Early Years Educator (EYE) Level 3

Wraparound support for the apprentice and employer

Employer incentive of up to £4,000 - for a limited period

Levy-funded, which we can help you access

Qualification counts towards EYFS Level 3 child:staff ratios

The Level 3 Early Years Educator (EYE) Apprenticeship is ideal for someone looking to pursue a career as an Early Years Educator, Nursery Teaching Assistant, Nursery Nurse, Supervisor, or Child Minder.

It is suitable for either someone already working in or someone looking for a career in, an early years childcare and education setting.

Early Years Educators work with and care for children from birth to 5 years. They play a massive role in supporting children to have the best start to their education. Research shows disadvantaged children are four months behind at age 5, 10 months behind by the age of 11, and 19 months behind when they reach 16. As an Early Years specialist, you will personally help to close the gap and increase the life chances of the children you work with.

On successful completion of your apprenticeship, you will be awarded the Level 3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship, the NCFE Diploma for the Early Years Workforce (EYE), and the Level 3 Award in Paediatric First Aid OR Level 3 Award Emergency Paediatric First Aid.

The early years educator level 3 standard meets the early years educator (EYE) criteria. Apprentices will achieve an EYE qualification which has been approved to count towards the EYFS level 3 child: staff ratios.

What are the benefits?

Early Years Educator apprentices learn how to:

Support and promote children’s early education and development
Plan and provide effective care, teaching and learning that enables children to progress and prepares them for school
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Develop effective and informed practice
Safeguard and promote the health, safety and welfare of children
Work in partnership with the key person, colleagues, parents and/or carers or other professionals
And you’re entitled to an NUS student discount card

Delivery includes:

Monthly online training events to deliver Knowledge elements
Half termly review meetings with Apprenticeship Tutor
Regular Observations with Apprenticeship Tutor/mentor to evidence skills
Witness statements to evidence behaviours

Our delivery model is a blended learning model consisting of the following components:

Am I eligible?

Apprentices must have:

Support from your employer and levy account holder
GCSE’s in English and Maths at Grade C (4) or above or able to achieve Level 2 English and maths whilst on programme
Successful interview
Must have held a residency in the UK for the last three years

How do I access the funding?

Employer Incentive

An employer incentive payment of £3,000 is available for new apprentices, with an additional £1,000 for candidates aged 16 to 18 or up to 24 if you have an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP).

Any employers who hired a new apprentice between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021, can still apply for the incentive until 30 November 2021 and will receive £3,000 per new hire, regardless of the apprentice’s age.

You will also be able to apply for the same incentive payment for apprentices with an employment start date from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2022 once applications open in January 2022.

This is on top of the £1,000 payment already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, meaning that some employers could receive £4,000 in total.

Apprenticeship Funding

The levy is paid by large employers with a wage bill of over £3 million. These employers pay 0.5% of their total annual pay bill into the levy. Most nurseries state-maintained schools and multi-academy trusts pay into the levy and all settings and schools can access the levy to fund apprenticeship training. Dependent on the individual setting or school, levy funding can be accessed through their trust, their local authority, or the ESFA via the co-investment scheme.

Best Practice Network provide support to candidates and their employers in order to access this funding.

The level of funding depends on each candidate’s learning needs, with a maximum allocation of £6,000 to cover the cost of the apprenticeship.

Levy-paying employers

Levy accounts are linked to the employers PAYE numbers so please check who is managing your Apprenticeships Service Account. This could be your Local Authority Apprenticeships Team, your business manager or HR department. They will need to add Best Practice Network as a provider and add any apprentices to the AS Account. Your account will automatically go into co-investment if you do not have enough apprenticeship funds to pay for training and assessment.

Employers that do not pay the levy

If your organisation does not pay the levy, then it always co-invests with the government. The maximum amount your organisation will pay for apprenticeship training is 5% of the total cost.

The apprentice must be paid a lawful wage and they cannot contribute towards the cost of the apprenticeship.

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