Should your child's reception teacher have GCSE maths and English?

[mrz]

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/dfe-drops-gcse-maths-and-english-requirement-early-years-educators

I think this was inevitable, as soon as the Tories changed the 15 years early education grant to "childcare"

It's not the same thing.

This isn't for class room teachers. This applies to people with Level 3 quals. Nursery nurses etc.

Michael Give was and still is an imbecile. Level 3 quals used to allow students with Functional Skills maths at level 2 to join their course but MG - or the tosser as I call him - said no they must have GCSE.
Functional Skills is a more practical test i.e. how many buckets to fill a bath, rather than x=y. Ifyswim
This has led to many bright, enthusiastic students with a D in maths being unable to work in nurseries.

Having read the article quickly I think they are going to reinstate Functional Skills Level 2 as an entrance qual. So no GCSE maths but they do have to have a maths qualification.

I am not sure about having gcse maths and English makes big difference or not, since I am not familiar with all of this, but I would like reception teacher to have more skill to deal with social/emotional skills rather than having maths and English skills.

Since moving to Australia and seeing how relaxed early years education is here....to no detriment...I think this is fine. But I also think that teachers are under far too much pressure in the UK. I have friends who are at breaking point with teaching and these are people who loved their jobs not that long ago.

This is about the requirement for level 3 nursery nurses (now called Early Years Educators) not Early Years teachers - don't panic! Teachers still need GCSEs and to pass the literacy and numeracy skills test.

I think the question on OP depend on what you expect from reception year at school. Reception in this country is almost eqivalent to kindergarten in other countries. In my native country, they don't expect kindergarten teacher to have maths or language degree or qualifications. They expect them to have child phycology or early years development or whatever.
But still, move on to study those, you needs to get decent grades and they needs to have a t least 2 years degree in the first place, to be kindergarten teacher.

I think in this situation functional skills is fine.

"They expect them to have child phycology or early years development or whatever. " and you need GCSE to study those subjects

Yes, mrz, to be a qualified kindergarten teacher in my country needs a degree. So at least acceptable grades at high school(age 18) to get a job.

So you wouldn't mind if your child's Key person (effectively their teacher) is only functionally literate and numerate?

I mean at 18, to go forward, and study at junior college at least, to be a kindergarten teacher.

Arm, my ds' reception teacher was fabulous. But I never questioned her qualification. Let alone his nursery teacher. I wasn't interested in them teaching academic skills.

The requirements for teachers are all a bit irrelevant given you don't have to be a qualified teacher to teach anymore surely...?

So you only need GCSE if you're teaching academic things

No mrz I wouldn't worry that my DC's nursery teacher was 'only' numerate, because I wouldn't be expecting them to teach my DC how to factorise expressions or plot quadratics anyway.

What I really care about is that they are good with children, fun, energetic, creative and caring.

Span you still need QTS to teach in state schools

So should a secondary PE...Art ...Music ...Geography ...History ..English ...teacher be numerate?

I struggled to get a C in maths, thirty years ago. I've never struggled to teach anything at primary level, and have lots of advanced qualifications. I just find numeracy hard. There are many highly qualified teachers who don't have the temperament or skills to support children's learning.
GCSE maths isn't that crucial.

You don't need QTS to teach in an academy and a lot of state schools are academies. I don't mind if my son's key worker at nursery does not have GCSE maths and English. I would like all of his teachers to have QTS once he reaches school though.

To be a nursery or reception teacher in this country you also need a degree and a postgraduate qualification. Teachers have GCSEs so let's not worry about that.

Yes, I am more than happy for my child's key person to be an excellent nursery nurse with good written and spoken English and functional maths skills. My child's preschool is also led by a degree qualified professional, which I think is ideal.

The experiment to require nursery nurses to have C grade GCSEs may have been well intended but in reality it has caused a recruitment problem. I'd rather my child had a key person.

But this is about reception teacher, not about secondary teacher?

Its not even about Reception or nursery teachers, its about nursery nurses.

mrz but not in academies, which more and more schools are becoming.

I have taught from Nursery to Year 6. Did the good old 4 year Education degree many moons ago, specialising in Early Years. For those teaching children of statutory school age and above, I do expect a degree. By teaching, I mean those who hold Qualified Teacher Status. Thus I expect English and Maths GCSE as standard.

But when my dc were in day nursery and pre school, none of the staff were qualified teachers with QTS. They all held relevant childcare and early educators qualifications. All very competent.

For Nursery schools and Nursery classes attached to primary schools, I would expect a mix of teachers with QTS and then other suitably qualified staff.

So to answer the question, yes I expect a Reception teacher to have Maths and English GCSE. Just as I expect of anyone with the job title of Teacher to have QTS following on from Higher Education.

I would expect any qualified Nursery Nurse, TA or Teacher to have GCSE English and Maths. I do not think it necessary that other childcarers have those GCSE's but they should have some form of child care qualification

(and yes I am a qualified Nursery Nurse/Nanny and a qualified Teacher)