The new Early Years Lead Practitioner standard, which was published last night, is designed to enable practitioners to work ‘directly with children, skilfully leading day to day practice at an operational level.’
It is hoped the new standard, which meets Early Years Educator criteria, will be ready for delivery in spring next year.
The move follows over two years of deadlock between the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the employer 'trailblazer' group which has developed it, which has been arguing for a Level 5 qualification to be included.
Trailblazer chair Laura Upton told Nursery World, ‘We wanted the apprenticeship to carry the 240 credits at level 5 so that it would enable practitioners to step up to top-up degrees. The [IfATE] are not going to budge on it and two and a half years is long enough to wait.’
The IfATE has previously written to the trailblazer group saying ‘There is a requirement for individuals working in this field to have a Level 3 qualification in order to count towards staff:child ratios…. Therefore, the mandated qualification should be at Level 3 only rather than Level 5.’
Ms Upton said the group are hopeful that universities might recognise the qualification as a Level 5 based on its content, even without the credits being attached. ‘All learners are judged on an individual basis’ she said. ‘We are just hoping because there is nothing else we can do.’
The standard meets the Early Years Educator criteria but does not contain a Level 3 qualification. Anyone who completes it and who didn’t have a Level 3 to start with will be considered a Level 3 and can count in ratios, Ms Upton confirmed.
The next stage of the process is to finalise the assessment plan, which has been written and will be discussed in a meeting with IFATE on 9th November.
Last year, a trailblazer-led survey showed that 97 per cent of employers would enrol practitioners on a Level 5 apprenticeship if they had the choice, and 99 per cent saying that a Level 5 apprenticeship would be more attractive with a funded foundation degree included.
A spokesperson for the IfATE said: 'Apprentices will be trained at level 5 and will have to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed at that level through their end point assessment.
'Our research with employers showed that the level 3 Early Years Educator qualification is needed to ensure professional recognition, but this only forms part of a much wider and more fulfilling level 5 apprenticeship.'
This is not the first time a trailblazer group has locked horns with officials, despite the trailblazer process being designed to be ‘employer-led’. The Level 3 Early Years Educator approved for delivery five years after the first trailblazer group was set up. The group sacked in a row over the removal of Functional Skills, which was eventually changed after a Department for Education climbdown.
- To see the full qualification specification, see here