdresser for 36 years before she decided to change her career,’ she says. ‘She was the most natural nursery nurse – you could not ask for anyone better – but she struggled with the thought of the functional skills tests, and kept saying “I can’t do it”.’
Sharon had failed her Functional Skills Mathematics exam more than once, and was very worried about it, but she was not the only apprentice who was struggling. Ms Mitchell decided the National Numeracy Challenge, a website that helps people learn the maths needed for everyday life, would help the apprentices to build their confidence. The website, created by charity National Numeracy, shows which areas need to be improved and provides the resources needed to build skills.
‘A lot of people can recite exact experiences from school as if they happened yesterday,’ says Ben Perkins, training development and delivery lead at National Numeracy. ‘People say things like “the teacher made me feel like I was just too thick”. Mostly people think that if they’ve struggled with maths, it’s because they are just not as intelligent as other people. And it takes some convincing to realise that actually the things that happened to them at school might have had an effect.’
Ms Mitchell set aside time for staff to use the office computers and all 32 members of staff, aged 18 to 64, took part – working towards a score of 80, which entitled them to a certificate. ‘Every time someone achieved their results we shared a photo of them with their certificate on social media so we could all celebrate together,’ says Ms Mitchell.
While improving numeracy allows staff to better support the children they work with, it also supports their own wellbeing, allowing them to progress further in their careers, helping them to manage their finances better and removing everyday anxiety. ‘People often describe it as there having been a demon on their back for a long time that has affected the way they view themselves and their own abilities, and getting rid of it has a halo effect where they see themselves and their capabilities differently,’ says Mr Perkins.
Ms Mitchell’s advice to other settings looking to improve numeracy is to tackle it as a group and take a mutually supportive approach. ‘It was really good for camaraderie,’ she says. ‘It’s lovely to see everyone helping each other. You get a real sense of empowerment once you get talking, comparing answers and different ways of working things out.’
The temptation for most employers offering maths support is to send people towards a local college, says Mr Perkins. ‘That’s really difficult for people who have the lowest competence, because they’ve got those negative associations,’ he explains. ‘So we give specific time to talk out these issues and understand from the learner how they’re feeling.’
The nursery group will now include the National Numeracy Challenge in its induction for new nursery staff, to help understand their current numeracy level and give them the support they need to develop.
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