Pre-school education
In Scotland, 3 and 4 year old children are entitled to free, part-time, pre-school education. National census information from 2006 showed 97.4% of all children entitled to this education were enrolled in pre-school centres.
Pre-school centre
Throughout the report, the term pre-school centre covers the range of provision for children receiving free, part-time, pre-school education. It includes:
Throughout the report, the following terms have been used to cover teachers and staff working in pre-school.
Teacher
In this report, a teacher working in pre-school refers to a fully qualified teacher who has gained a degree qualification through a university and/or teacher education institute. Teachers in Scotland are an all-graduate profession.
The requirements for admissions for teachers in primary and nursery schools and classes are the same. Many teachers enter the teaching profession through a four-year course leading to a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree. Others attain a first degree followed by a one-year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) course. Both routes are at Level 10 in the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF). Entrants to teacher qualification courses need to have gained passes in English at Higher level (Grade C or above) and mathematics at Standard Grade (Grade 1 or 2), or equivalent. Teacher education courses provide teachers with a foundation in the professional skills needed in the general principles of teaching.
Teachers in local authorities in Scotland are required to register with the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS), initially meeting the standard for initial teacher education, and then the standard for full registration at the end of their probationary period. Additionally, they adhere to the Council’s codes of practice.
Nursery Nurse
Nursery nurse has been a term used generally for staff other than teachers working with young children in pre-school centres. A range of titles is now in use as well as nursery nurse, e.g. nursery assistant, early years educator, early education officer, pre-school worker. In this report the term nursery nurse is used to cover the variety of titles.
A range of qualifications can be undertaken by nursery nurses at different levels of achievement. Most widely held are the Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Childcare and Education and the Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) Level 3 and Level 2 in Early Years Care and Education. Staff can train in colleges or they can obtain their qualification through a vocational course at their place of work in a pre-school centre.
Those staff not trained as teachers and working in the early years sector providing day care of children service fall within the legislation laid down in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) was established by this act to be responsible for the regulation of the social services workforce and to develop their education and training. Included in the workforce which the SSSC regulates, are around 30000 early education and childcare workers who perform a variety of roles in a range of children’s settings in Scotland. In 2006, the childcare workforce was required to register (and hold or be working towards a recognised qualification) with the SSSC. The SSSC published its qualification criteria for registration in March 2004. Day care of children service workers are split into three categories with three levels of qualifications all recognised within the SCQF.
By 2011, the criteria for registration of early years manager will be superseded by a new degree-level equivalent qualification.
Notes on Findings and Recommendations
Throughout this report, key recommendations related to HMIE findings are highlighted in blue and enclosed in boxes, and are summarised again at the end of the report.