Independent review of Scotland's early learning and out of school care workforces

An independent review of the skills and qualifications essential for the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and Out of School Care (OSC) workforces in Scotland.


Appendix G

Second consultation: questionnaire:

About you/your setting

1. Please indicate one category which best describes you:

Out of School Care: employer/owner; manager; practitioner; trainee; other professional

Training provider: BA Childhood Practice, SVQ playwork etc

Parent/carer

Young person

Union/professional representation

Other
Please specify

2. Please describe the setting in which you work or have contact ( e.g. out of school care, playwork, breakfast club, holiday care).

3. Please select the qualification(s) you currently hold or qualifications the staff hold in the setting you are discussing:

No Qualification

Level 1: Access 1

Level 2: National progressions
Awards, National Certificates

Level 3: Foundation Standard Grades,
National Progressions Awards,
National Certificates

Level 4: Intermediate 1, General
Standard Grade, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 1, National
Progressions Awards, National
Certificates

Level 5: Intermediate 2, Credit
Standard Grade, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 2, National progressions Awards, National Certificates

Level 6: Highers, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 3,
Professional Development Awards,
National Progressions Awards,
National Certificates

Level 7: Professional Development
Awards, Higher National Certificate
( HNC), Certificates of Higher education
(CertHE), Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 3, Advanced
Highers

Level 8: Professional Development
Awards, Higher National Diplomas,
Scottish Vocational Qualifications
(SQV) level 4, Diplomas of Higher
Educations (DipHE)

Level 9: Bachelors/Ordinary degrees
( BA, BSc), Professional Development
Awards, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 4, Graduate
Diplomas, Graduate Certificates

Level 10: Bachelor's degrees with
Honours ( BA (Hons), BSc (Hons),
Professional Development Awards,
Graduate Diplomas, Graduate
Certificates

Level 11: Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 5,
Professional Development Awards,
Postgraduate Diplomas, Master's
Degrees, Integrated Master's Degrees,
Postgraduate Certificates

Level 12: Professional Development Awards, Doctoral Degrees

4. Are you currently training for a qualification? If yes which one?

5. Are you/your setting registered with Scottish Social Services Council ( SSSC)

Answer: yes / no / unsure

Your priorities

6. In your opinion what are the most important things children need from the staff who work with them in out of school care?

7. In your opinion what are the most important things families need from the adults who work with their children?

Status

8. We believe the work of the out of school care workforce is vitally important. How do you think the general public perceive the workforce?

9. Do you think the public's perception of the workforce could be improved and if so how?

10. Do you believe we have the right mix of people in the workforce (ie a workforce that is sufficiently diverse and inclusive when considering characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, age)? If not how might we change this?

11. Do you believe the profession attracts high enough quality recruits? How would you suggest we recruit the best people and retain them within the profession?

Qualifications and training

12. How well do you think you/the staff you work with have been taught? The blend of skills, knowledge and capabilities they have gained through their training and qualifications are…

Excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, poor, very poor

13. What skills, knowledge and capabilities should be taught through initial training and qualifications?

14. What skills, knowledge and capabilities should be taught through ongoing continuous professional development/training?

15. Do you believe the current qualifications equip people to move between out of school care and other parts of the social care workforce e.g. younger children to older children to the elderly?

16. How well do you rate the general standard of delivery of qualifications and training courses?

Excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, poor, very poor, too varied to say, no recent experience, not sure?

17. Consider your latest or most important qualification/training and explain how relevant and useful it has been in supporting your understanding and practice in working within out of school care? Please state the qualification/training first followed by your description.

18. Considering what is currently available to you (and other staff in your setting) to support your understanding of high quality out of school care, what would you suggest to improve this?

19. Drawing on your experiences of training and qualifications how might you have been better supported while studying for those?

20. Are there any barriers to accessing initial training and/or continuous professional development/training? Please explain.

21. Do you think that the quality assurance processes for qualification(s) and training are fit for purpose?

22. Do you believe that all out of school care settings should have a lead graduate practitioner? Please explain your views.

Skills, knowledge and experience

23. Are there particular skills, knowledge and experiences that are specific to out of school care? And if so what are they?

24. What would you say are the key aspects of high quality out of school care practice? How do you ensure that that these experiences exist in your setting?

Staffing

25. What mix of staff do you think makes the best team of out of school care workers?

26. Do you believe different staff require different training and qualifications? If so please explain.

27. Are there any obstacles to developing a higher quality workforce that you can identify?

28. How would you suggest career pathways and progression might be improved within the out of school care workforce?

29. Any further information that you believe would support the review of the out of school care workforce.

Questionnaire: the Independent review of the Early Learning and Childcare Workforce

About you/your setting

1. Please indicate one category which best describes you:

Early Learning and Childcare: employer/owner; manager; practitioner; trainee; other professional

Training provider: BA Childhood studies, BA Childhood Practitioner, Initial Teacher Education, please describe

Parent/carer

Childminder

Early Years Teacher

Union/professional representation

Other

Please specify

2. Please indicate one category which best describes the setting in which you work or have contact:

Childminder

LA Nursery Class

LA Nursery School

Other LA/Daycare or Family Centre

Private Setting e.g. daycare, nursery

Voluntary Setting e.g. playgroup, pre-school

Further Education, please specify ( e.g. provides qualifications in NC, HCN, SVQ, PDA)

Higher Education, please specify ( e.g. provides qualifications in BA Childhood Practice, BA Education etc)

Other

3. Please select the qualification(s) you

currently hold or qualifications the staff hold in the setting you are discussing:

No qualification

Level 1: Access 1

Level 2: National progressions
Awards, National Certificates

Level 3: Foundation Standard Grades,
National Progressions Awards,
National Certificates

Level 4: Intermediate 1, General
Standard Grade, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 1, National
Progressions Awards, National
Certificates

Level 5: Intermediate 2, Credit
Standard Grade, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 2, National
progressions Awards, National
Certificates

Level 6: Highers, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 3,
Professional Development Awards,
National Progressions Awards,
National Certificates

Level 7: Professional Development
Awards, Higher National Certificate
( HNC), Certificates of Higher education
(CertHE), Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 3, Advanced
Highers

Level 8: Professional Development
Awards, Higher National Diplomas,
Scottish Vocational Qualifications
(SQV) level 4, Diplomas of Higher
Educations (DipHE)

Level 9: Bachelors/Ordinary degrees
( BA, BSc), Professional Development
Awards, Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 4, Graduate
Diplomas, Graduate Certificates

Level 10: Bachelor's degrees with
Honours ( BA (Hons), BSc (Hons),
Professional Development Awards,
Graduate Diplomas, Graduate
Certificates

Level 11: Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SQV) level 5,
Professional Development Awards,
Postgraduate Diplomas, Master's
Degrees, Integrated Master's Degrees,
Postgraduate Certificates

Level 12: Professional Development
Awards, Doctoral Degrees

4. Are you currently training for a qualification? If yes which one?

5. Are you/your setting registered with Scottish Social Services Council ( SSSC)

Answer: yes / no / unsure

6. Who inspects your setting

Answer: Education Scotland, Care Inspectorate, Unsure

Your priorities

7. In your opinion what are the most important things children need from the staff who work with them in early learning and childcare?

8. In your opinion what are the most important things families need from the adults who work with their children?

Status

9. We believe the work of the early learning and childcare workforce is vitally important. How do you think the general public perceive the early learning and childcare workforce?

10. Do you think the public's perception of the workforce could be improved and if so how?

11. Do you believe we have the right mix of people in the workforce (ie a workforce that is sufficiently diverse and inclusive when considering characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, age)? If not how might we change this?

12. Do you believe the profession attracts high enough quality recruits? How would you suggest we recruit the best people and retain them within the profession?

Qualifications and training

13. How well do you think you/the early learning and childcare practitioners you work with have been taught? The blend of skills, knowledge and capabilities they have gained through their training and qualifications are…

Excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, poor, very poor

14. What skills, knowledge and capabilities should be taught through initial training and qualifications?

15. What skills, knowledge and capabilities should be taught through ongoing continuous professional development/training?

16. Do you believe the current qualifications equip people to move between early learning and childcare and other parts of the social care workforce e.g. younger children to older children to the elderly?

17. How well do you rate the general standard of delivery of qualifications and training courses?

Excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, poor, very poor, too varied to say, no recent experience, not sure

18. Consider your latest or most important qualification/training and explain how relevant and useful it has been in supporting your understanding and practice in working within early learning and childcare? Please state the qualification/training first followed by your description.

19. Considering what is currently available to you (and other staff in your setting) to support your understanding of high quality early learning and childcare, what would you suggest to improve this?

20. Drawing on your experiences of training and qualifications how might you have been better supported while studying for those?

21. Are there any barriers to accessing initial training and/or continuous professional development/training? Please explain.

22. Do you think that the quality assurance processes for qualification(s) and training are fit for purpose?

23. The government is committed to having a graduate practitioner in all early learning and childcare settings, what are your views on this?

Skills, knowledge and experience

24. Are there particular skills, knowledge and experiences that are specific to early learning and childcare? And if so what are they?

25. What would you say are the key aspects of high quality early years learning and childcare practice? How do you ensure that that these experiences exist in your setting?

Staffing

26. What do you think makes the best team of early years practitioners? (You may include: Early Years Teachers, Early Childhood Practitioners, Nursery Nurses, Nursery Assistants, Support Assistants, Support Workers, others etc.)

27. Do you believe different staff require different training and qualifications? If so please explain.

28. Are there clear career pathways and progression routes within early learning and childcare for you and the people you work with?

Answer: Yes / no / not sure

Please explain your answer

29. The government intends to expand the Early Learning and Childcare workforce in the future to support the learning and care of more and younger children. What advice would you give to ensure the workforce is suitable and ready to provide the high quality practice necessary?

30. Are there any obstacles to developing a higher quality workforce that you can identify?

31. Any further information that you believe would support the review of the early learning and childcare workforce.

Contact

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