Earlier this year, the government published its long-awaited early years workforce strategy. The sector welcomed the decision to scrap the need for Level 3-qualified staff to hold GCSEs in English and Maths from April 2017, a move practitioners had been campaigning for since the requirement was introduced in 2014.
The need for GCSEs caused the numbers of students enrolling on Level 3 courses to plummet in 2015/16 and 2016/17, and caused problems around recruiting appropriately qualified staff. Functional skills qualifications will now have the same standing as GCSEs for those gaining Level 3 Early Years Educator (EYE) qualifications, including apprenticeships.
Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) was introduced in 2013 in an attempt to create a graduate-led workforce. There are four routes into EYTS, lasting from three months to three years, depending on participants' existing experience and qualifications. The government has said it intends to review those routes in 2017.
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