Early Years Teacher Programme
Please register here to attend our Early Years Teacher Programme Information Evening, 5 June 2013
The first five years of life are critical in children’s development. There is clear evidence that high quality education and childcare during these years has a powerful impact on children as they prepare for later life. To support this development, to improve the quality of day-to-day care and education and babies in early years settings and to give every child the best possible start in life, the Government is encouraging and funding teacher training for professionals working with this age group. Starting in 2013, the National Centre for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) is working with partners across the country to support and fund the Early Years Teacher Programme.
What is the Early Years Teacher Programme?
Early Years Teacher Programme is the graduate level professional accreditation programme for leading practitioners in the early years sector. It is the gold-standard in early years training and the only government endorsed accreditation for the early years workforce. The introduction of Early Years Teachers builds on the EYPS programme to raise the status of the early years workforce.
Those who complete the programme will be respected as graduate leaders possessing specialist skills in early childhood development who will be responsible for organising and leading high quality practice in early years settings.
It is open to both existing practitioners and new entrants to this workforce.
What is an early years teacher (EYT)?
- EYTs are early years practitioners who can demonstrate they are leading and delivering excellent practice in line with a set of national standards and the ethos of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
- EYTs are key to raising the quality of early years provision, modelling the skills and behaviours that safeguard children and promoting good outcomes for children
- EYTs have the title of teacher.
What are the programme pathways?
1. Graduate Practitioner Pathway (GPP) – six months
This pathway is for experienced practitioners currently working in the sector who require a small amount of learning or experience in order to demonstrate their personal practice and leadership across the EYFS with children from birth to five years.
2. Undergraduate Practitioner Pathway (UPP) - twelve months
This pathway is for experienced practitioners who are employed in an early years setting and have an Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree or an equivalent early years qualification at level 5. Candidates are required to top up to degree level in order to access the Early Years Teacher Status assessment process.
3. Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP) – twelve months
This pathway is for graduates who have limited experience of working with children from birth to five. This is a full time programme and during the 12 months candidates are required to attend university-based sessions and spend at least eighteen weeks in placement gaining experience of professional practice and leadership. Teaching Agency funded candidates on this pathway will receive a bursary of £3,500.
4. Undergraduate Entry Pathway UEP – twelve months
The EYT Undergraduate Entry Pathway (UEP) offers students who are studying in the final or penultimate year of a degree in Early Childhood Studies to work towards EYTS. This pathway is for new entrants to the workforce and students who are already employed in the early years sector are not eligible. NCTL funded candidates on this pathway will receive a bursary of £3,500.
Entry requirements
Candidates applying for the Graduate Entry (GEP) and the Graduate Professional (GPP) Pathways must hold a UK degree (or a recognised overseas equivalent) in order to start the pathway. Candidates applying for the Undergraduate Entry (UEP) must be studying in the final or penultimate year of an Early Childhood Studies degree and candidates applying for the Undergraduate Professional (UPP) Pathway must hold a Foundation Degree or recognised equivalent at Level 5.
At the start of all Pathways, candidates must have achieved a standard equivalent to grade C in GCSE English and Mathematics and demonstrate that they are able to read effectively and communicate clearly and accurately in English to a standard equivalent to Level C1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. All candidates will be required to have a DBS (formerly CRB) enhanced disclosure check and have the right to study and work in the UK for at least the duration of their pathway.
Funding
All pathways for the Early Years Teacher Programme are fully funded by the National Centre for Teaching and Leadership, so you will have no fees to pay.
Enquiries and applications
To apply, please click on the relevant pathway link above and find the 'Entry and Applying' section. If you would like any further information, please contact the Early Years Teacher Programme office at:
Early Years Teacher Programme
Middlesex University
Building 9
The Burroughs
Hendon
London NW4 4BT
Tel: 020 8411 6914
Email: eypsadmin@mdx.ac.uk
