A STUDENT was invited on to BBC Radio 4 to talk about her Early Years course and the introduction of the 30 hours free childcare scheme.

Morgan Parker, 24, from Southend, who is currently on Seevic College’s Foundation Degree in Early Years, was interviewed by Nick Robinson with Josh Hillman, Director of Education at The Nuffield Foundation.

Morgan said: “The scheme is being set up from September 2017 to provide parents of 3-4 year olds who work a minimum of 16 hours per week in England to 30 hours of free childcare – rather than the current 15 hours.”

Morgan, who is also Deputy Manager of Little Legs Nursery in Southend, said: “We spoke about the challenges nurseries such as Little Legs are facing with the 30 hours coming in, as there is going to be such a high-demand.

“We discussed if staff wages reflected in their practice, and the impact of having higher educated members of staff within supervisory roles.”

Morgan will return to the college in September to top-up to the BA (Hons) Education Studies & Early Years.

She said: “My tutors have been amazing. They have shown me nothing but true inspiration, drive and determination since the very beginning. The academic skills they have equipped me with over the past two years has broadened my vocabulary which definitely supported me within the BBC interview.

“I was confident to talk about this scheme because I had just finished my research module and had chosen to use this as my topic. All the research I had to do for the assignment gave me so much more knowledge of the funding and helped me to gain a wider perspective on it.”

With students from a diverse range of backgrounds, the college’s two-year programme encourages its students to engage with the fundamental questions surrounding Early Years care, learning and development and their relationship to children and adults working in the sector.