Free webinar: Exploring the Experienced-Based Route for EY Practitioners
A Department for Education (DfE) consultation in 2023 proposed several changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) including a proposal to introduce an experience-based route for early years practitioners to gain status to work within staff:child ratios. DfE noted their intention to proceed with changes; most of them appeared in the EYFS statutory framework effective from January 2024. However, a further technical consultation was launched 22 April 2024 seeking views on the proposed decision-making model for the experience-based route, as well as eligibility criteria and process requirements. the government consultation response was published 28 January 2025.
In the consultation response DfE stated ‘We aim to introduce the experience-based route for providers to use from March 2025. Educators completing the experience-based route will then be able to count in the staff:child ratios at level 3 after necessary changes have been made to the ratio requirements in the EYFS, expected from September 2025’ (DfE, 2025)
Here’s a quick summary. Information about the providers wishing to support staff through the experience-based route:
- Early years providers must have received a good or outstanding judgement for overall effectiveness in their most recent Ofsted inspection to offer the experience-based route to their educators who meet the eligibility criteria. For state schools inspected during AY 2024/25, the school must not be judged to require significant improvement or special measures. For providers of childcare on domestic premises registered with Childminder Agencies, the Childminder Agency they are registered with must have achieved a grade of ‘effective’ or better in their most recent Ofsted inspection. There is a consultation out regarding the new Ofsted report card system for inspections so there will be further information on this as it is available.
- Decision-makers, and those involved in supervising staff during the experience-based route, must hold a full and relevant qualification at level 3 or above, and must have worked in an early years setting for a minimum of two years.
- The provider must keep a record of hours worked at the setting by the practitioner following the EBR and the outcomes of any assessments they make in relation to the practitioner, with copies to be provided to the practitioner for their own records.
Eligibility criteria for early years practitioners includes:
- Educators wishing to undertake the experience-based route must have some prior certificated knowledge. They must hold either a full and relevant level 2 qualification, or a level 3 or above qualification that is relevant to the care or education of children but is not full and relevant. Educators may also hold qualifications equivalent to the required level 2 or level 3 qualifications, that have been achieved outside England.
- Educators wishing to undertake the experience-based route must have worked with early years children (aged from birth to 5) in an early years setting or a related sector in England, for a minimum of one year.
- Applicants will need an initial assessment against and meet at least 50% of L3 Eary Years Educator (EYE) in order to proceed to ensure that they can gain knowledge and skills to meet any remaining criteria/gaps through a period of supervised practice.
- Educators undertaking the experience-based route must complete between 751 and 900 hours of relevant work and supervised practice before the assessor can undertake a final assessment and decide whether they have met the criteria to work in the ratios at level 3.
- Educators who have completed the experience-based route must also hold a suitable level 2 English qualification and must also hold a Paediatric First Aid qualification before they can be counted in the ratios at level 3.
- The person making a decision about a staff member’s experience-based route status and staff involved in supervising the experience-based route must hold a full and relevant qualification at level 3 or above and must have worked in an early years setting for a minimum of two years.
- Providers must keep records of educators undertaking the experience-based route, alongside evidence of their assessments and decision-making.
- No more than 50% of educators with experience-based route status will be able to count in the ratios at level 3 at any one time at a particular premises.
- An educator’s experience-based route status will not be automatically transferable between early years providers.
- No more than 50% of staff with experience-based route status will be able to count in the ratios at level 3 at any one time at a particular premises.
You can catch a recording of my FREE Experience-based route for EY practitioners here and download the a PDF handout of the slides from the webinar here.
Please watch out for further news as we (Hazel and I) are working on some training and materials to help you as well as another exciting option!
You can read the consultation response here and the Experience-Based Route for Early Years; Non-Statutory guidance for Early Years providers, managers, and staff using the Experience-Based Route here