Today's early years managers need to acquire new skills. Mary Evans lists courses available to enhance your qualifications
Across the early years sector, staff with childcare qualifications and experience are rising through the ranks to take on managerial roles and finding they need new skills.
Providers are looking to plug this gap in their training programmes and access management courses so they can create career paths within their organisations and thus recruit and retain a high-calibre workforce. New research has found that poor management is a major reason for high staff turnover (see 'Moving on', page 10).
National Day Nurseries Association chief executive, Rosemary Murphy, says, 'The workload on managers has grown enormously in recent years and managers need to be equipped with the essential tools.'
Child Base managing director Michael Thompson says all its nursery managers have taken NVQ4 while deputies are taking NVQ3 because, 'the key to a successful nursery is good management. It is essential.'
The Kidsunlimited chain has developed what is believed to be the first NVQ3 in management specifically tailored for childcare. Director of training Kathryn Locke says, 'By having this in place it means that people will be better prepared when they come to apply for promotion.'
Britain's first BA honours degree in nursery management, launched last autumn by the Management and Business Centre at Liverpool Hope University, was developed in partnership with the Busy Bees chain, which runs the university's nursery.
Busy Bees director John Woodward says, 'We were always looking for a suitable nursery management degree course and that prompted us to suggest it to Liverpool Hope.'
Course award director Petra Luck says, 'The response to the course has been overwhelming and it shows the range of talent out there and the number of people who'd like their experience validated through a degree programme.' So, practitioners can take their pick of courses from degree level (see Study days, right) to those lasting just a few days.
Foundation Degree
Launched last autumn, it is the first new higher education qualification for 25 years. It ranks at Level 4 on the Qualifications and Curriculum Autho-rity's (QCA) framework and can lead to further academic study.
The Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies, validated by University of North London, is offered by City and Islington College and Hackney Community College.
Students 18 or over with a Level 3 or equivalent qualification in childcare and education or with considerable professional early years experience.
Duration Two years part-time. Students attend lectures one day and one evening a week and are expected to work at least two days a week in an early years establishment, paid or voluntarily. Private study takes at least a further 15 hours a week.
Content Study of eight units a year covering key aspects of childcare and education. Topics include child development and observation; early years provision: principles and practice; health education; working with parents and carers; introduction into management in the early years.
Further information www.foundationdegree.org.uk;City and Islington College on 020 7700 9200, www.candi.ac.uk; Hackney Community College on 020 7613 9123, www.comm-coll-hackney.ac.uk
NVQ Level 4
Launched in autumn 2000 to fill a gap in the spectrum of work-based vocational training. The qualification counts as a credit into higher level study. CACHE now has 257 candidates registered and 36 training centres approved.
Students Senior staff or managers of large or multiple settings or staff carrying out quality control/quality assurance tasks. Duration About 12 to 14 months.
Content Candidates take ten units. Three mandatory units: Access, review and update your own knowledge of significant and emerging theory and practice; develop your own resources; and provide information to support decision-making.
A choice of four units from three strands: management; enhancing quality and quality control; advanced practices; plus three units from a group of options.
Further information QCA on 020 7509 5555, www.qca.org.uk; Early Years National Training Organisation on 01727 738 300, www.early-years-nto.org.uk. The awarding bodies are: The Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education (CACHE), on 01727 847 636, www.cache.org.uk and City and Guilds Affinity on 020 7294 2800, www.city-andguilds.co.uk.
The Advanced Diploma in Childcare and Education
One-year, full-time. Ranks as equivalent to a year of a full-time degree course. It is being brought into line with Level 4. Much of the content will stay the same. The revised course has been submitted by CACHE to the QCA and awaits accreditation.
NVQ Level 3 Management
Kidsunlimited developed this NVQ accredited by the National Examination Board for Supervision and Management (NEBS).
Students Supervisory and managerial staff - room leaders, unit managers, deputy managers.
Content Focuses on communication, managing resources and team-building. Candidates build up projects of work-based evidence through reviewing systems, and designing and implementing new ones.
National Day Nurseries Association
Runs short courses for early years partnerships. Its training programme was devised following a DfES-funded review of day nurseries' training.
Courses include:
- Nursery Management - three-day course focusing on staff management and employment issues.
- Room Supervisor Training - two-day course and one-day follow up.
- Recruitment and Selection - one-day course on staff recruitment, selection and retention.
- Policies and Procedures - one-day course on implementation and management of policy and procedures.
- Operational Plan - a one-day course on writing an operational plan, as required by OFSTED.
For further information contact your EYDCP or the NDNA on 01484 541 641, e-mail: info@ndna.org.uk