#1/2025 - Monday 15 September 2025
Welcome to our first termly Early Years and Childcare workforce newsletter.
This week's newsletter includes:
- Department for Education new strategy - Giving every child the best start in life
- Level 3 qualifications for early years educators
- Apprenticeships
- Early years teacher degree apprenticeship
- Funded SENCO Training for Early Years Settings
- Early years skills bootcamps
- National programme qualifications 2025/26
- Early years qualifications standards update
- Safeguarding reforms and recruitment references
- Safeguarding policies and new recruits
- Jobs in early years and childcare bulletin update
- Training opportunity - rethinking the recruitment and retention of staff
- Funded course to support your childcare business
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The DfE's new strategy Giving every child the best start in life places the early years workforce at the heart of improving outcomes for children, especially in disadvantaged areas.
The strategy recognises early years professionals as essential to high quality early education. The strategy aims to raise the status of the profession and improve working conditions.
It also has a focus on investment in training and career progression. The strategy commits to:
- doubling early years initial teacher training places by 2028
- developing a new national professional register to support career development and recognition
- creating more flexible training routes to attract and retain talent.
This strategy suggests that the government recognises the importance of the early years workforce. While further details on its delivery are yet to be confirmed, you may wish to consider how you can prepare for and make the most of potential opportunities.
64% of providers who took part in the early years and childcare workforce review in March this year told us they wanted to support between 1 and 5 or more of their staff to work towards a level 3 qualification.
A new Level 3 qualification, the NCFE CACHE Technical Occupational Entry for the Early Years Workforce Diploma, will be available from September 2025. This 18-month course is open to learners aged 19 and over who are working or volunteering in an early years setting. It is being offered by Crawley College and is fully funded for those eligible for 19+ funding. If there is enough interest, a second cohort may begin in January 2026. You can find more details in the course overview. This is a great opportunity to support your 19+ staff to gain a Level 3 qualification at no cost.
We are also exploring alternative opportunities in other areas of the county to make this offer more widely accessible. We will keep you updated through our weekly newsletter as more options become available.
Apprenticeships are a great way to help your staff gain qualifications while they work. There are many training providers across West Sussex offering early years apprenticeships.
Recent changes to the government’s apprenticeship funding rules should make it easier and quicker to support your staff:
Off-the-job training (OJT) hours
The old rule that required 20% of working hours for off-the-job training has been replaced.Now, each apprenticeship has a set number of training hours. For example, the Level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship requires 396 hours of off-the-job training if the learner has no prior experience.
If the learner does have relevant experience, the training hours can be reduced but 396 hours is still the full requirement for those without prior learning.This change helps avoid repeating training and allows the course to be tailored to what the learner already knows.
Minimum duration and prior learning
Apprenticeships can now be as short as 8 months, as long as they still meet the required training standards.If a learner has relevant experience, the minimum off-the-job training is 187 hours.
Training providers must show clearly how the course content and cost are reduced when prior learning is taken into account. If the learner has no prior experience, they must complete the full training hours. For example, 396 hours for Level 3 Early Years Educator.
This means apprenticeships can be personalised to suit each staff member’s background and skills.
Maths and English requirements
Learners aged 16 to 18 still need to achieve Level 2 English and/or Maths if they haven’t already. For learners aged 19 and over, these qualifications are now optional. Employers can still request them, and they will be fully funded.
However, to be counted in Level 3 staff:child ratios under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), staff must have a suitable Level 2 English qualification as well as their full and relevant Level 3 qualification.
You can get help from the government to pay for 95% of the cost of apprenticeship training. Visit our apprenticeships web page for more information.
A new degree-level apprenticeship is coming in 2026. It is called the Early Years Teacher Degree Apprenticeship (EYTDA). It leads to early years teacher status, a bachelor's degree, and a Level 6 apprenticeship. The course combines working in an early years setting with study.
You can find more details on the GOV.UK website.
West Sussex County Council is offering fully funded places for the NCFE CACHE Level 3 Technical Specialist in Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator’s (SENCO) in Early Years Settings qualification. This 12-week course looks at a SENCO’s role and responsibilities. It also covers ways to support children with SEND and their families, and explains the SEND Code of Practice. Places on this course are limited to 18 learners.
Course details:
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Location: Crawley College
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Dates: Thursdays, 8 January to 16 April 2026
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Time: 6.00pm to 8.00pm (no classes during half term or Easter holidays)
You must attend all sessions and complete all coursework.
Eligibility:
- you must hold a full and relevant Level 2 or 3 qualification
- you must be working as, or training to be, a SENCO in a West Sussex early years setting
- you must attend all sessions, complete coursework, and sign a training agreement with your manager
- proof of your qualification is required.
Both you and your manager must sign a training agreement
To book visit the course page to apply. Your place will be confirmed once eligibility is verified.
If you have already booked this course through Crawley College, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk so we can arrange funding. For any questions, use the same email address.
Skills for Progress are offering a funded leadership course worth £2,592 to help prepare possible candidates for leadership roles in early years settings.
They have 15 funded places available for a pre-interview Skills Bootcamp, covering key leadership skills like setting boundaries, managing performance, and handling difficult conversations.
Available courses:
If your setting has a leadership vacancy, you can put forward a candidate for this funded training. You will need to guarantee them an interview, but there is no obligation to offer them a job. You can nominate someone you would like to interview or an internal staff member you are considering for promotion. If you have more than one candidate, Skills for Progress can tailor the course to suit your setting’s processes and paperwork.
There is no cost to take part unless the candidate is an internal member of staff. For employers with fewer than 250 employees, a fee of £259.20 applies. This is less than the cost of recruiting or training a new starter.
Please see the funding to prepare your internal staff for promotion and make your leadership application stand out guides for more information. For further information or to book your place, please contact Richard Curtis at 02381 120010 or richard.curtis@rootofit.com.
Grow, Learn and Flourish are pleased to announce that the NPQ are continuing into this academic year. However, there will only be one cohort this year which will start in November. The historic spring cohort will not be running.
As an early years setting, the National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) is likely to be the programme you are most interested in. Please visit the NPQEYL web page for more information, costs and how to register your interest. If you or someone in your setting is interested, applications are open now and close on 10 October 2025.
The eligibility criteria for the NPQEYL is as follows:
- a minimum qualification at level 3
- 2 years teaching experience
- leadership aspiration/experience.
For further details on all NPQs available through the Teaching School Hub, visit the NPQ web page.
Settings identified as having the top 50% intake for Pupil Premium may be eligible for funding for the NPQEYL. The list of eligible settings is available on the GOV.UK web page. If you have questions about funding eligibility or costs of the NPQEYL, please email khall1@glfschools.org.
A new version of the early years qualification requirements and standards came into effect on 1 September 2025. This should be read alongside the updated early years foundation stage statutory guidance.
One key change is that early years providers may now include staff in Level 3 staff-to-child ratios if they have successfully completed the experience-based route and met all the required criteria. You can find all of the requirements in the Early years qualification requirements and standards (pages 11 to 13, paragraphs 1.30 to 1.44)
In addition, staff approved through the experience-based route must also hold a Level 2 qualification in English and a valid Paediatric First Aid certificate to be counted in Level 3 ratios.
From September 2025 the early years foundation stage statutory framework requires providers to obtain references for any member of staff, including students and volunteers, before they are recruited.
You must contact referees in writing or by phone. ACAS has a general reference request template you can adapt to suit your setting.
Childminders must also get a reference for any assistants they employ.
For the full details of what you should and should not do please visit our staff suitability web page.
Safeguarding policies must now include clear steps for checking that new staff are suitable to work with children. Visit our staff suitability web page for more information and guidance.
Early years settings must keep records showing:
- staff qualifications
- identity checks
- vetting processes and reference checks
- criminal record check details, including the reference number, the date it was done, and who carried it out.
Childminders who employ assistants must make sure their safeguarding policies include clear steps for checking that their assistants are suitable for the role. Assistants must have the right training and must pass all necessary checks before they start their role.
We encourage you to use our free Childcare Jobs bulletin to promote your job vacancies. There are currently 180 jobseekers subscribed, and we need a regular flow of new listings to build their confidence in the bulletin. Our aim is to make this the leading place to find early years and childcare jobs in West Sussex. By continuing to share your vacancies, you are helping the bulletin grow and support recruitment across the sector.
You can sign up to receive the bulletin by visiting our careers in early years and childcare website, and clicking on 'sign up to our newsletter' at the bottom of the web page.
You can find the guidance and template for submitting your job adverts on our advertise early years and childcare jobs web page.
We want to ensure the process of advertising in the bulletin is as easy and effective as possible. If you have any feedback, please email us at jobsineyc@westsussex.gov.uk.
We recognise recruiting and retaining staff in the childcare sector continues to be a significant challenge. This training session is designed to help settings take a fresh look at how they recruit, employ, and retain their teams.
During the workshop, we will explore what we have learned so far and share different approaches that have been used. We will also look at what we currently know about recruitment and retention, and consider the actions you can take to make positive changes in yourself, your business, and your team.
To book, click the course name below. You can also visit our booking portal West Sussex Services for Education and select your required course.
If you experience any issues when booking your course, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.
Take a day away from ‘business-as-usual’ to explore how your business currently works and what could work better. The 'Strengthen, Grow and Future-Proof: Building Your Sustainable Childcare Business' course has been created to support your business.
In this course, you will consider and explore the following points:
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Future planning: where will you be in 6 months if nothing changes after this workshop? Reflect on what is working well, what needs development, and what you could stop doing to support a happy and healthy team and business
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Understanding your costs: do you know how much it costs to run your business each day, month, and year? Review your expenses, calculate key figures, and identify any hidden costs or potential savings
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Charging structure: are you confident your fees cover costs, generate profit, and remain affordable for families? Explore staff deployment, demand, funding patterns, forecasting, cash flow, and breakeven points
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Financial resilience: are you prepared for unexpected events? Learn how to build and protect financial reserves to help your business stay secure during difficult times
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Business planning: why is a business plan important even if you’re not applying for funding? Discover how a clear and accurate plan can help you review progress and support future growth
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Staff development and retention: how do you inspire and retain staff? Consider succession planning and staff development to ensure you have a skilled and reliable team, even when key staff members are unavailable.
This course has 2 parts, a short online session followed by a full day face to face session. For more information and to book your place, click on a course below:
Strengthen, Grow and Future-Proof: Building your sustainable childcare business
- Part 1 - 17 October 2025 – 9.30am to 10.30am (Online)
- Part 2 - 18 November 2025 – 9.00am to 3.30pm (County Hall North, Horsham)
Strengthen, Grown and Future-Proof: Building your sustainable childcare business
- Part 1 - 17 October 2025 – 9.30am to 10.30am (Online)
- Part 2 - 19 November 2025 – 09.00am to 3.30pm (Field Place, Worthing)
Any questions regarding this training, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk
Please do NOT reply to this email.
Please note that it is the setting's responsibility to forward this newsletter to all staff working within your organisation
Advertise your job vacancies
We share a weekly Jobs in Early Years and Childcare bulletin with members of the public. You can find guidance and a template for submitting your job adverts to this bulletin on our web page. You will also find useful guidance on advertising your job vacancies on other platforms.
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