Report finds fewer professional development opportunities for childminders
by Jess Gibson
Childminders risk being left out of professional development opportunities, a report by the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) has found.
The report is a practice review mapping the landscape of professional development and support programmes available to the early years sector. Led by CooperGibson Research, it draws on the experiences of nearly 500 early years leaders and setting managers through an online survey and in-depth interviews.
The research shows that childminders are far less frequently considered in the targeting and design of professional development programmes, with just five of the 160 programmes identified referencing childminders on their websites. The EEF states that this 鈥渞aises concerns about equitable access to relevant professional development opportunities for this vital part of the workforce鈥.
Other key findings in the review show that:
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most settings (83%) that responded participated in at least one professional development programme in the past year.
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improving children鈥檚 outcome is cited as the top motivation for accessing professional development.
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budget constraints are the biggest barrier to accessing professional development programmes followed by time and staffing constraints.
Commenting in the report, the EEF said: 鈥淧rofessional development programmes help educators to make changes to their teaching or support for children in their care, with the aim of improving children鈥檚 learning outcomes. Access to high-quality professional development is essential to delivering excellent early education and supporting children鈥檚 learning and development, particularly for those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who stand to gain the most.
鈥淓nsuring all early years settings can access effective, evidence-informed PD opportunities is key to improving the quality of education and care, closing the disadvantage gap and helping every child get the best start in鈥痩ife.鈥