Early Years Education

A Career in the Early Years

A career in early years involves working with children between the ages of 0-5 in a variety of settings, including nurseries, pre-schools, childminding, and foundation units or reception classes within schools.

As an early years practitioner, you will be responsible for ensuring the children in your care receive a high standard of care, education, and development opportunities. Your duties may include planning and delivering age-appropriate activities, observing and assessing children's progress, communicating with parents and colleagues, and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the children.

The early years sector is regulated by the government and requires practitioners to hold a relevant qualification, such as a Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Educator. There are also opportunities to progress to more senior roles, such as a room leader or nursery manager, with further training and experience.

Working in early years can be rewarding, as you will play a crucial role in shaping a child's early years and supporting their development. However, it can also be demanding and requires patience, resilience, and a passion for working with young children.

Here at NCCE, we offer full and relevant training in early years, with fully experienced tutors and assessors, qualified up to masters degree level in Early Childhood. Our full and relevant training courses include:

- TQUK Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Pedagogy
- CACHE Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner
- TQUK Level 3 Diploma in the Early Years Workforce (Early Years Educator) - Brand New 2024 specification!
- CACHE Level 5 Diploma for the Senior Practitioner in the Early Years - Brand New 2024 specification!
- CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy (Early Years Educator)
- CACHE Level 4 Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy (Early Years Educator)

NCCE also offer opportunities to specialise or develop your own CPD, including:

- CACHE Level 4 Certificate for the Early Years Advanced Practitioner
- CACHE Level 3 Award in Childcare and Education
- CACHE (Accredited) Level 6 Diploma in Applied Innovative Practice in the Early Years
- CACHE (Accredited) Level 3 Certificate in Baby Care for the Early Years Practitioner
- CACHE (Accredited) Level 3 Diplomas in Steiner, Reggio, and Frobel in Early Years Education

amongst others!

Learners on our early years courses will have access to our digital learning resources, including on-demand interactive learning, taught online sessions, and a library of webinars to aid continued CPD in Early Childhood Education. All of our full and relevant licence to practice qualifications include observations of your practice in the workplace by a qualified NCCE Assessor.

Requirements for Maths and English for Early Years Educators

The requirement for Level 3 Early Years Educators (EYE) to hold GCSE or Functional Skills in Mathematics at Level 2 has been removed from ratio requirements in the Early Years Workforce. Learners will still need to hold a suitable level 2 English qualification in order to count within the staff:child ratios at level 3. In addition, from January 2024, a manager or a learner that starts in a manager role will also need to hold a suitable level 2 Maths qualification. International qualifications can be checked in liaison with the DfE.

Please be aware of training providers who offer short courses and CPD courses that are not full and relevant, but claim to qualify you to work in nurseries as a qualified practitioner. It is fraudulent for providers to claim that a course offers the full and relevant status due to the highly regulated nature of the sector. You can check the qualification directly with the Ofqual Regulated Awarding Body that the qualification is Ofqual regulated through, such as NCFE CACHE or TQUK.

Please also be aware that observations are a mandatory element of Full and Relevant qualifications, and these MUST be carried out by qualified assessors directly employed by the training provider you are learning with. Observations should not be carried out by members of staff within your setting, even managers. You should not be charged for an observation to be carried out as a part of your qualification and should avoid providers who add additional charges to observe you in practice.