The Government's revision of the rules to permit 17-year-old trainees to be included in staffing ratios has prompted fears that standards are being diluted. But some leading figures within the sector argue that with adequate controls and supervision in place, it is possible to count 17-year-olds in the team and still provide quality childcare.
The guidance issued by Ofsted, in support of the revision to the national standards for daycare, says, 'If your trainees are 17 years old or older, they may be included in the staffing ratios, if you are satisfied that they are competent and responsible.'
The onus is on nursery managers to demonstrate that they are satisfied about the competence and responsibility of any 17-year-olds, says an Ofsted spokeswoman. 'A manager can do this in a number of ways, through good employment procedures, through on-the-job assessment, through staff appraisal and line management. Managers are required by law to keep a number of records about all staff. Ofsted would not expect additional records to be kept on 17-year-olds, but we would look at how the competence of all staff was assessed.
'All staff must be able to demonstrate good quality care for children. We measure this through a number of ways, such as direct observation on inspection, talking to staff and managers, and ensuring qualification levels are met and that good vetting procedures are in place.'
Rosemary Murphy, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, says 'It is not a change, as such. It is more of a clarification. The standards never said before that staff had to be 18 years old. When you take on a Modern Apprentice at 16, is it right that you have to wait until they are 18 before you can use them as a member of staff? You could be talking about somebody who has already got their NVQ Level 2, or is well on the way to getting it.
'Age does not determine com-petence or responsibility. You can have a 40-year-old who has no children of her own, has always worked in a bank and has no experience of childcare. If you use age to determine competence you could say that she can join the staff straight off and pick up child development by osmosis.
'The idea is that if an Ofsted inspector came in and saw two or three 17- year-olds in a room with a pile of children, he or she may question their competence and the nursery manger would have to justify the decision.'
But Tricia Pritchard, professional officer at the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses, is critical of the revision. She says, 'It is very frustrating that the Government talks the talk about how their priority is quality childcare, and yet all we see is the dilution of standards. They are dropping the standards to encourage more people into the sector. In the advertisements in this big recruitment campaign they are implying that all you have to do to work in childcare is to like children.'
Nurseries like the Child Base chain only count 17-year-old trainees in the ratios if certain key criteria are met. A spokeswoman says, 'Child Base reviews each of its nursery practitioners on an individual basis, and values the competence and experience of each one in accordance with their roles.
'Child Base's policy is not to involve 17-year-olds within the ratio within the babies setting, but the nurseries will provide 17-year-olds with experience within the three- to five-year-olds setting, and they are under constant review and assessment.'
Ms Murphy says settings where she has seen 17-year-old modern apprentices counted in the staff allocate them a mentor and timetable protected time each week for their studies.
'My definition of competent and responsible is that they would have to get at least some of the core units of NVQ 2. We talked with the Government when they were drawing up the standards about defining which units these were, but I don't think they wanted to be that strict with it.
'There is going to be an awful lot of pressure on employers to manage nursery fees and the wages bill in the coming years. I do have a fear that some people may think that 17-year-olds are the way forward.
'But managers have to be able to prove to Ofsted they are satisfied that staff are competent and responsible. The ultimate sanction is that Ofsted can take your registration away.'