Staff Qualiications For Holiday Club

[Guest]

Hi

Chair of committe seemed to think that holiday club only needed one level 3 and the rest could be level 2 and unqatualified. Given that it is holiday club and not after school is this true? Any idea if thre is anything i can refer to?

 

Thanks

[Guest jenpercy]

Hi

Chair of committe seemed to think that holiday club only needed one level 3 and the rest could be level 2 and unqatualified. Given that it is holiday club and not after school is this true? Any idea if thre is anything i can refer to?

 

Thanks

 

there are different rules for short term holiday playschemes, which would usuually be open access, ie just come along and play. (these schemes are not allowed to take EYFS) if your holiday club is part of your all-year round provision, then the rules are the after-school rules. I know this because it was during a holiday that I failed my OFSTED becaus I didn't know enough about EYFS.

 

Well i knew it anyway, but the OFSTED we had in the holidays and the one we just had in term time covered the same ground.

[Guest jenpercy]

Actually, OFSTED has actually removed approval for a short course specially to train holiday club staff. If you provide care for the EYFS age group you have to follow the full guidance, and this has been the case for the last 2 18 months.

 

A vote of no confidence in the chair?????

[Guest jenpercy]

PS there is loads of stuff on OFSTED website that you need and also on Skillsactive which say that holiday staff now need to be qualified. You don't need to be registered at all if holiday club is open for less than 14 days a year but that doesn't apply if you are also open after school, you can't count them seprately. you need only one Level 2 member of staff for schemes taking only over 8s.

 

It looks like the situation there is dire. If you have any complaint to OFSTED they will come down on you like a ton of bricks.

 

http://www.skillsactive.com/assets/0000/10...riefing-doc.pdf

 

Amongst the stuff available on OFSTED website, this one is not the easiest to find and is valuable - possibly more so when your inspection comes (pretty soon after you tell OFSTED that you have new manager

 

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms...guage%29/eng-GB

 

Have you accepted the job? If so you need to tell them that you will do everything necessary to keep the club OPEN - as at the momnet it is defiantely failing, and that they will have to accept your professinal judgement on what is necessary.

 

Has the club had a visit from the LA to assess, or has it escaped as a school run club? Actually it does not sound as though it is actually being run by the school and therefore it should have been assessed. If they have not been, it may be worth asking them to come out and assess.

[Guest]

The school club is run separately fom the school and the LEA has said they will come and do a pre-ofsted inspection once we have certain things in place. We need to update policeies to be inline with EYFS and other bits. We have an early years TA from the school, who used to manage the school club years ago doing all this for us and she will be there to support the club staff (and new manager when we get one).

 

I have informed the chair (is an interime new chair who is doing it for 3 months while the new chair is being trained up)that we should have 2 level 3 at all times.

 

Will check out those links so thanks!

[Guest]

There must be at least one member of staff for every eight children aged three and over (this increases to 1:4 for children under 3 and 1:3 for babies).

All play settings should be employing staff or volunteers with playwork qualifications, as these are the appropriate qualifications for working in a setting or service whose main purpose is to provide children and young people with opportunities for freely chosen, self-directed play.

• At least one member of staff must hold a ‘full and relevant’ level 3 qualification (as defined by CWDC).

• At least half of all other staff must hold a ‘full and relevant’ level 2 qualification (as defined by CWDC)39.

• At least one person must have a first aid certificate appropriate to the age of the children and activities on offer40.

 

 

This is what skills active says about staff...so 2 level 3 are not required then???

Confused now!!

[Guest jenpercy]

I have always been told by OFSTED that there must be a named deputy and that person must be a Level 3. Only the other week my NVQ Assessor told me that she had a run-in with OFSTED, because she had not NAMED her Deputy as such. The job title was Responsible Person, or some such, but to all intents and purposes this was a Deputy.

 

You don't need to have 2 Level3 on the premises at all times, but the purpose of the Deputy is to ensure that there is always one present, as you will not be able to open if the Manager has holiday or sickness. so if you only have one Level3 to begin with that should be OK, but you need to have a plan ie job vacancy that is currently being advertised

[kristina]

I opened my own Pre-School in September and was told by OFSTED that the Deputy did NOT have to be level 3 qualified (complete opposite to what I had always thought!), when I had my registration visit Mrs O confirmed this and on checking relevant guidance it doesn't specify level 3 for a deputy. But obviously there should always be a level 3 present at all times.

We had our Ofsted in January and my Deputy didn't complete her level 3 until March but this was fine as I had my level 3.

Hope this makes sense!!

Kristina

[Guest]

I have always been told by OFSTED that there must be a named deputy and that person must be a Level 3. Only the other week my NVQ Assessor told me that she had a run-in with OFSTED, because she had not NAMED her Deputy as such. The job title was Responsible Person, or some such, but to all intents and purposes this was a Deputy.

 

You don't need to have 2 Level3 on the premises at all times, but the purpose of the Deputy is to ensure that there is always one present, as you will not be able to open if the Manager has holiday or sickness. so if you only have one Level3 to begin with that should be OK, but you need to have a plan ie job vacancy that is currently being advertised

 

Thanks! This seems to make sense and is in-line with the guidance.

[Guest]

I opened my own Pre-School in September and was told by OFSTED that the Deputy did NOT have to be level 3 qualified (complete opposite to what I had always thought!), when I had my registration visit Mrs O confirmed this and on checking relevant guidance it doesn't specify level 3 for a deputy. But obviously there should always be a level 3 present at all times.

We had our Ofsted in January and my Deputy didn't complete her level 3 until March but this was fine as I had my level 3.

Hope this makes sense!!

Kristina

 

This also makes sense so long as there woud be a level 3 to step up and be manager should you be off

[Guest]

Hi

Chair of committe seemed to think that holiday club only needed one level 3 and the rest could be level 2 and unqatualified. Given that it is holiday club and not after school is this true? Any idea if thre is anything i can refer to?

 

Thanks

 

The level 3 should be a playwork qualification which covers children 4 to 14, apparently a pre-school level 3 is not enough. On the bright side you can do a top up to get the playwork level 3 - only 2 assignments and approx. 60 hours of training may vary across the counties.

[Inge]

The level 3 should be a playwork qualification which covers children 4 to 14, apparently a pre-school level 3 is not enough. On the bright side you can do a top up to get the playwork level 3 - only 2 assignments and approx. 60 hours of training may vary across the counties.

 

 

think this depends on when you did level 3 training... it did change to cover children to 16 and had several staff complete NVQ3 in the Preschool who were able to work and run after school club with it.. so they added one to the pre-school and she runs it... ( had Ofsted and this was OK)

 

Inge

[Guest]

think this depends on when you did level 3 training... it did change to cover children to 16 and had several staff complete NVQ3 in the Preschool who were able to work and run after school club with it.. so they added one to the pre-school and she runs it... ( had Ofsted and this was OK)

 

Inge

 

Thank goodness for that! Deputy (currently acting as manager) is NVQ3 childcare not playwork. Thought I had something else to worry about then!!!

[kristina]

I Completed my NVQ3 CCLD and this covers from birth to 16 years, glad to hear this is ok as school where we are based are asking us to run a breakfast and afterschool club.

Although I have my NVQ3 my other two staff have Diploma in Pre-School Practice, so I assume their qualification wouldn't count!! They will be gutted as they wanted the extra money!!

 

Kris

[louby loo]

Although I have my NVQ3 my other two staff have Diploma in Pre-School Practice, so I assume their qualification wouldn't count!! They will be gutted as they wanted the extra money!!

 

Kris

 

I think they're currently offering a short 10-12 week playworker course for people like this. Not sure where I've seen it advertised might be Nursery World.

[Guest]

think this depends on when you did level 3 training... it did change to cover children to 16 and had several staff complete NVQ3 in the Preschool who were able to work and run after school club with it.. so they added one to the pre-school and she runs it... ( had Ofsted and this was OK)

 

Inge

 

 

That's good then, I did the DPP so am currently doing the Playwork top up. Have to admit I am really enjoying it, learning a whole new world of play types and theories

[Guest jenpercy]

I Completed my NVQ3 CCLD and this covers from birth to 16 years, glad to hear this is ok as school where we are based are asking us to run a breakfast and afterschool club.

Although I have my NVQ3 my other two staff have Diploma in Pre-School Practice, so I assume their qualification wouldn't count!! They will be gutted as they wanted the extra money!!

 

Kris

 

Actually as OFSTED is only interested in EYFS, the DPP is a valid qualification for running an after school club. OFSTED have certainly counted my DPP staff as fully qualified. I would myself say that further professional development would be a good idea if they can get it, but it is not necessary. The club will need 2 Level 3s, and after that other staff can be Level2

[Guest]

I have DPP and what Jen says is also what i was told! You would think that OFSTED would like them to be playwork qualified.