Further information
Every Child Matters www.ecm.org.uk
Children's Workforce Development Council www. cwdccouncil.org
Department for Education and Skills www.dfes.org
Private providers are being urged not to delay in applying for their share of the Transformation Fund. The period of funding ends in August 2008 and supports a programme of workforce reform that is having to move at a cracking pace. Clearly, there is no time to lose.
Pixieland Day Nurseries, a four-strong chain based in Plymouth, is keen to engage with the initiative, despite reservations about it in the long term.
'We haven't applied yet but we support the aim of the fund to have more graduates working within the sector,' says Karen Sweet, area manager and company secretary.
So complex is the business of fund application that Pixieland has appointed a business development mentor to oversee the process.
'Delivery of the money is the first issue and delivery of the training itself is another,' says Ms Sweet. 'At the moment local training providers are struggling with level 4 - and we only have one college currently delivering this.'
At the same time, Ms Sweet admits she is not wholly swayed by the argument for graduates. She would like to see the emphasis being placed on raising more candidates to level 3.
'I've had plenty of practitioners who are not grade-A English students but who have worked very happily and done a good job,' she says. 'I am also concerned about the possibility of a negative effect on team morale, where staff who are not academically inclined feel undervalued.'
Another concern is that once practitioners achieve graduate status they will be poached by another provider.
'If staff do remain with the same employer, they would be justified in asking for a significant pay rise,' she says. 'At the same time the nature of their job will not necessarily have changed on a day-to-day basis.'
Navigating local authorities There is consensus among chains that experience and personality go a long way in the business of childcare. They also believe that achieving higher qualifications can be unrealistic for some hardworking staff.
At Newpark Childcare, which has nurseries in the City of London, Islington and Hammersmith, director Tiffany Clutterbuck feels that channelling funding into graduates is prescriptive and potentially detrimental.
She says, 'I have managers who are excellent who are not graduates. The aim of raising the bar is laudable but it sends a bad message to some practitioners. I do believe that experience speaks volumes and for those who are not academic, it could represent discrimination.'
Having said that, Newpark Childcare is currently immersed in applying for the funding and hopes that by January at least one of its three nurseries will have secured it.
'We have graduates who we want to progress to Early Years Professional status and also practitioners who we are hoping to raise to level 3,' she says. 'The information we have had from different London authorities has varied. Islington, started off by saying we could only qualify for the funding if it was used for special needs. Hammersmith, on the other hand, has been very clear and consistent with its information.'
The problem appears to be the lack of guidance from the Treasury and Ms Clutterbuck feels local authorities are testing the waters to see what they can get away with.
A weighty chain such as the 102-strong Bright Horizons Family Solutions agrees that the way in which local authorities will interpret the funding will inevitably be different, although it reports that their feedback so far has been good.
'As we have locations throughout the UK, we have to deal with all the authorities and it can be a difficult task to get full information from each one,' says Ian Stocks, general manager. 'We are still in the process of reviewing all the relevant information and intend to follow up with individual authorities where we might have specific information requirements.'
Bright Horizons has not yet made applications for graduate recruitment or the quality incentive but intends to do so. 'We believe any programme aimed at increasing the qualifications of nursery staff will boost the quality of service for all nurseries which take advantage of it,' Mr Stocks says.
Retaining staff Nestledown Childcare in West Sussex says it is making applications on behalf of two people, one of whom already has a degree.
'One has years of experience but not a degree and the other is a graduate who will be progressing to EYP,' says owner Anne Colbourne. 'What's interesting is that when it comes to filling out the forms for skills and experience, it is the candidate without the degree who is ticking all the boxes. Someone who was just out of university would not be in a position to meet the criteria.'
Ms Colbourne views the Transformation Fund in a positive light. 'West Sussex has been slow but thorough in the way it has handled it so far.
Regular meetings have provided the opportunity for us to put forward our questions, many of which the authority has been willing to admit it had not thought of.'
Ms Colbourne says that she it is not in a position to pay graduate staff the same as teachers in either of Nestledown's nurseries. 'But if we were able to do so it would be a very good thing for early years,' she says.
When it comes to worrying that qualified staff will be poached, Ms Colbourne is pragmatic. 'They are usually expected to make a commitment to stay at least a year after training as part of our company agreement and it's probably unrealistic to expect any more than that. Very often staff will leave to start a family or to go travelling, and these are experiences which cannot be discouraged.'
Making a difference?
While the Transformation Fund is recognised as an attempt to create a level playing field for the PVI sector, Tiffany Clutterbuck feels the timescales are limiting.
'It's tight when it comes to getting results from the funding,' she says.
'It is probably realistic for those who are studying for a level 3 qualification and the money will cover the cost of recruiting graduates.
However, beyond 2008 there will be no extra money to supplement increased salaries unless, of course, we raise our fees.'
According to Karen Sweet, if the funding does not create new roles, graduate practitioners could face becoming supernumeraries and be there simply to lend a nursery status.
'We already have level 3 practitioners doing a wonderful job,' she says.
She feels that existing support networks are effective in ensuring that her own chain sustains good practice, whether staff are at graduate level or not.
'We have very strong support from our local pre-school advisor and lead practitioners are well advised on achieving the five outcomes. I wonder how an academic person will be any more able to support these outcomes?'
However, Bright Horizon's Ian Stocks strongly believes that the funding will make a difference in the long term. 'We welcome any move which will help us to increase staff qualifications and development, and therefore overall provision. It's good that the Government is prepared to help fund this.'
Viewed in this light, it would, perhaps, be ill-judged to ignore the Transformation Fund. It may only represent a short window of opportunity but many nursery chains are prepared to make the most of it while they can.
What is the Transformation Fund?
The Transformation Fund is worth 250m. It was made available from April this year and will last until August 2008. It consists of four elements:
* A recruitment incentive of 3,000 in each year for private, voluntary and independent full daycare settings to take on a graduate
* A quality premium of 5,000. This is only available to settings already employing staff with a Level 5 or 6 qualification, though the premium can be spent on training for other staff too
* Money for training staff to Level 3 and above
* Funds for disability and special educational needs training.