overqualify' their staff if they are worried about underfunding,
according to advice published by a Department for Education (DfE)-funded
charity.
Setting Up Childcare for Two-Year-Olds in Schools recommends managers employ apprentices and 'think about flexible contracts' for staff to keep costs down.
The document, which was published by The Learning Exchange last month and headed with the DfE logo, also advises that, apart from some activities such as mealtimes, 'two-year-olds do not necessarily need one-to-one attention and care'.
In a section entitled 'What if the funding I get from the local authority doesn't cover the cost of delivering the childcare for two-year-olds?', it says, 'There are a variety of ideas that can be put in place ... For example, with regard to staff, try not to 'overqualify' your childcare team. A way to keep your wage overheads down could be to employ modern apprentices alongside experienced staff with NVQ Level 3 in childcare qualifications who have worked in PVIs (private, voluntary and independents) with two-year-olds, and have also worked alongside the school nursery team, which works with threeand four-year-olds.'
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