Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have (a) begun and (b) graduated from early years initial teacher training courses in each year since the introduction of the early years teacher status.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Early Years Foundation Stage sets staffing and qualification requirements for early years providers. The government would like to see more trained graduates in the workforce, and we are supporting this by providing funding for course fees and bursaries to eligible trainees, and also funding for employers to support trainees.
The number of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and between 2008 and 2013 the proportion of full day care staff with a degree or higher increased from 5% to 13%. The National Day Nursery Association’s June 2015 survey showed that 88% of settings employ a graduate Early Years Teacher. There are currently 15,962 individuals who have achieved Early Years Professional Status and Early Years Teacher Status.
Since the inception of early years initial teacher training in September 2013, we have recruited an overall number of 3206 trainees, of which 2358 have graduated and been awarded Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). The 2014/15 cohort has 421 individuals still in training and awaiting an outcome. We have set high standards for individuals gaining Early Years Teacher Status as we want individuals of the highest calibre in these roles.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to ensure that there will be sufficient high quality early education places to meet the proposed target of 30 hours of free childcare a week for working parents of three and four year olds.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Government is committed to delivering flexible, affordable and quality childcare for parents. We are carefully consulting parents, employers, providers and local authorities, and reviewing of the cost of providing childcare with a commitment to increase the average funding rate paid to providers.
The market is growing (with around 230,000 more places than in 2009) and has already demonstrated that it is able to respond through the roll-out of the entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds introduced in the last Parliament.
We recognise that there is natural growth in the childcare system, we can and should encourage new providers to enter the childcare market or existing providers to expand. We have supported this expansion with changes made to reduce bureaucracy, helping schools to provide places, and by enabling the setting up of childminder agencies.
Our new entitlement of 30 hours of free childcare provides an opportunity for further growth for existing childcare providers to expand and for new providers to enter the market, helping to build a stronger economy and give parents increased choice. Full roll-out is scheduled for September 2017, and our approach will be informed by the experiences of pilot areas in 2016. We want to learn from the experience of early implementers to ensure that the market works effectively for both parents and providers.
We are in the process of undertaking a review of the cost of provision and have committed to increasing the average funding rate providers receive, which will help the sector to grow. It is important that the hourly rate for the childcare entitlement strikes the right balance between being fair for providers and delivering value for money to the taxpayer.