A reality check!

Early Years Educator (EYE) Magazine articles about EYP & EYT training, Nov 2013,

EYE Magazine have announced on Twitter that there November issue will carry articles relating to EYP & EYT training.

@deborahfielden @earlyyearscpd The November issue of EYE will have articles on the EYT and EYE from training provider, and from Teach First

— EarlyYearsEducator (@EYEearlyEd) August 8, 2013

Direct contact with Ms Truss

I have today been advised, by Graham Stuart MP, that I should write to Ms Truss at the following address to ensure a direct response:

Elizabeth Truss MP
Department for Education
Castle View House
East Lane
Runcorn
Cheshire
WA7 2GJ

I have posted the following letter to her today, 28th August 2013:-

************************************

Dear Ms Truss,

Further to our recent communications via Mr Graham Stuart MP, I will be most grateful if you will in future respond directly to my communications in respect of the difficulties currently encountered by Early Years Professionals. It seems most impractical to involve my local MP in a matter which relates purely to the DfE and which effectively removes his attention from more local but equally important political matters.

I am most appreciative of your responses to my concerns however I remain anxious that in spite of your rhetoric, which clearly establishes the value of Early Years Professionals and the newly titled Early Years Teachers, there remains no conclusive decision or plan to pay these highly skilled individuals a wage commensurate with their level of expertise and qualification. Indeed, I suspect that many existing EYPs may well be considering leaving the sector in order to earn a wage that can more effectively meet the financial commitments of a family!

May I suggest that you take a look at the disparity between the wages of teachers with QTS and those without QTS on the document to which you refer in your last email (http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/2013%20stpcd%20master%20final.pdf). It is most apparent that there is a difference of almost £6000. And yet, you continue to claim that EYPs and EYTs, specifically trained to deal with the ever-changing needs of our youngest children, are equally as important as teachers of our older children.

With respect to your comments regarding the other options which may be available to me should I wish to achieve QTS, I do not currently get paid a wage that can effectively support my family, let alone support me through yet further education or assessment to qualify to teach another age group.

I have begun to investigate the potential to achieve QTS through the ‘assessment only’ route as you suggest, however I am being advised that this is not available to me locally (East Yorkshire) and that I must be able to demonstrate experience in another age range to be accepted. I wonder if you would suggest that I give up my relatively secure, although poorly paid, permanent job (£8.16/hour) to seek primary school experience which will likely be at a lower pay rate and on a temporary contract, so that I might be considered a suitable candidate to pay approximately £2000 plus travel expenses for this route?

I must continue to assert that my skills and training have been explicitly honed to focus on the very different needs and education of the under 5s (as directed by the EYFS), although I have been suitably equipped with the knowledge and understanding to teach older children. However I must admit that I am beginning to wonder whether my protracted qualifications, experience and skills are still considered to be good enough?

I look forward to your response so that I may share your comments with my fellow campaigners and media followers.

Kind regards,

Julie Dervey

P.S. You may wish to take a look at my Blog which relates to my campaign and the comments from others who have signed the petition which is committed to improved conditions for EYPs. I have provided the links below:

http://eyptrials.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/department-for-education-stop-discrimination-against-early-years-professionals

***************************************

I wonder if anyone reading this Blog will care to join me in mailing this MP?

Don't forget to pass on the links to the Blog and the petition whenever you can.
Many thanks Julie

Interview to be broadcast on KCFM 99.8 today!

 

 Interview to be broadcast on KCFM 99.8 today!

 

 

 

Local campaigner calls on Government to improve rights of preschool workers

 

Tuesday, August 27th 2013 08:45

A Qualified Early Years Professional from East Yorkshire is calling on the Education Minister, Liz Truss, to improve the rights of pre-school workers.

Julie Dervey is campaigning for the workers to receive the same status and salary as teachers, which they had previously been promised.
She told KCFM that she had written to Ms Truss about the issue, and was not satisfied with the response:
"When we signed up for this, it was the gold standard for early years children- we were told we were going to be the equivalent of QTS teachers in primary schools.
"The difference has turned out to be that we won't get paid the same money.
"Liz Truss suggested that we might like to pay for our own training if we insist that we want to get QTS qualifications in order to access the pay rate. 
"It's going to cost us more money, and most of us EYPs aren't earning enough."
She added that hundreds of people have already shown their support for the campaign:

"I've had support from around the world because this affects loads of people- not just Early Years Professionals, but the families of the children engaged in these schools at the moment."

 

POLL RESULTS: Should Early Years Teachers have Qualified Teacher Status?

 

 

The results for this poll are in - An overwhelming majority of respondents are in agreement:

YES - they should have parity with primary and secondary school teachers

= (390 votes) 79.59%

NO - it isn't necessary

= (100 votes) 20.41%

Chris Forbes commented:

"Our children are entitled to the best education we can provide. The EPPE project, as mentioned by the minister herself, highlights the benefits of having a qualified teacher working with all pre school children. The project was lengthy and involved and continues through various means of monitoring and assessing effective learning. This surely speaks volumes about quality of learning for our children. People entering teaching should expect and receive the qualifications they aspire to. The philosophy and training should provide insight and understanding how children learn and develop at all ages and stages in their life. QTS status is vital to all people for all ages of children. A hierarchy through age groups is not acceptable. How will the best be encouraged in both genders to undertake teacher training if this happens? Emphasis on quality has raised all expectations with in the early years. Foundations are crucial."

Take a look at this poll available on: http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/26/Debate-should-early-years-teachers-have-qualifed-teacher-status#comments_id_1234674

My thanks to www.daynurseries.co.uk for their support.

Another interview with KCFM Radio

I have just recorded another interview about the petition with KCFM Radio.

I think it went much better this time and I felt I was much more succinct than last time.

I was advised to expect the interview to be aired on Tuesday 27th August. I will report if I receive any updates on that.

Natalie, the KCFM interviewer, was very interested to hear how I felt about Ms Truss and her reluctance to contact me directly over this issue!

My email to Liz Truss today - 16th August 2013

As you can imagine, I am more than a little perturbed as to why Ms Truss feels unable to respond directly to my emails! Maybe she does not wish me to be able to cut and paste her comments here?!!

Here is my most recent response to Ms Truss via Mr Graham Stuart:

Dear Mr Stuart,

Please accept my thanks for forwarding Ms Truss’s responses to my enquiries relating to ‘the discrimination of Early Years Professionals’.

May I suggest that it would be more practical for my future communications to receive a direct response from Ms Truss. This will avoid absorbing your valuable constituency time by your having to attend to a matter for the Department for Education. It will also prevent Ms Truss from appearing to distance herself from what may look like a ‘thorny issue’!

As I presently have no direct email access to Ms Truss, I will be grateful if you will pass on this response to her latest communication.

****************

Dear Ms Truss,

Further to our recent communications, I will be most grateful if you will in future respond directly to my communications in this respect. It seems most impractical to involve my local MP in a matter which relates purely to the DfE and which effectively removes his attention from more local but equally important political matters.

I am most appreciative of your responses to my concerns however I remain anxious that in spite of your rhetoric, which clearly establishes the value of Early Years Professionals and the newly titled Early Years Teachers, there remains no conclusive decision or plan to pay these highly skilled individuals a wage commensurate with their level of expertise and qualification. Indeed, I suspect that many existing EYPs may well be considering leaving the sector in order to earn a wage that can more effectively meet the financial commitments of a family!

May I suggest that you take a look at the disparity between the wages of teachers with QTS and those without QTS on the document to which you refer in your last email (http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/2013%20stpcd%20master%20final.pdf). It is most apparent that there is a difference of almost £6000. And yet, you continue to claim that EYPs, specifically trained to deal with the ever-changing needs of our youngest children, are equally as important as teachers of our older children.

With respect to your comments regarding the other options which may be available to me should I wish to achieve QTS, I do not currently get paid a wage that can effectively support my family, let alone support me through yet further education or assessment to qualify to teach another age group.

I have begun to investigate the potential to achieve QTS through the ‘assessment only’ route as you suggest, however I am being advised that this is not available to me locally (East Yorkshire) and that I must be able to demonstrate experience in another age range to be accepted. I wonder if you would suggest that I give up my relatively secure, although poorly paid, permanent job (£8.16/hour) to seek primary school experience which will likely be at a lower pay rate and on a temporary contract, so that I might be considered a suitable candidate to pay over £2000 for this route?

I must continue to assert that my skills and training have been explicitly honed to focus on the very different needs and education of the under 5s (as directed by the EYFS) though I have been suitably equipped with the knowledge and understanding to teach older children, however I must admit that I am beginning to wonder whether my protracted qualifications, experience and skills are still considered to be good enough?

I look forward to your response so that I may share your comments with my fellow campaigners and media followers.

Kind regards,

Julie Dervey

P.S. You may wish to take a look at my Blog which relates to my campaign and the comments from others who have signed the petition which is committed to improved conditions for EYPs. I have provided the links below:

http://eyptrials.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/department-for-education-stop-discrimination-against-early-years-professionals

Response from Liz Truss dated 12th August 2013

Link to campaign: http://www.change.org/petitions/department-for-education-stop-discrimination-against-early-years-professionals

 

It is at this point that I fear Ms Truss does not know how much difference the QTS pay scale makes to those working as teachers. Currently QTS teachers receive between £21,804 pa and £31,868 pa (excluding London areas). Unqualified teachers receive between £15,976 pa and £25,267 pa. 

This vast disparity must be addressed if the Early Years is to maintain the dedication of the existing EYPs within the workforce. Without these highly trained and specifically skilled practitioners, we will deprive countless young children and families of crucial support and sometimes critical interventions at a time when families are under increasing pressures.

The STPC document referred to is available at: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/2013%20stpcd%20master%20final.pdf

I need to further investigate the possibility of achieving Early Years QTS via the assessment only route. As far as I can make out, the closest providers to Hull are Leeds.

 

I understand that applicants for this training must have experience within two or more separate settings and across two or more age ranges. As I have specific experience and skills of working with children prior to compulsory school age, I do not think I will be eligible to access this route.

 

I don't agree that EYPs should be forced to train in another age group as the needs of children in primary schools vary immeasurably from those in early years settings. In fact, that is the fundamental point of training specifically for the needs of our youngest children and their families!

 

I will let you know how that pans out!

15th Aug 2013: Daynurseries.co.uk article relating to the petition

I am very pleased to relay the news that Daynurseries.co.uk are publishing an article relating to the petition onto their website today. The article can be viewed at:

http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1560801/early-years-professional-launches-petition-in-battle-to-gain-qualified-teacher-status



As it appears that this petition is relatively slow burning and will take some time to permeate the minds and thoughts of Government Ministers, it is crucial that every opportunity to publicise the campaign is followed up. I will therefore, be most grateful if other campaigners would arrange to approach their local media to raise awareness throughout the UK.

 

750 people have already signed the petition and this is splendid news but we need many, many more signatures to ensure that those in charge acknowledge that EYPs have been facing discrimination and sort out this terribly damaging situation.

 

I truly believe that without an urgent Government intervention, many existing EYPs will be tempted  away from the sector to seek employment opportunities with more acceptable financial packages.

 

Link to campaign: http://www.change.org/petitions/department-for-education-stop-discrimination-against-early-years-professionals

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