Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 153
Engage Local Authorities to provide affordable and flexible mandatory training for early years professionals.
Recommendation
We recommend the Government engage with Local Authorities and seek to address the cost of mandatory training required by early years professionals, such as paediatric first aid and safeguarding courses. Local Authorities should work towards providing 76 Support for childcare and the early years free or heavily reduced mandatory training for early years practitioners and also allow more flexibility with timing to limit the impact on provider business, for example by offering evening courses.
Government Response Summary
The government commits to engaging with local authorities to assess the availability, accessibility, and associated costs of mandatory safeguarding and welfare training for early years professionals, but does not commit to providing free or heavily reduced training or greater timing flexibility.
Paragraph Reference:
153
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
We will engage with local authorities on the availability and accessibility of safeguarding and welfare training provision and associated costs. The EYFS guidance is clear that providers are responsible for identifying and selecting a competent training provider to deliver their training. For example, PFA training is available from a wide range of providers, including those who offer regulated qualifications or operate under voluntary accreditation schemes, Voluntary Aid Societies, members of a trade body with an approval and monitoring scheme or those who operate independently of any such accreditation scheme. DfE recognises the importance of the accessibility of good quality training to early years professionals, to comply with their statutory duties of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework10 (EYFS). The EYFS framework sets out the training early years professionals must complete and keep updated. We note in paragraph 22 of the Committee’s report that parents value the mandatory requirements the EYFS places on registered early years providers to keep children safe. Some of these requirements, due to their specialist nature, generally require access to an external training provider and is usually at cost to early years professionals. These include: a) Paediatric First Aid for at least one person at the setting and newly qualified Level 2 and 3 entrants to the profession b) Child Protection training for the practitioner who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding children at the setting c) training for staff where the administration of medicine requires medical or technical knowledge d) training in food hygiene for all staff working in group provision and involved in preparing and handling food e) training for childminders which help them to understand and implement the EYFS before they can register with Ofsted or a childminder agency11