The Early Years Workforce Strategy, published in April, made a number of commitments to support Early Years Teachers, but this may have come too late for those running Early Years Teacher training courses. ‘There has been a decrease in numbers every year since we started,’ says Ruth Pearson, cohort lead – EYTS at Bishop Grosseteste University. ‘We are considering not providing the course next year, in line with other providers that have closed courses.’
Last year, Nursery World found that 18 providers who were accredited to run the course had decided against offering Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT). ‘We are running one work-based route, where in the past we ran three routes,’ says Eunice Lumsden, head of early years at the University of Northampton.
‘It’s heart-wrenching, because we completely believe in this course and this profession, but at the end of the day we are sending them into a workforce that isn’t rewarding them for being experts in their field,’ says Ms Pearson. ‘Students have returned to the workforce to the same level of pay that they left to join the course.’
LOW NUMBERS
The role of Early Years Teacher (EYT) was introduced in 2013 in a move to create a graduate-led workforce, following the previous supposedly equivalent role of the Early Years Professional. Despite funding of up to £14,000 per trainee in grants and bursaries, there were just 654 new entrants to EYITT in academic year 2016 to 2017, not including those on the assessment-only route, the quickest of four pathways to the qualification. The only year for which figures are available when Government came close to meeting its 2,400 target was 2013-14 (2,327 recruits).
Part of the reason for this is a debate over the true equivalence of the qualification with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The Government says Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) is ‘equivalent’ to QTS because the entry requirements are the same, but this is arguable. EYTs are not able to lead nursery or Reception classes in maintained schools without QTS, meaning they don’t get the pay or conditions that teachers do. The workforce strategy has committed to opening a consultation on amending regulations to change this. EYTs can work in PVI settings, although many of these cannot afford to pay the salaries Early Years Teachers feel their status should bring them.
‘Nurseries only need employ Level 3s, why would they employ a Level 7 who has the expectation they would be rewarded for that?’ asks Ms Pearson. ‘I have spoken to early years settings who are worried that if Early Years Teachers are rewarded with QTS and claim the financial rate they deserve, particularly with the impact of the 30 hours, they won’t be able to afford to pay them.
‘That cost may end up being passed on to parents, and will the Government do something that angers parents?’
UNAFFORDABLE?
Early Years Teachers can currently lead classes in academies, which is a route many are taking, according to Dr Lumsden. ‘Academies are already employing Early Years Teachers in their schools, more and more of our students are working in academies rather than PVIs,’ she says. ‘Many want to look at working in two-year-old provision.’
The distinction seems bizarre to many, however. ‘I can teach in an academy but not a maintained school – but the children are the same, so what is the difference?’ asks manager Emma Davis, EYT.
Even in academies, EYTs are being paid as unqualified teachers, according to Ms Pearson. ‘One hundred per cent came out with outstanding grades this year, but they have struggled to find employment,’ she says. ‘We have had students go to work in academies, but they are only paid as unqualified teachers. At some points in the year we have had to do a lot to keep students going in terms of their own well-being. We attended a careers fair in January where providers and agencies came to recruit: they all turned away those with EYTS and it was hard to get through that day.’
‘Early Years Teachers are disillusioned and many feel that this wasn’t what they had signed up for,’ says Ms Davis. ‘Some of our cohort applied for jobs and were told by head teachers that they hadn’t even heard of EYTS.’
The issue of graduates as the answer to raising standards in the early years has been seized upon by a number of charities looking to target disadvantage.
The Fair Education Alliance, which includes Save The Children, has called for the Government to ensure that all nurseries in deprived areas are led by a qualified Early Years Teachers within three years.
In the workforce strategy, the Government pledged to the vaguer goal of developing a programme to grow the graduate workforce in disadvantaged areas. The strategy also commits to reviewing the EYITT routes to ensure they are maximising the impact of the programme, as well as ‘considering how wider work on strengthening Qualified Teacher Status could offer positive opportunities for raising the status of Early Years Teachers’.
The Department for Education has been unable to say exactly what this means, and in response to an FOI request the department said strengthening QTS would include ‘engaging with current providers of ITT, other key stakeholders, and the wider teaching profession… At this stage, we have not confirmed any specific details.’
This is generally felt to be long overdue and signs are that progress is questionable. The workforce strategy was published in April, and little if any work appears to have taken place so far, with no sign of the promised consultation. The Department for Education won’t go into details about what work, if any, has been carried out so far.
‘We are considering a range of approaches to increasing the number of graduates employed in the early years sector, but work is still under way,’ says a spokesperson. ‘We will engage the sector in exploring ways to target support where it is most needed. We continue to support graduates into the sector through our funding of the Early Years Initial Teacher Training programme, including bursaries and employer incentives.’
‘The issue is that the consultation hasn’t taken place, and it needs to very quickly. The sector needs to express their views and know what the direction of travel is,’ says Dr Lumsden. ‘There is a shortage of staff and difficulties in recruiting to courses. Changes to apprenticeships and GCSEs and difficulties in recruiting to the foundation degree means there won’t be the through-flow of graduates to EYTS.’
‘Our assessment of what is happening is that work is ongoing, but the unexpected general election probably delayed things,’ says Jamilla Hinds-Brough, senior government relations advisor at Save the Children. ‘We are taking the Government at its word, and trying to feed into that work. We have been clear about the eventual need for some additional funding to allow nurseries to employ Early Years Teachers, but it is not the only issue – there are also issues around CPD, career progression, and attracting Early Years Teachers to the workplace.’
Ms Davis feels that early years should be recognised as a separate specialism within teaching. ‘I would like to see not just QTS, but Early Years QTS, as Early Years Teachers have special skills. I would not want to end up teaching Year 6 children, but I would be very confident teaching in a nursery or Reception class, as that is what I have been trained to do,’ she says.
Some providers are now offering conversion courses to enable EYTS holders to gain QTS. Bromley Schools’ Collegiate’s course is one of several to offer additional training to bridge the gap between the EYTS standards and QTS, with placements available for those who are not already employed.
The role of Early Years Teacher remains a vital one, says Dr Lumsden. ‘I truly believe in it because of the wide breadth of the standards,’ she says. ‘Children need a quality workforce with a degree level of awareness, able to apply theoretical knowledge to practice.’
The Government also seems to support the idea of a qualified workforce, but needs to back that up with action, including putting Early Years Teachers on a par with QTS in terms of salary as well as status, says Ms Pearson. ‘The Government put a lot of funding into the course early on and claims to support well-qualified people,’ she says. ‘If the result of the consultation is yes, students who have EYTS will be able to teach in a maintained school, I will be happy – but it still needs backing up with the money.’
For the rest of the articles in this series, see our Workforce Strategy Management Guide
