New Qualification Launched for Early Years Practitioners

The Department for Education has announced that it is adding a new Early Years Leadership qualification to the existing suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). While until now, these have been targeted at school teachers, this new course will be available not just to providers in maintained settings, but to PVI nursery managers and childminders in leadership positions. It reflects the increasing levels of strategic and operational knowledge needed to run an early years setting. It will focus both on pedagogy and practice, helping providers ensure they are getting best quality out of their settings.

The qualification, which launches in September 2022, will focus on the following subjects:

Culture
Child development, curriculum and assessment
Additional and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Professional Development
Organisational management
Implementation
Working in Partnership

It will be up to the qualification providers to design their own curriculum around this framework, and the DfE expects to provide further information soon, both on procuring providers and what funding may be available.

Broadly, sector voices have welcomed the new qualification, though they are pointing out that funding is still the biggest issue facing the childcare industry. Initiatives such as new qualifications may help indirectly, by giving setting managers the tools and knowledge to ensure they are applying their resources as efficiently as possible. This of course supposes there are sufficient resources to begin with, for which a joined up policy is necessary.

You can access the framework document for the new qualification here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk