Does a temporary deputy need to be Level 3?

[Guest]

Both the Supervisor and the Deputy supervisor are going to be away on the same course soon and there is debate about who should step in on those days. There are staff members interested, and suggested having a day each so they could have a go, as well as a Level 3 who could do it if necessary. One of them is level 2 and currently studying level 3 and the other is level 2 but well experienced in our setting.

 

Is there a guideline for specific qualification for temporary acting deputy? I can't find one.

[Wendy123]

Not sure about this would be interested to know too.

[hali]

should be but if you contact Ofsted and explain they should let you risk assess then you should be ok on a temp basis

[mrsbat]

We had a similar situation and were told by ofsted that if it is a one off or very short term then non level 3 is fine - so long as you inform them first. A regular situation - say once a week for a couple of months or something would require a fully qualified person This was when I took over as supervisor which was 4 years ago though

[laura]

I went on some training recently and it doesn't actually specify in the new eyfs that the deputy has to be level 3. we were asked to consider how we felt about this, it didn't apply to my setting, but for others it meant they could have a level 2 who was very experienced but didn't want to train further, as long as there are other level 3's on the premises it shouldn't be an issue, just be prepared with an answer for Ofsted I suppose!

[Mouseketeer]

This is interesting, and I totally agree that just because you have a piece of paper that says your a higher qualification doesn't necessarily make you the better practitioner but if you have level 3's available who you have confidence in (who have put in the effort to get to the L3) over level 2's why wouldn't you give them more responsibility as you could have a L2 on deputy pay rate earning more than L3's which may cause bad feeling with other staff.

[laura]

I suppose if none of the level 3's want the responsibility and if the level 2 did then that is how this situation would arrive. I don't think any of my level 3 staff would want the responsibility of being deputy! Handy that it's myself as deputy (teacher and EYP) and my mum as manager (level 3) and my sister (Teacher) as second deputy

[lashes2508]

Laura - all i can think of is the song 'its a family affair '

and in answer to your question strawberry serge - my deputy is still completing level 3 - has no level 2 and when ofsted were contacted ages ago re deputy they said ok as long as a level 3 is always on site - my other deputy is not qualified but has lots of experience and trusted to do the job well .

[Guest]

I think we were thinking that it would be good for someone to use the opportunity of a day or two away to have a go at being deputy really. It wouldn't really matter too much if they couldn't as we do have a L3 but maybe a chance at being deputy might inspire to train further or they may pick up another aspect of the setting they don't normally see. And when we mentioned the possibility it brought about this discussion!