Best qualification/training now to work in child care?

[Musicalmaestro]

Following reading a thread about unqualified staff, I wondered what people considered a good training these days.
I know years ago that NNEB was highly regarded.

We don't take on anyone lower than a level 3 CACHE diploma in childcare and education (early years educator). I work in a nursery/preschool age 2-5.

There is a specific list of qualifications at level 2 and above that are what is known as "approved". ( they used to be known as "full and relevant ")

These are the only ones that count.
So it doesn't matter what we might think are good courses, if they are not on the government list, they don't count.

People trained under the old NNEB are still considered to have done a great course, possibly the best, but they need to have kept up with continuous professional development, as that course is very old and things have changed lots since then.

@Savingpeoplehuntingthings,
Are you finding that hard now? There are so few applications for each job, most places are having to employ level 2 and unqualified just to stay fully staffed.

We are a bit yes but we have a stable staff, very low turnover so rarely need to recruit. We had to cover some maternity leave recently and it was a struggle to find someone. However we've been bitten in the past taking on young girls who are studying or doing an apprenticeship and they just haven't lasted. People seem to think of childcare as an easy job when it is anything but.

Interested to follow this post. I'm working in a preschool with no qualifications ( except having my own children) and loving it. I have looked into taking the relevant courses and am unsure what is best, then when I find a course the cost puts me off as I only work part-time.

Ricardothesnowman That’s a very good point actually, that I hadn’t thought of, about needing to have a standardised qualification.

janedani. Would your employer contribute to the cost?

There are many options of funding for qualifications.
It depends on what previous qualifications you have, you might be able to do an apprenticeship to get your level 3, or other fully funded courses.