Childcare shake-up creates 90,000 jobs

Suzanna Chambers on the creation of a new profession

A NEW breed of childcare professional is to be created to look after a million children in the next five years in the wake of the Government's plans for youngsters.

Last week the Government unveiled plans for a pounds 300m national childcare strategy, pledging "to make a real difference to the lives of millions of children and their families".

David Blunkett, Secretary of State for Education, announced an extra pounds 20m to provide 20,000 childcare places for youngsters up to the age of 14. This adds to the pounds 300m pledged by the Chancellor last year to establish new childcare places by 2003.

Anne Longfield, director of Kids Club Network, a voluntary organisation that helps groups to set up out-of-school clubs, believes more than 90,000 people will have to be trained over the next four years. There are currently no more than 10,000 employees running out-of-school clubs, and the majority of those cannot get access to training.

"We are talking about a major new profession starting up here," she adds. "We are going to need about half as many childcare workers as we do primary teachers in England."

Latest Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) statistics put the number of primary school teachers in England at 215,171. However, to date, there are only about 50 colleges in the country that provide training for childcare workers.

"If you are going to have such a massive explosion you need every college in the land to provide courses," said Miss Longfield. "The Government knows it needs changing but there is some pressure to get it moving."

At the moment, only half of those employed to care for children after school are trained. Even those who are attaining qualifications spend just 12 months studying compared with three to four years in many European countries.

"If it goes ahead it will change everything," said Miss Longfield. "There will be more clubs, more parents will be able to use the clubs and get money back, and play workers will be better paid." Currently, play workers earn an average of pounds 4 an hour.

In its green paper the Government has allocated pounds 4m to Training and Enterprise Councils to provide training for additional workers. However, at no point in the strategy does the Government explain where all these extra care workers will come from, although there has been some indication that there could be some connection with the Government's "New Deal" for the unemployed.

A DfEE spokeswoman said: "We have allocated extra funding to further education and higher education colleges, and voluntary sector organisations, to run courses." The Qualification and Curriculum Authority has been asked to examine at the development of training courses.

DfEE figures show that more than 144,000 people enrolled in childcare courses at further education and higher education colleges in 1996-97. The numbers registering for specific "play work" courses, suitable for carers running out-of-school clubs, were much lower, with only 996 in the same academic year.