My nurseries value training and development and often take students this age on work experience. In the interview process, I am usually faced with a fresh-faced teenager who tells me, 'I want to work in a nursery because I love playing with children'. As childcarers, we all know that it's a bit different to just playing! I worry they will undertake this qualification without seeing the realities.
Sschoolchildren who qualify may be fast-tracked through childcare qualifications when they reach 16. The industry may be faced with a generation of qualified workers who have minimal experience, as there is no element of practical training in the certificate. Qualifying without experience would be like passing your driving test on the theory exam only - technically you understand how to drive, but getting behind the wheel would be a completely different matter.
Students on the new course are able to choose to be assessed by multiple choice. This angers me. Real-life situations do not come with multiple choice answers - this child feels hot, I wonder if he has a fever? Should his temperature be a) 34 b) 38 c) 41? It's ridiculous. Staff should be able to answer the question, what is the correct body temperature for a child? without any prompting.
We should be raising the bar, and making it harder to achieve the qualification. There is a myth that students who fail academically should go into childcare. Rubbish! Over the last few years, the face of childcare has changed. Childcarers are beginning to be recognised as providing a cornerstone for the child's ongoing education. You need to be compassionate and intelligent to be a nursery worker. Moreover, you need to have a desire to do it. It is a vocation, and staff need to yearn to qualify, not just because it was an easy option at school.