Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the conclusions of a recent report by LSE and Surrey University that graduate nursery teachers for three- to five-year-olds make a small impact on children’s attainment compared to non-graduates; and whether they have any plans to review their policy regarding requirements for nursery staff to be graduates.

The Government recognises that graduates play an important role in improving quality in the early years, and that is why in 2013 we introduced the early years initial teacher training programme which leads to the award of Early Years Teacher Status. We have made a significant investment in this programme by providing funding for course fees and bursaries to eligible trainees, and also funding for employers to support trainees.

Research undertaken by Sandra Mathers and Rebecca Smee in 2014 showed that within the private, voluntary and independent sector, settings with a graduate member of staff scored more highly on all quality measures. Graduate leadership was also associated with a narrower quality gap between settings located in deprived and more advantaged areas. As such the Department supports and encourages those working in the sector to qualify as graduates if they so wish, but we do not currently have any requirements in place for staff working in the early years to be graduates.

The forthcoming workforce strategy will set out the Government’s ambition for graduates in the early years in further detail.