A big drop in the number of learners qualifying with a Level 3 between 2014 and 2016 has put a ‘significant strain on early years settings’, according to awarding bodies and training providers.
An analysis of Ofqual figures by awarding body CACHE exclusively for Nursery World shows that between 2014 and 2016, the number of students finishing Level 3 courses halved, from 35,275 to just 17,530.
Figures for the third quarter of each year – when the majority of certificates are awarded for completed courses – show an even larger drop of around 55 per cent, from 18,000 to 8,050.
Functional skills were removed as an alternative to GCSEs in September 2014 with the new Level 3 Early Years Educator (EYE) qualification. Following this, functional skills were removed from the early years apprenticeship framework, leaving GCSEs as the principal entry (later changed to exit) requirement. The GCSE requirement was eventually removed in March this year.
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