Sector leaders are urging the Department for Education (DfE) to delay finalising its proposed funding reforms for early years apprenticeships in favour of a more ‘joined-up’ approach.
The proposals risk harming recruitment and even investment in young people because the rates are too low, it has been claimed.
The National Day Nurseries Association and the Pre-school Learning Alliance said that a priority should be wider agreement on the as yet unpublished workforce strategy.
With the move towards standards, the deadlock on adding a functional skills alternative to the GCSE requirement also needs to be resolved, they said.
Ross Midgley of PBD Early Years Training said that as drafted, the nationwide review is ‘pregnant with unintended consequences’ that risk counteracting its intended benefits. Predicted funding cuts of up to 60 per cent have prompted him to warn of having to pass on the large shortfall to settings, or cut corners on quality.
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