Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consultation her Department has conducted with parents on nursery staff qualifications.

The Department for Education welcomes hearing parents’ views on staff qualifications for those working in the early years.

We regularly undertake a comprehensive survey of parents’ use of childcare and early years provision, and their views and experiences. As part of this survey parents are asked what factors they deem important in determining high quality provision, including the qualification levels of staff.

The childcare and early years survey of parents 2014-15 can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/516924/SFR09-2016_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Parents_Survey_2014-15_report.pdf.pdf

The Department recently conducted a consultation on the appropriate qualification requirements for early years staff operating at Level 3. This consultation was open to responses from anybody with an interest in the early years sector, including parents.