Free training worth millions of pounds



Nine months ago EduCare and the Pre-school Learning Alliance launched a major free training initiative for the Alliance’s 14,000 member nurseries and all their staff. Thousands of members and their teams have already taken advantage of the free membership benefit, saving over £250,000 to date.


All member settings are eligible for the online learning service, worth up to £5,000 to a setting with 20 staff.


The free online learning courses are:


- Delivering the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

- NSPCC Child Protection Awareness in Education

- NSPCC Safer Recruitment

- NSPCC Children’s Rights

- NSPCC Child Neglect

- Managing your Ofsted Inspection (new for 2013)

- Reflective Practice in the Early Years (new for 2013)

- Safeguarding Children through Effective Supervision in the EYFS (new for 2013)


Every course has been verified for continuing professional development by the CPD Certification Service and once a setting has taken its free allocation it can purchase other training courses at a much reduced cost.


The initiative, which is worth millions of pounds to the sector as a whole, is by far the biggest‑ever free training initiative for the early years sector undertaken by a membership organisation.


Neil Leitch, Alliance Chief Executive, said, “Since introducing the free courses we have been inundated with requests from Alliance members wishing to join the scheme. The demand and their popularity clearly demonstrates the need for ongoing training at a time when local authority training budgets have been severely cut. Many childcare providers are finding it much harder to afford to send their staff on training. “This is why the Alliance is doing its best to help the sector during these tough economic times.”


For further information, please visit www.pre-school.org.uk/educare or contact the Information Service team on 020 7697 2595 or email info@pre-school.org.uk.

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