Examinatin of Witnesses (Questions 260-263)
MS CHRISTINE
GILBERT CBE, MS
ZENNA ATKINS,
MS MIRIAM
ROSEN, MR
DORIAN BRADLEY
AND MS
VANESSA HOWLISON
9 MAY 2007
Q260 Chairman: Even if you are retiring
from Ofsted, that does not mean to say you will be beyond the
reach of the Committee. We can have you back when we are looking
at teaching assessment. There is chaos in early years, is there
not, out here? Chaos. There are private nurseries closing. There
are children's centres appearing. There are local authority provided
nurseries closing down. It is pretty chaotic out there. Is this
a healthy situation out there or not?
Mr Bradley: It is a vibrant sector,
Chairman, that is certainly true, with new providers coming on-stream.
The reassuring thing for parents is that the quality that we see
throughout the sector is good and is continuing to improve.
Q261 Chairman: Some years ago, we
did an inquiry into early years, and we are still very concerned
about the quality of training and the pay of those people working
in early years. Do you think it has improved or is the same? What
is your assessment?
Mr Bradley: The encouraging thing
is that the Government is looking at the Childcare Workforce Development
Strategy and is looking for ways in which better qualified people
enter this most important sector of early education. That can
only be a good thing. But it will take some considerable time,
I think. There is a long way to go until we have a better qualified
workforce in this area of the educational care sector. The pay
rates are, as ever, determined by market forces, so I have no
comment on that really.
Q262 Chairman: They have less qualified
inspectors and lower paid people. They all get a pretty poor deal
then in the early years, do they?
Mr Bradley: Whether they are less
qualified inspectors or not is debatable. All our inspectors are
trained to do the job for which we employ them. In the childcare
workforce inspectors, we have a range of people with different
educational background, from some with very few paper qualifications
but a long experience of working in that sector to others who
are extremely highly qualified.
Q263 Chairman: Chief Inspector, Miriam
Rosen, Vanessa Howlison, Zenna Atkins, for the first time, it
was very nice to meet you. Dorian we wish you well particularly
on this occasion.
Mr Bradley: Thank you, Chairman.
Chairman: Thank you very much. We will
see you again soon.
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