Level 3 in ratios

[Dennie]

I wonder if anyone can advise. One of our practitioners is due to complete her level 3 soon. Can we use her in our level 3 ratios as soon as she has been signed off by her tutor or do we need to wait until the official certificate comes through?

 

From a financial point of view, if anyone pays level 3s more than level 2s or unqualified staff, did you immediately increase wages once the college course was complete or wait until the certificate arrived? I know pay rates and increases in wage will depend on the policy in individual settings, but we are currently reviewing wages and would be grateful for any advice or opinions.

 

Thanks

 

Dennie

[mrsbat]

How does having a level 3 or not affect ratio's?

 

We increase the wage when we have official confirmation that they have passed - i.e. their certificate

[Fredbear]

Yes we increase wages once in receipt of the certicate too.

[eyfs1966]

and the certificate can take many months to actually arrive.............

 

L3 is only required for manager...all other staff are fully qualified at L2. Is your employee already l2, or have they just gone straight to L3 in which case it does affect your 50% of all staff (excluding the manager) being qualified.

[Dennie]

The staff member is currently level 2, but my understanding is that we require 2 level 3s to open up for a session of 16 children aged 3/4. Our afternoons are quiet at the moment but I have a member of staff who has been off sick so I would need at least one level 3 plus one other to operate.

[lsp]

My committee pays all assistants min wage regardless of qualification. They are all level 3 at the moment. We tend to grow our assistants. They start as parent helpers and then start training. Some of us never leave!

[Dennie]

Checking back in the statutory requirements again it would seem that to open with 16 children we only require a level 3 and one level 2, but to open with 26 children we would require a level 6 and a level 3.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Dennie

[Mouseketeer]

a level 6 ? what have I missed or is this if only having 2 staff ?

Edited July 8, 2015 by Mouseketeer

[Dennie]

Yes Mouseketeer I am worried about what to do if I only have 2 staff to cover a session. Our staff range between a level 6 to unqualified, hence my request about level 3.

[eyfs1966]

Checking back in the statutory requirements again it would seem that to open with 16 children we only require a level 3 and one level 2, but to open with 26 children we would require a level 6 and a level 3.

[eyfs1966]

Sorry I'm not following. What age are your children. You could have L6 and L3 for 26 aged 3+ but you could also do this with L3 , L2, unqualified for 24, or other variants.

[Dennie]

All of our staff work part time and covering the end of the day is going to be a problem for us next year, with staff wanting to reduce hours, leaving only 2 to close a session. Basically if I only have 2 members of staff available, my understanding is that if I only have one unqualified member of staff available and one level 3, we cannot remain open. Looking at the statutory guidance my understanding is that I have to have one level 3 plus a level 2 to open for 3/4 year olds. With only 2 staff, I would need one level 3 and one level 2 to admit 16 children aged 3+ in total.

 

I was also initially asking when the level 3 qualification becomes valid, because our committee want to adjust pay accordingly. The practitioner who is completing the level 3 has requested an immediate pay increase from the committee, but does not yet have a certificate. From a legal point of view I wanted opinions on when the level 3 is valid - on completion of the course, on production of the certificate, from the next academic year as we are about to finish for the summer, etc. Usually our pay is reviewed in April, but the practitioner is finishing her course now. Any thoughts or advice would be most welcome as it is some time since a practitioner completed a level 3 whilst working with us.

[eyfs1966]

Yes I think you are quite correct, that 16 children would require a l3 and a l2 ( and don't forget one must be the manager or deputy and you must have a first aider). Re pay I would say it's ok to wait for certificate before paying, but I would think it more than fair to offer to back date pay to date on certificate.

[Dennie]

Thanks eyfs1966. I agree that the pay should certainly be backdated. Fortunately all of our practitioners and even our administrator have a valid first aid certificate. The manager or deputy is always present, it is just ensuring that the other person is a level 2 or 3. It's such a shame that we have one practitioner, with so much experience - over 20 years working in nurseries - and she doesn't count in the ratios.