CWDC given go-ahead to re-design EYPS

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has been awarded nearly £17m for the next financial year to redesign the Early Years Professional Status qualification and roll out the New Leaders in Early Years scheme.

Education secretary Michael Gove announced the funding, part of £113.4m that the sector skills body will receive in 2011-2012 for workforce development, in his final remit letter to the CWDC. In the letter he asks for the organisation to come up with specific proposals for the redevelopment of EYPS in light of Clare Tickell’s EYFS review, Graham Allen’s Early Intervention review, Frank Field’s child poverty review and the Government’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) Green Paper.

The Department for Education is to withdraw funding from the CWDC next year and take over its key functions (News, 24 November 2010).

Mr Gove’s letter highlights early years as a priority area for the Government and said that its goal is to increase the size of the workforce and improve the skills of childcare practitioners.

He wrote, ‘In terms of specific work streams, the Council should continue to roll out the New Leaders in Early Years programme, and ensure that existing candidates on the EYPS programme continue to receive their training and assessment. I expect the Council to develop detailed proposals for the redevelopment of the EYPS programme from 2011-2012 and to run a retendering exercise for the programme in spring/summer of 2011.’

The £113.4m being given to the CWDC this year is broken down into £79.9m for social work, early years £16.85m, educational psychologists £5.2m and families and parenting £0.5m.

Thom Crabbe, national programme manager for early years at CWDC, said, ‘The remit letter sets out that we will look at the recommendations made in the EYFS review. There were some encouraging and positive findings in the review around leadership and qualifications. The Government’s official response to the EYFS review is expected in the summer, so we will obviously take that into account as well. At the moment, like everyone we are in the process of reading and digesting what the review is saying. We will be taking the recommendations into account for the new intake of EYPs in January 2012.’

Mr Crabbe said he could not yet give any details of how the New Leaders in Early Years programme will be rolled out.

The CWDC has said it intends to continue as a sector skills organisation after March 2012.