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compulsary First aid consultation


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The link below is for the government consultation on the proposed requirement for all newly qualified staff (level 2 and 3) to hold a paediatric first aid certificate before being counted in ratios. This was launched yesterday and the closing date is 10th December.

 

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/paediatric-first-aid-eyfs-statutory-framework-amendments

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That's exactly what I was going to suggest in the consultation. It's definitely not included in my area. Don't think a 3 month grace would be much use either, it would cost a fortune to get someone in privately to do a first aid course when we may only need 1 or 2 members of staff to do it and the councils early years team only put them on every so often, for example we have none available until January and the last one was in the summer. Think it should be mandatory to be done while doing the course. Also, it would mean that we were paying out for new members of staff to do first aid and then you may find that they were not very good and have to let them go. =waste of money or make them pay for it themselves. Don't know about other areas, we have to pay about £50 per person for the course. What do you do? council or private?

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It's a fabulous idea in principle and before money was quite so tight as it is now I used to have all my team first aid qualified (for their own benefit as well as the setting's).

 

We have no training grants in our area unless you count the apprenticeship grant. There are also the knock on costs of having everyone renewed every 3 years too to take into account - the cost of the course, the cost of paying someone to do the course and the cost of paying for staff cover whilst everyone is off training!

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I pay £55 for our first aid training because it's not included in the NVQ qualifications and I feel better knowing everyone has it.

I have it written into our contracts that we pay for all required training but if they leave the company within 6 months of taking the course they have to pay the £55 back, just I case people don't last through the probationary period or leave soon after starting

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wow! not sure what happened to the size of the font on my earlier post. I apologise, not shouting!!

Our staff are all due at different times too, otherwise i could see the benefit of doing everyone together and inviting other settings along too. We also have quite a transient population in our area, staff do come and go so even if i decided to just go ahead and do them all together whether they needed it or not, we may still find that then they leave etc, like the idea of putting it into contracts about paying it back if they leave. I do that already with DBS as have been stung with that before.

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I have filled in questionnaire, but frankly was somewhat confused by the whole thing... they are saying newly qualifieds must do PFA to count in ratio...fine...but what then happens after 3 years? Must they then all be re trained? What is the point? The EYFS asks for 1. Is this a way of actually saying all staff must have a current PFA?

To my mind, we need someone to say either a PFA is a requirement for all staff, OR it's not, not one rule for one set of staff and different for another.

 

(Or have I completely missed the point?)

 

PS. I'm getting a little weary of these endless "consultations" and "calls for evidence"......

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In the small print the costings for future renewals etc. are based on new entrants being paid the minimum wage rather than the living wage

 

"We are implicitly assuming that new entrants qualified at Level 2 will enter the sector at age 18 and will be aged 21 at the time they will require their first refresher training course.​"

 

This however this extract is from a government research report in 2003 - (haven't found anything more recent) which debunks that idea

 

"Who works in childcare?
The LFS data show that the childcare workforce is overwhelmingly female (97%) and white (97%), Table 2. The majority employed in childcare are aged between 30 and 50 (60%) and have children of their own aged under 19 (65%).​"

 

And the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2011 report put the average hourly rate for a childcare worker at £7.80/£7.90 - again well above the minimum wage​ being used by the consultation costings.

 

This would suggest that the costings for this are seriously skewed - whilst it is a good idea in principal - in practice it is another thing that's going to cost a fortune.

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Yep I paid for my staff team at the beginning of last academic year and paid for food handling the year before and safeguarding this year. We have done it as a group so has benefited team building as well on our premises and did invite practitioners from other settings and parents. Did not get any take up from externals though.

But money is getting tight so not sure I can do anything next year.

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