The Children's Workforce Development Council has done little for nannies in its first two years of existence, even though it is responsible for upgrading the skills of the entire UK workforce of childcarers.
But this looks set to change over the coming year. CWDC chief executive Jane Haywood says that nannies can expect more direct assistance with their ongoing training and professionalism.
She explains, 'We've been working behind the scenes with nannies and where they fit into the whole early years strategy, looking at what the training and qualifications should be for early years workers, helping the Department for Education and Skills get the right training in place for the Early Years Foundation Stage and making sure that all people in early years can access that training - not just those who are working in more traditional mainstream settings.'
Jane acknowledges the problems that nannies face in getting access to training and admits that the CWDC has to do more for nannies generally. 'In our work next year on the early years strategy, thinking about the Level 3 qualification and the EYFS, I will ask my people to think specifically about nannies and whether their needs are properly addressed in that process.
The first step the CWDC took to identify and meet nannies' needs was through its Occupational Group Funding programme, which paid for 30,000 worth of free paediatric First Aid training for some 250 nannies across England between last October and February. The 12-hour weekend courses were run by Tinies Training and offered to nannies new to the profession who lacked a First Aid certificate, those needing to attend a First Aid refresher course, nannies wanting to do the same detailed and thorough paediatric First Aid course that Ofsted requires for day nursery staff, and those seeking accreditation towards registering on the Government's voluntary Childcare Approval Scheme.
Almost all the nannies who attended were either searching for work or had recently been placed by the recruitment side of Tinies. Were it not for the CWDC funding, the two-day weekend course would have cost each of them 90 plus VAT to attend, the typical cost of such a course and quite a hefty chunk for nannies to pay.
Tracey Storey, managing consultant at Tinies Training, says, 'The response was overwhelming. Because of nannies' status and employment, they are unable to access the funding themselves, so we applied to the CWDC for the funding to deliver 20 courses for nannies either who couldn't afford to pay for the training themselves, or where the parents who employed them were unwilling to pay for that training.'
Kelly Somerset, a former nursery nurse who took up her first job as a nanny to two young children in Nottingham, needed to attend a First Aid refresher session for her new job, as it was four years since her last course. She got her first nanny job through Tinies, where she also heard about the free First Aid course.
Kelly was delighted to be able to attend for free. She says the course has left her feeling 'a lot more comfortable and confident in situations than I would have done four years ago'. As an NNEB-qualified nursery nurse, she wants to see the CWDC take nannies more seriously as childcare professionals worthy of career development.
'When you work in a nursery you get the training and get to choose the courses you go on,' says Kelly. 'But as a nanny, unless you are registered with an agency, you don't really get told about anything.
'Even now, I don't have a lot to do with Tinies now that I've been in the job a few months. As a nanny you've got no other way of going on these courses and no-one to back you up at work as well. But it's important for nannies to be up-to-date in all their training.'
The CWDC is inviting training bids for its Occupational Group Funding programme again this year, targeted at 'groups which find it difficult to access funding from other sources'. Jane Haywood says there is no reason for training courses for nannies not to be funded again. This, plus the recent publication of the CWDC's 2007-08 business plan, which includes training for Early Years Professional status and the development of the Integrated Qualifications Framework, could be the start of the professional recognition that nannies need, want and deserve.
Applications for bids for funding close on 31 May and can be made at www.cwdcouncil.org.uk.
