Email Justine Greening MP (Nursery Manager) Read the petition First Name Last Name Email constituency / postcode Dear Secretary of State, I'm writing to you today regarding my fears over future childcare provision, and to ask you to reverse a Government decision that will have a catastrophic effect on the childcare sector, including higher costs for parents and the very real risk of a lower quality of care provided for young children. As a care provider, I am deeply concerned - along with many others who have joined the campaign to #SaveOurEarlyYears - about the negative impact of the Government’s decision that all Level 3 Early Years Educators (EYEs) must have at least a C grade in GCSE English and maths to count in the ratios, with no equitable alternative such as Functional Skills allowed. We absolutely agree that English and maths are important for childcare practitioners – but this insistence on GCSE as the only accepted qualification, without the consideration of equitable alternatives such as Functional Skills, means that many prospective EYEs face a barrier to employment - leaving nursery managers and providers such as myself struggling to find qualified staff. My experience tells me that Functional Skills is a qualification that, while demonstrating the good standards of English and maths required, also provides EYEs with the essential soft skills - the inter-personal skills, the passion and knowledge - required to provide high-quality pre-school care for children. Your policy will bite from this September, and will threaten the quality of care we are able to provide to the children that we support. Our parents choose to send their children here because of the exceptional care our staff provide. But this policy threatens our ability to provide the same high levels of care. Quite simply, we will struggle to recruit enough practitioners to deliver this, and prices will rise. And I am not alone – since the Government altered the entry requirements, 43% of nurseries say they are struggling to find suitable candidates for vacancies. This means they will not be able to provide the 30 hours free childcare that the Government has promised parents. As well as failing to attract staff, we will also incur the additional costs of employing such a highly-qualified workforce, and parents will in turn have to pay more. Action must be taken – that is why I am supporting the #SaveOurEarlyYears campaign, which calls on the Government to level the playing field for the childcare sector and consider Functional Skills as an acceptable qualification for EYEs. Functional Skills are recognised by the Government in other sectors, so why not EYEs? Childcare costs are already rising for parents, and this policy will only make things worse. I do hope you will listen, and will again agree to accept Functional Skills as an equivalent qualification for EYEs. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Yours sincerely, [signature] Also send this to my local MP Send to Justine Greening MP Share this with your friends: Your Email Help us get the attention of Education Secretary Justine Greening by sending this pre-written email to her office in Westminster. Feel free to personalise the text of your message in the box provided.
