Early years teacher degree apprenticeship: guidance for training providers
How to provide the early years teacher degree apprenticeship (EYTDA).
Applies to England
Documents
Details
Information on how to provide the EYTDA and give early years professionals the skills and knowledge they need to achieve early years teacher status (EYTS).
This guidance is for:
- higher education institutions and training providers offering the EYTDA
- sector stakeholders involved in early years workforce development
It outlines the requirements and best practices on providing the apprenticeship, including:
- eligibility criteria and entry requirements
- programme structure, curriculum expectations and mentoring requirements
- suitability assessments, including interviews, background checks and safeguarding procedures
- end point assessment delivery and quality assurance processes
- compliance with regulatory frameworks, including Ofsted inspections and legislative considerations
- roles and responsibilities of training providers and employers
Candidate information
You can find out more about applying for an apprenticeship at Get Into Teaching.
Updates to this page
-
Updated the guidance in line with May 2025 apprenticeship funding rules updates, clarified level 3 entry criteria requirements, expanded the list of examples of alternative placement settings, removed reference to Intensive Training and Practice and clarified the ability of early years teachers to work in maintained schools. Also moved the 'EYTDA suitability to work in early years level 3 staff:child ratios assessment form' to the 'Early years teacher degree apprenticeship: guidance for employers' page.
Update history
2026-03-12 15:49
Updated ‘EYTDA: guidance for training providers’ to amend entry criteria, end point assessment delivery, Ofsted inspections and contact details and links, and updated references to ifATE which is now Skills England.
2025-05-16 09:30
Updated the guidance in line with May 2025 apprenticeship funding rules updates, clarified level 3 entry criteria requirements, expanded the list of examples of alternative placement settings, removed reference to Intensive Training and Practice and clarified the ability of early years teachers to work in maintained schools. Also moved the ‘EYTDA suitability to work in early years level 3 staff:child ratios assessment form’ to the ‘Early years teacher degree apprenticeship: guidance for employers’ page.
2025-04-09 09:30
Amended ‘EYTDA: guidance for training providers’ to clarify that GCSE Science is a mandatory entry requirement in the apprenticeship standard, in line with Early Years Initial Teacher Training requirements.
2025-03-24 10:00
First published.