Skip to main content

Pre-school Education: Manpower

Volume 481: debated on Thursday 23 October 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what estimate he has made of the number of (a) untrained staff and (b) staff trained to level (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) three working in (A) private, voluntary and independent sector and (B) maintained sector nurseries; (229699)

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of people with (a) a Cache level three, (b) a BTEC national diploma and (c) an NVQ level three in childcare in each year since 1997.

The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on staff qualifications that are relevant to working with children and young people. The qualifications are grouped together in the levels that they have been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Table 1 shows the number of paid staff in full day care providers by the highest level of qualification held.

Table 1: Number of paid staff in full day care providers by the highest level of qualification held, 20071

Full day care providers: type of ownership

Highest level of qualification held

Private number

Voluntary number

Local authority number

School/college number

Other number

Level 1

650

450

60

90

0

Level 2

16,600

5,100

700

950

500

Level 3

65,900

14,000

5,900

5,500

2,400

Level 4 or above

11,700

2,700

1,300

1,300

350

No relevant qualification

9,300

3,000

700

700

250

1 The figures within this table have been rounded.

DCSF does not hold data on the certificates issued by specific awarding bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the additional number of staff who will have to enter the childcare sector to extend the free entitlement (a) from 12 and a half to 15 hours and (b) to all two year olds. (229702)

Each local authority has a duty to secure the free early education entitlement in their area including the need to ensure that there are providers with appropriate staffing to enable them to do so. More details of the extension of the free early education entitlement for two-year-olds will be available in the child care strategy announced in June and to be published by the end of this year.