Sector invited to contribute to Level 3 Early Years Educator review

Commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) and undertaken by education charity NCFE, the aim of the review of the Level 3 qualification is to improve the quality of provision, support practitioners and address the impact of Covid-19 on young children.

To achieve this, the NCFE has launched two separate surveys, one for the sector including childcare staff, local authorities, academics and training providers, and another for parents, inviting feedback on how the EYE qualification, including the criteria underpinning it, could be improved.

Among the questions, the survey for the early years sector asks whether respondents would like to remove anything from the current Level 3 criteria or whether any additional areas should be included in the qualification such as - equity, equality and diversity, theoretical approaches to early years education and how to recognise and work with children with SEND.

Other questions include:

• How many placement hours do you think should be required for an individual to qualify as an Early Years Educator?
• Do you feel the current requirement for staff to have maths and English Level 2 to be counted in staff: child ratios is necessary?

The survey also asks about the challenges currently being faced by the sector.

Julie Hyde, director of external and regulatory affairs at NCFE, said, ‘We want everyone to play their part in shaping the quality and consistency of early years education now and in the future.

‘I hope that through this review we can bring the sector together to provide essential feedback that will support children’s social and emotional development and underpin a lifetime of learning.

‘Only with the help of practitioners from across early years education, as well as parents and carers, can we ensure this review is meaningful and produces results that will make a real difference to so many.’

The review, the first into the Level 3 EYE since 2014, is being delivered with the support of the Early Years Alliance (EYA), the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY).

Children and families minister, Will Quince, said, ‘I’m pleased to be working with NCFE on the Level 3 Review: a key programme within our early years education recovery package, which is addressing the impact of the pandemic on the youngest children.

‘The early years sector has worked incredibly hard to support families over the past few years and I want to continue working with them to improve the quality of qualifications. By engaging with groups across the sector, we aim to strengthen the quality of Level 3 qualifications and provide higher-quality training for early years educators.’

A webinar for Early Years professionals to provide further context around the review as well as early indicative findings is being run in conjunction with PACEY and the Early Years Alliance on Wednesday, 13 July. To register your place click here 

• To learn more about the review of the Early Years Educator qualification, and to provide feedback, visit https://www.ncfe.org.uk/level-3-early-years-criteria-review
• Both surveys close on 22 July.