Pre-school Education: Apprentices
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address workforce shortages in early years settings arising from restrictions on the deployment of Level 2 and Level 3 apprentices.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Best Start in Life Strategy lays the foundation for long-term improvements to recruitment and retention in the early years sector. Initiatives to improve recruitment and retention include the ‘Do something BIG’ recruitment campaign, financial incentives, a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship, an assessment-only route to achieve a level 3 qualification and operational flexibilities for childminders. Shorter-duration apprenticeships also launched from August 2025, which will mean apprentices will be able to train up more quickly where that is appropriate.
The government has also introduced an experience-based route for early years staff. This route allows suitable and experienced early years staff without an approved qualification to be included in the staff: child ratios at level 3, following successful completion of a period of supervised practice in an early years setting, recognising that staff members with the right experience and knowledge can offer a great deal to the care and education of young children.
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