Find an approved early years course

If you are thinking of taking an early years course, it is important to know before you start if it has been approved as full and relevant by the Department for Education (DfE).

About approved, full and relevant qualifications

DfE sets criteria (opens in new tab) for what early years qualifications should cover. Qualifications that meet these criteria are considered approved as full and relevant. If you hold one of these qualifications, you can work in early years settings in England as a qualified member of staff.

There are different levels of staff:child ratios that you can work in, depending on your qualifications. The staff:child ratios – how many qualified members of staff are needed for the number of children in a nursery or other early years setting – are set out in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework (opens in new tab). Early years settings must follow these rules.

There are 3 staff:child ratio levels:

  • level 2
  • level 3
  • level 6

The qualification level can be different to the staff:child ratio level, for example degree level qualifications can be approved as full and relevant to work in the staff:child ratios at level 3.

While you don’t need a qualification to work in early years, holding an approved, full and relevant qualification is something that nurseries and pre-schools often look for when hiring staff. Early years settings do need to meet the staff:child ratio requirements with qualified staff. If you do not hold an approved, full and relevant qualification, you can still work as an unqualified member of staff.

What to ask your qualification provider

If you want to be able to work as a qualified member of staff in a nursery or pre-school, it is important to check that the qualification you are planning to take is approved as full and relevant.

Ask your college, university or training provider if the qualification:

  • has been approved as full and relevant for working in staff:child ratios by the Department for Education
  • will let you work in staff:child ratios as a level 2, level 3 or level 6 member of staff – the ratio that you can work in might be different to the level of the qualification

If the qualification you are considering is a degree, for example a BA or BA (Hons), BEd or BSc, you should also ask the university:

Check the DfE list of approved, full and relevant qualifications

DfE publishes the list of qualifications that have been approved as full and relevant. This list is known as the early years qualifications list (EYQL). It is regularly updated, and once a qualification has been approved and is added to the list, it is never removed.

To check if a qualification is approved, you can:

If the qualification is not on the list, or if it does not meet any additional requirements shown in the Check an early years qualification service or on the EYQL (opens in new tab), it is not approved by DfE and you will not be able to use it to count as a qualified member of staff.

Get more help and advice

DfE’s early years careers website has more information on getting started and progression, early years apprenticeships and real stories from people working in early years.