The early years sector and leadership apprenticeships

In England and Wales there are over 27,000 Childcare settings offering more than one million places for children aged 0-4 years old. The provision is good or outstanding with more than 97 per cent falling into these inspection categories. These settings provide a great start for children and we know from the SEED study that the impact of good (or better) provision greatly improves outcomes for children of every demographic.

However, the leadership challenges of these childcare settings are immense and growing. We have a recruitment crisis in the sector with fewer settings able to meet the staff to child ratios, Covid has left the sector battling with developmental and mental health issues in the very young. These challenges have become more prominent with budget cuts impacting the sector and are growing worse since 2020.

The National College of Education (NCE), currently the largest provider of leadership and management apprenticeships to schools in England, has been collaborating with Early Years experts from the University of Northampton to develop a bespoke leadership apprenticeship for those working in early years settings of every size in England. It is a dual award offering successful learners a Level 7 apprenticeship and an MSc. in Educational Leadership and Management.

The NCE’s experience of supporting leaders at all levels in education is significant with over 2,000 learners coming through their programmes since 2018. These leaders operate within a variety of settings across over 100 local authorities and more than 350 multi-academy trusts. 

Starting in September 2022, the NCE aims to provide support for leaders in the early years settings by offering them the unique opportunity of joining an early years cohort of learners. The cohort on the Senior Leadership Programme will allow leaders to engage with high-quality professional development, leading to an MSc in Education Leadership and Management supported by a tutor and a range of additional leadership content that has been created specifically for early years.

Senior Leadership Programme

• 24-month programme
• Senior Leader Apprenticeship + MSc. in Education Leadership and Management
• Eligible learners will be leading an early years setting
• Support provided by a senior leadership tutor
• 5 bespoke Early Years enrichment sessions from the University of Northampton team

This programme is fully funded by the apprenticeship levy and has been created in association with the University of Roehampton, the University of Northampton, the Chartered Management Institute, and others to ensure that the content meets both the generic challenges of leading an organisation and the specific leadership challenges mentioned above.

For Early Years middle managers, the NCE is also looking to launch a fully funded Level 5 leadership programme (departmental/operations manager apprenticeship) with bespoke input from current leaders working across the sector.

To find out more about either of these programmes:

• Webinar: Thursday 31 March 4pm – register here for the free webinar hosted by Eunice Lumsden (University of Northampton) and Gareth Alcott (National College of Education).
• Website: further details can be found on the NCE website, nationaleducation.college.
• Contact: Gareth Alcott, alcott@nationaleducation.college with questions or queries.

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