Introduction Since the Early Years Professional Status was established in 2007 it has undergone a number of transformations. Some of them have been quite minor, such as the number of tasks you have to perform all whether you could have witness statements or not, but there have also been some more significant changes. Changes The most significant changes that the Coalition Government have made are around their commitment to making the status ‘equivalent’ to teacher status. This rhetoric has meant that they have increased the entry requirements for candidates. In the beginning, you could do your GCSE maths and English alongside studying for the status. Then you had to have your GCSE maths and English before you started the course. Now you have to have achieved GCSE maths, English and science before starting the course. In addition you have to do to proficiency tests in maths and English. In theory this means that a candidate for PGCE is entering on exactly the same educational level as a candidate for the new early years teacher status. However there are some significant differences. A student on a PGCE course (QTS) does not have to have experience of teaching across all age ranges and both Key Stages in a primary school. An Early Years Teacher candidate will need to have some experience from baby room to 5 year olds in order to successfully complete the course. The emphasis with Early Years Teacher Status is very much on change agent and leadership. A core requirement of the Status is to show and prove how are you have made a difference and improvements in your setting. This is greatly at odds with a PGCE. The number of Standards that a candidate has to put evidence towards has gone from 39 to 8, although these do have subclasses, numbering 38 in total. The Standards have also undergone a restructure so they match the style, layout and wording of the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) Standards, with a few alterations to allow for the fact it is ‘children’ and not ‘pupils’ as used in the QTS standards. There have been some modifications of the pathways. This means there are now four pathways, which are: 1.Graduate Entry Mainstream (full-time) Graduates study full-time (1 year) with a grant of £7,000 available. Bursaries of £9,000 are available for graduates with a first class Honours degree, and £4,000 for graduates with a 2:1. 2. Graduate Entry Employment based (part-time) This is for graduates who are already working, but require further training and experience in order to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years). An incentive of £14,000, from the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) is available to employers, which must be used to cover course fees (typically around £7,000) with the remainder to be used for salary enhancements or supply cover. 3. Undergraduate Entry (full-time) This is where the Early Years Teacher Status is studied for alongside the final year of a Childhood Studies degree (or similar). Students graduate and gain their Early Years Teacher Status at the same time. Note: There is no funding for this route. However, it is usually incorporated into student funding, provided by Student Finance England. 4. Assessment only The Assessment route differs little from the original Validation route – except that candidates now have to pay for it themselves. It is for existing graduates with experience of working with children from birth to 5 years old, who can demonstrate the Standards without further training. The assessment typically takes place over 3 months. Note that all routes were fully funded when the EYPS was first launched in 2007. From September 2014 the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) only funds 2 routes – Graduate Entry Mainstream (full-time) and Graduate Entry Employment (part-time). Realistically this means that if you have a degree, the relevant Early Years experience across all age ranges and want to achieve Early Years Teacher Status without further training, you will now have to pay for it. There is a fair chance that all the suitable candidates in this situation have already achieved EYPS or Early Years Teacher Status, but it will be a blow to those who have left it too late to jump on a course whilst it was fully funded. Implications The ‘equivalence’ of EYPS/Early Years Teacher Status is still as contentious as ever. It has been debated ever since the EPPE team suggested Early Years provisions should be led by a graduate led workforce (Sylva et al, 2004; Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). In their book ‘Early Childhood Matters’ it clearly states that their aim was for more teachers, not the ‘muddle’ (Sylva et al, 2010:19) in training and qualifications that this has actually produced. Although the new Early Years Teacher Status would, at first glance, look similar to a PGCE there are vast differences. It was first suggested that with an Early Years Teacher Status that practitioners could teach in the reception or foundation stage of schools. This is obviously very attractive, with the pay and terms and conditions that are associated with this. Although this is theoretically possible, it does not seem to have had the uptake that was maybe hoped by the government (or practitioners!). It is hardly surprising, though, because most schools prefer to have flexibility of movement for their staff throughout the school. This would not be possible with a teacher who only has Early Years Teacher Status, because she or he would not be qualified to teach any other year group. The other barrier to Early Years Teachers entering a school environment could be the existing teachers, who do hold QTS. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) states that: ‘qualified teachers are essential to high quality early years education and that teachers in this phase should be qualified teachers. This is not to make nursery education more formal, but to ensure sound pedagogy based on the developmental needs of the children. The new DfE “Early Years Teachers” do not have QTS. This is indefensible. Evidence shows that qualified teachers make the difference.’ (EduFacts, 2014). It is clear from this statement that the NUT does not consider the Early Years Teacher Status and QTS to be equivalent. Conclusions What do these changes actually mean to the EYPS and Early Years Teacher Status? It does mean that practitioners will have to work even harder to get on the course, especially with the additional requirement of GCSE Science. It is unlikely that a lot of practitioners will have GCSE science already, so this will be extra work and extra expense. In addition, there seems to be little benefit in having a GCSE science when working with the nought to 5 year old age range. Similarly, the extra proficiency tests seem to be irrelevant to the final job role. Currently, some pathways for the Status are still being fully funded by the government, which is an obvious attraction. It seems inevitable that funding will start to be withdrawn in the future, which may make a PGCE seem more attractive again. There is a slim chance of gaining employment in this school and being used as a qualified teacher, with the terms and conditions it comes with that role. On the positive side, Universities that are offering the course are still very keen to emphasise the quality and advantages of having Early Years Teacher Status. It is still a recognised postgraduate qualification, so still very valuable in that respect. It also demonstrates to parents, Local authorities and OFSTED how you and your setting value high level qualifications and CPD. The main beneficiaries are, of course, the children. By really reflecting and considering your own practice your Early Years Teacher Status or EYPS can support good practice. This means that children, and other practitioners in the setting, will benefit from you doing this further qualification.
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