A thread on social media suggests that many practitioners and employers are either unaware of the DfE's list that states which qualifications are considered 'full and relevant' - allowing employees to count in staff: child ratios at a particular level - or find it confusing and very hard to navigate.
For a qualification to be full and relevant, it needs to be consistent with the Quality Assurance Agency(QAA) for Higher Education benchmark standard for Early Childhood Studies. Learners also need to have been assessed on their practical skills within an early years setting.
Commenting on Facebook, some practitioners claim they can find their qualification on the list, but not the institution where they studied.
It comes after the DfE has made several amendments to the list in the past month or so, and as a petition urging the Department to review the Level 6 early years courses on offer has received more than 2,000 signatures.
Chair of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network (ECSDN) and principal lecturer of Early Childhood Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, Philippa Thompson, told Nursery World, ‘Employers, students and higher education institutions find the DfE qualifications list very difficult to navigate.
‘There is also confusion between early years degrees and early childhood studies degrees. ESCDN is very clear in their support for higher education institutions (HEI) when considering whether their degree is "full and relevant" in that students require assessed practice.
‘It’s essential that all HEI’s understand their responsibility to be clear with undergraduates on the content of their degrees and the implications for working in practice.'
She added, ‘We would welcome engagement with the DfE and other providers to come together to find a workable solution that both employers, students and others find easier to understand.’
Petition
At the same time, a petition urging the DfE to review the Level 6 early years courses on offer and ensure they are all ‘full and relevant’ or, if not that universities are clear that the qualification won’t enable a graduate to be counted in ratios at the same level, is gaining support and has so far been signed by more than 2,300 people.
Behind the petition is Nicol Gray and Kimberley Mallinson who recently found out the Level 6 BA in Early Years, Care and Education they studied at Coventry University in 2016 is not considered "full and relevant" by the DfE. This is despite them working in the sector since graduating.
The pair claim Coventry University, where they studied, did not tell them the degree wasn’t considered as ‘full and relevant’.
A Coventry University spokesperson said, 'The BA in Early Years, Care and Education is a degree programme delivered by Warwickshire College Group (WCG) and awarded by Coventry University.
'Coventry University firmly believes in giving clear, accurate communication to current and prospective students and graduates.
'We are aware of the complaints and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.'
The change.org petition has attracted more than 2,300 signatures.
One signatory, Carla Good, states, ‘I worked very hard to gain my Level 6 BA Hons in Childhood Studies whilst running my business and family/home over four years. I can't tell you how bitterly disappointed I feel to have almost wasted those years from time not being spent with my family and the money poured into it to achieve it for the qualification not to be recognised in my field of work as a childminder. This needs to be changed, I am not a Level 3 practitioner but a level 6!'
Another signatory said, ‘I have been incredibly upset to discover that this is the case for my degree. Despite paying over £6,000 in student fees, the course being recommended by college lecturers to help upskill the workforce, completing a dissertation, the degree also endorsed by the local university, it does not make the full and relevant list and therefore cannot be used in the workplace.’
The DfE told Nursery World, ‘We acknowledge the concerns raised regarding workforce recruitment and retention, including the perceived impact of the qualifications’ requirements. We are working with the sector to build our understanding of the workforce situation, and how we might support providers in this area.’
‘Punishing’ universities for delivering "poor value for money" degrees'
The calls for change to the ‘full and relevant’ early years qualification list and petition follows plans drawn up by the Office for Students (OFS) – a higher education regulator - that could see universities ‘punished’ for delivering degrees that are considered ‘low-quality and poor value for money’.
The regulator has published a consultation detailing its minimum acceptable outcomes for students, which sets thresholds for drop-out rates, course completion and graduate employment that universities and colleges will have to pass to avoid further investigation.
The move has concerned some higher education providers that think it could put early years courses at risk of removal, in particular due to the lack of graduate level jobs in the sector.