WIREDGOV

Childminders looking to increase their skills and take part in early years workforce development training can now benefit from improvements made to the online Early Years Workforce Qualifications Audit Tool.

7,000 early years settings and childminders in England are currently registered on the Early Years Workforce Qualifications Audit Tool, benefitting from the interactive online records management system offered by the tool. 130 local authorities are also registered and can access evidence to help them prioritise workforce development for childminders and early years settings in their area.

Following feedback from childminders and settings in 2010, the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has updated and improved the audit tool to ensure that childminders and home-based carers can take control of their own professional progression and be part of workforce development locally and nationally.

The refreshed tool includes easier login, clarity over the information required and a shorter and simpler form to enable childminders to submit their data and be counted in the delivery of high quality early years provision.  Once practitioners have registered and completed their details, they only have to update the information as and when they gain qualifications or details change.

Thom Crabbe, National Manager for Early Years at CWDC, said: The Early Years Workforce Qualifications Audit Tool has been endorsed by many of our partners including the National Childminding Association (NCMA), National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) and local authorities. We've had strong and positive feedback about the benefits it is bringing to settings.

Childminders and home-based carers are a vital part of the early years workforce and it is important that they are included in the picture of the workforce and its development.

We already have a good picture of the workforce emerging from the records of over 44,000 practitioners and want to make sure that childminders are rightly represented in the data.

Stuart Turner, Director of Professional Standards at NCMA said: Professional development is vital to ensuring childminders can continue to offer children the best quality care and early learning opportunities.

NCMA wants to see all registered childminders achieve a Level 3 qualification or above, and the new Qualifications Audit Tool will provide an excellent way for them to track their own personal development and training needs.

Childminder and Early Years Professional Lizzie McAteer from Ledbury has already found the audit tool invaluable in monitoring her own training:

Being a childminder means I work autonomously and therefore I manage all of the administrative requirements for my setting, which includes keeping track of all the certificates and qualifications for myself. Often I have to do this in the evenings because during the day I devote all my attention to the children.

The introduction of the online Early Years Workforce Qualification Audit Tool has been perfect for me. Before, I just kept a file with a list of all my training. Now I have everything filed online in one easy place that I can quickly access.

I found the Audit Tool so easy to use. I just opened it online and filled in all the information which took less than 20 minutes. It will make my job of tracking training much easier and quicker because all the information is at my finger tips and with the click of a button I can see the next steps for my development.

Settings, local authorities and partners already using the tool are clear about its benefits, as the following sample testimonies show:

The Early Years Qualifications Audit Tool is key to helping me understand staff needs. It's reduced my workload significantly, giving me more valuable time to focus on the needs or our children, rather than on completing paperwork.

Clare Roberts, Operations Director of four Kids Planet Day Nurseries, Cheshire.

Our relationship with the local authority is much easier. Since they can access information about our nursery, we spend less time reporting and more time discussing opportunities.

Claire Deadman, Deputy Manager at One Nine Seven Early Years Nursery, Kingston.

Childminders often work on their own from home and can sometimes feel more isolated than other practitioners. The Audit Tool will play a critical role in making sure they are included in national training and development evaluation, just the same as practitioners in other settings.

Stuart Turner, Director of Professional Standards at NCMA.

Now, we know if there are shortfalls because we have clear visibility of needs and can provide specific training to up-skill the staff. For example, we know whether or not a setting has had safeguarding training and we can delegate funding as needed.

Marie McWade, Workforce Development Manager, Bracknell Forest Local Authority.

The Early Years Workforce Qualifications Audit Tool can be accessed at http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/early-years/audit-tool

For media enquiries only, please contact CWDC Media Relations Officer Melissa Loughran on 0113 290 4166 or at melissa.loughran@cwdcouncil.org.uk

The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) supports local areas to drive sector-led improvements so thatmillionsof people and volunteers who work with children and young people across England are able to do the best job they can.

We want England's children, young people and families' workforce to be respected and valued for the positive difference it makes to children, young people and their families.

We work in partnership with lots of different organisations and support workers and employers who want the lives of all children and young people to be healthy, happy and fulfilling. For more information visit: www.cwdcouncil.org.uk