Nursery World - New project to test effectiveness of early childhood studies degrees

A new project to gauge the impact graduates have on practice in early years settings has been launched.

The report highlights the rise in probable mental health disorder among primary school children PHOTO Adobe Stock

The project will also look at what early childhood studies degrees offer the sector and whether this meets sector requirements.

Practitioners from across the sector are invited to take part in an online survey about what they think of the degrees and what difference they make once an ECS graduate gets into a setting.

The university of Portsmouth’s Dr Nikki Fairchild, project lead said, ‘We are trying to raise awareness of what the degrees can offer, and make sure we are providing what the sector needs - but also what practitioners need in terms of knowledge and skills.

‘This project gives the sector the chance to reflect on what they are seeing in practice. We want to open up a dialogue between ourselves and the early years sector to inform what we do so when ECS graduates go into settings they meet their requirements.’

Researchers are also interested in how widespread awareness is of Graduate Practitioner Competencies, which were introduced in 2019 as a way of providing quality assurance for those taking them.

The nine competencies, which are available only to students studying and universities which are members of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network (ECSDN), are a university-assessed bolt-on to an ECS degree. Their aim is to ensure minimum standards are included in the degree, such as 80 placement days. They have been recognised by DfE as being full and relevant at Level 3 plus meeting early childhood competencies demonstrating practice, skills and knowledge at level 6.

Lead author of the competencies, Eunice Lumsden, said they were introduced because of confusion in the early years sector about whether ECS graduates should be employed at Level 3 or Level 6 and the skills they should have, as well as a huge variation in placements and the content of the degrees themselves.

A review found that there are currently 320 early years degrees (including ECS degrees) from which a prospective early years student in England could choose, with wide variations in subject content, work placement requirements, age specialisations and entry requirements.

Researchers are seeking 20 senior members of staff from early years settings across England, and a range of backgrounds, for online interviews and are also inviting the sector to respond to a survey.

The project, which has been funded by the ECSDN and is a collaboration between University of Portsmouth and the University of Chichester, is expected to report interim findings in the autumn and a final report hoped for by Christmas.