Build the foundations

Apprenticeship

A standards-based LEVEL 5 EARLY YEARS LEAD PRACTITIONER APPRENTICESHIP launched in August 2021. It was developed by a trailblazer group of employers chaired by Laura Upton, workforce improvement advisor at Leicestershire County Council. The apprenticeship provides full and relevant status at Level 3 (Early Years Educator). It is designed for new recruits to the sector, newly -qualified practitioners and established and experienced practitioners who wish to progress but do not want to attend a university course.

Apprentices without Level 2 English and maths will need to achieve these prior to End Point Assessment.  Apprentices must also hold a Level 3 Paediatric First Aid qualification in order to meet EYE criteria. The qualification typically takes two years to complete.

Apprentices will not need to fund their own qualification. Apprenticeships are funded through the Apprenticeship Levy, paid by employers with a pay bill of more than £3 million a year.  If the employer is not a levy-paying organisation, the majority of the apprenticeship cost is government funded, with the employer typically  funding five per cent in monthly installments. If already employed, the apprentice will continue to draw their usual salary. If they are a new starter they could be paid the apprenticeship rate of pay.

You can find a list of training providers offering the apprenticeship here: https://findapprenticeshiptraining.apprenticeships.education.gov.uk/courses/655/providers

“Full and relevant” Level 5 Diplomas

NFCE CACHE, City & Guilds, and Pearson offer Level 5 diplomas which provide full and relevant status at Level 3 (Early Years Educator).  However, the City & Guilds qualification will be closed to new entries from December 2022. The qualifications aim to support leadership and management skills in early years and the knowledge and skills relating to the early years practice, and are suitable for learners already working in the early years sector in a managerial role, as well as learners that may wish to develop their career or increase understanding through professional development. Students must fund their own learning, but may be eligible for an advanced learner loan. https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan

CACHE LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA FOR THE EARLY YEARS SENIOR PRACTITIONER (EARY YEARS EDUCATOR)

CITY & GUILDS LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN LEADERSHIP FOR THE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S WORKFORCE – EARLY YEARS (MANAGEMENT) 

PEARSON’S BTEC LEVEL 5 HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE

Foundation degrees

A foundation degree is the equivalent of the first two years of an honours degree, and may be studied full or part-time. The course consists of academic study integrated with relevant work-based learning undertaken with an employer. It may be studied as a stand-alone qualification or upon completion students can progress to the final year of an honours degree.

Universities and colleges set their own entry criteria. Not all early years foundation degrees are “full and relevant”, allowing practitioners to count in ratio at Level 3. Those which are “full and relevant” often carry the EYE badge. For more information on universities and colleges offering foundation degrees which meet EYE criteria, click here

Historic qualifications

Practitioners who completed or registered for a qualification before 1 September 2014 must hold a qualification that meets the full and relevant critieria to be counted in the level 3 ratios. At Level 5 these include:

• A Foundation Degree in early years, early childhood studies, childcare or playwork
• A Foundation Degree in Supporting Learning where the practitioner had their practice assessed in the Early Years Foundation Stage in the maintained sector.
• Sector-endorsed Foundation Degrees in early years, early childhood studies, childcare, early years practice or playwork
• A Diploma of Higher Education in early years, early childhood studies, childcare or playwork with an element of assessed performance in an early years setting.
• A Higher National Diploma in early years, early childhood studies, childcare or playwork with an element of assessed performance in an early years setting.
• A range of other qualifications  such as the University of Greenwich’s Foundation Degree Science in Health and Social Care Early Years Care

For a full list of qualifications that meet the Department for Education’s criteria for counting in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework staff:child ratios click here