A report from a think tank headed by England’s former Children’s Commissioner calls for more accessible and higher-quality training for the early years workforce.

Anne Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives think tank and research partnership Child of the North have joined together to make a series of proposals to tackle the high number of children starting school not ‘school ready’.

An evidence-based approach to supporting children in the preschool years calls for:

• Investment in early childhood education programmes that support the needs of families in educational settings within the most disadvantaged areas
• Improved and extended training opportunities for professionals and families
• Connecting systems more effectively through shared information  – for example better sharing of health conditions or birth factors that may facilitate earlier identification of problems with nurseries and preschools

The  publication says nursery managers and early years educators report insufficient training and support and suggests that early years practitioners do not always feel that the delivery of training aligns with their unique learning styles.

“For example, Level 3 NVQs often consist of large amounts of reading and answering questions which might not be appropriate or accessible to everyone,” it says. “Whatever training is accessed, learning needs to be ongoing in smaller chunks, interspersed with planned opportunities to put theory, new skills, and techniques into practice with children in settings.” The report also says settings should be able to release more than one individual for training at a time, ideally a leader and a practitioner.

Anne Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “I have heard many concerning experiences from school staff about children arriving at Reception wearing nappies, still using buggies, and unable to communicate at the expected level or to socialise with other children. Some of these children have developmental problems, struggle with speech and behaviour, and can require significant extra attention and support from already overstretched schools.”

She added:  “Our preschool system is disjointed, is struggling with a recruitment and retention crisis, and has been historically underfunded. This report provides affordable, realistic proposals and shares best practice that will support a new focus on transforming support for children and families.”

Cara Brundle, director of business development at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “The PVI sector delivers 86% of the total childcare places on the Early Years Register so it’s vital that policy recommendations and solutions reflect the needs of all children and families, within a range of different settings.”

She added: “Early years professionals must be supported with high quality training and ongoing CPD to provide children with the essential life skills and building blocks they need for learning. Evidence based programmes like NDNA’s Maths Champions leave a lasting legacy of increased skills, knowledge and confidence, so practitioners can support children’s early mathematics and language development.”