The changes are part of wider sector qualification initiatives intended to boost workforce quality alongside the ongoing expansion of the funded childcare entitlement, set for full rollout later this year.
By September 2025, working parents will be able to claim 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week for children aged nine months up to their child starting school.
Government guidance on the EBR states: "While early years providers can start assessing people through the experience-based route from 3 March, it will not be possible for anyone to be included in the staff:child ratios at level 3 through this route until at least September 2025."
Details of the EBR, published following a consultation on proposed changes to Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, include:
- Anyone wishing to undertake the EBR must have worked with children aged from birth to five, for a minimum of one year, in England
- Eligibility includes qualifications at level 2 that appear on the DfE’s Early Years Qualifications List (EYQL) and qualifications at level 3 and above that are relevant to the care or education of children, but do not appear on DfE’s EYQL
- Educators who have gained their qualifications outside of England will be able to undertake the EBR but the qualification achieved outside of England must be equivalent to the required level 2 or level 3 qualifications
- Providers may decide if a staff member meets the criteria to work in the level 3 ratios after completing the EBR
- Only settings rated "good" or "outstanding" for overall effectiveness in their most recent Ofsted inspection will be eligible to offer the EBR to staff (caveats relate to non- single-word Ofsted judgements)
- Provider must complete initial and end-of-supervised-period assessments of eligible practitioner’s knowledge, skills and experience to determine suitability for EBR against the level 3 Early Years Educator criteria
- Educators undertaking EBR must complete 751 – 900 hours of relevant work and supervised practice, before both final assessment and assessor’s decision on ratios
- Must have level 2 English qualification before they can be counted in the staff:child ratios at level 3
- No more than 50% of educators with EBR status will be able to count towards level 3 ratios at any one time at a particular premises
Stella Ziolkowski, NDNA’s director of quality and training, said that the EBR “recognises the existing knowledge and skills within the workforce who may not possess the necessary formal qualifications to be counted in ratios”.
Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said he hoped the new measures would attract more talented people to the profession, adding that it is “absolutely vital that the rollout and impact of this policy is monitored closely”.
Leitch continued: "What’s more, while this new route to counting in ratios is likely to offer some welcome respite to providers struggling in the face of the ongoing staffing crisis, this change can only ever be one small part of a much wider recruitment and retention strategy.
“Ultimately, if the government not only wants to attract new educators into the sector, but also ensure they stay in long term, it needs to ensure that those working in the sector get the respect – and crucially, the pay – they so clearly deserve."
Alongside the EBR, the DfE has announced the Early Years Teacher Degree Apprenticeship standard.
The new graduate-level qualification will give everyone from school leavers and junior staff to senior leaders the opportunity to easily move into a specialist career in the early years sector.
In addition, the DfE is launching its Check an Early Years Qualification digital service in the spring, to guide early years managers through checking the approval status of qualifications held by existing staff members and prospective employees, aimed at increasing their confidence that they have appropriately qualified staff ahead of the September expansion.
