Equivalent is not the same!!!!!

I received this email from Best Practice Network today (24 Sep 13):

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Good day to you. 

Thank you for your request for a personalised confirmation that Early Years Professional Status is considered EQUIVALENT to Early Years Teacher Status. The statements have been despatched over the past couple of days so you should receive yours soon, if you haven’t already done so.

As you will know from our July newsletter (extract below) we did not offer to provide a replacement certificate but rather a confirmation of equivalence.  The language is very important so please be careful to use the phrase ‘confirmation of equivalence’ in any discussions you might have. We have already received  a lot of questions about this so are sending this email to make sure everything is as clear as possible. 

The statement confirming equivalence that you receive from us does not mean that this is a conversion or replacement certificate.  This was not what we offered. It  would not be possible because EYPS and Early Years Teacher Status are two distinct awards  with DIFFERENT standards.  Similarly, Qualified Teacher Status is another award with its own set of professional standards.  Those with Early Years Professional Status can refer to themselves as Early Years Teachers but  have achieved EYPS, not Early Years Teacher Status.  You cannot, therefore, have a certificate to say you have been awarded Early Y ears Teacher Status –   the confirmation of equivalence that you have been sent makes this clear and should be useful to you in explaining this to others, including employers.

This may seem confusing but we hope that this email helps in clarifying things.   

The newsletter text is below.  Please do keep in touch and share your good news stories.

Best wishes,

The Early Years Team at Best Practice Network

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So to clarify:

The DfE says that Early Years Professional Status is EQUIVALENT to but NOT THE SAME as Early Years Teacher Status. Best Practice Network also says that the Early Years Professional Status is EQUIVALENT to but NOT THE SAME as Early Years Teacher Status and are pleased to provide a written statement of ‘confirmation of EQUIVALENCE’. Yet in the next paragraph BPN seems to go to extraordinary lengths to explain how incredibly DIFFERENT the two qualifications are because they are NOT covering THE SAME set of standards for working with young children.

As, it is obvious to me and many others that the two sets of standards are NOT THE SAME, surely it will be necessary to provide additional training to top-up the now out-of-date and, apparently therefore, less desirable set of skills provided by Early Years Professionals in order that EQUIVALENT and SAME levels of Early Years provision can be ensured.

Most Early Years Professionals would have no problem with additional (FREE) training to keep their skills up to date. Indeed, this is a key part of their remit - to ensure continuous review and analysis of existing skills and systems so that provision can be continually developed and adjusted to suit changing criteria.

We were promised that if we worked hard, over a prolonged period, enduring an extremely rigorous assessment process, to achieve the particular skill set to provide the specific leadership skills for Early Years provision, as dictated by the DfE, then we would be suitably rewarded with the salary commensurate of a graduate led workforce.

Regrettably, I believe that Early Years Professionals are in serious danger of being side-lined. We should not have to provide a letter from our trainer that explains that we can be called an Early Years Teacher if we want. - I am afraid that although this ‘statement confirming equivalence’ is probably well-intentioned, it reminds me of the letter from your mum that explains you are too sick to go out at playtime but you are not too sick to be at school. – Just not convincing enough!

I would like to ask if any of us would be prepared to stand by and allow a child to experience this sort of treatment.

We have been trained as Early Years Professionals to be assertive and fight for the needs and rights of each, unique child. This we do as a commitment to those children and families we serve.

I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD BEGIN TO FIGHT FOR THE NEEDS AND RIGHTS OF EACH EARLY YEARS PROFESSIONAL.

Please sign the petition:

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/department-for-education-please-address-the-inequality-between-early-years-teachers-eyps-or-eyts-and-teachers-with-qts