Early Years Practitioner Apprenticeship Standard Level 2

Occupational Profile

This occupation is found in a range of private and public settings including; full day care, children’s centres, pre-schools, reception classes, playgroups, nursery schools, home based provision, hospitals, social care settings, out of school environments and local authority provision to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements set by government for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 in both indoor and outdoor environments.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to work and interact directly with children on a day to day basis supporting the planning of and delivery of activities, purposeful play opportunities and educational programmes within the ethos of the setting. An EYP works as part of a professional team ensuring the welfare and care for children under the guidance and supervision of an Early Years Educator, teacher or other suitably qualified professional the Early Years Workforce.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with parents, children, colleagues and wider multi agency professionals and partners such as health visitors, social workers and speech and language therapists. Individuals will undergo all checks as per the EYFS requirements to ensure suitability to work with children. Due to the nature and level of responsibility it is not anticipated that the role would have any budgetary or leadership responsibilities.

They will be responsible for supporting child initiated and adult-led activities based around the needs and interests of each individual child, supporting children’s learning through planned, purposeful play opportunities and educational programmes and working as part of a team to ensure each child feels safe and secure. An EYP will also support the observation and assessment of each child and contribute to their learning experiences and assist with the care needs of the individual child such as teeth, skin, hair, feeding, changing nappies and toileting under direction of a more senior member of the team. They will also work in partnerships with other colleagues, parents and/or carers or other professionals, with support from a more senior member of the team, to meet the individual needs of each child. They will also have a responsibility for ensuring that they recognise when a child is in danger and/or at risk of serious harm or abuse and contributing to the health and safety of the children, staff and others on the premises.

Career options

Assistant childminder, Early years practitioner, Nanny and early years worker, Nursery assistant, Nursery nurse, Nursery practitioner

Duration

12 months (this does not include EPA period)

Delivery

The delivery will be done mainly at the workplace, with the off-the-job training accounting for at least 6 hours a week. The assessor will regularly visit you at work to observe you performing relevant tasks and to carry out professional discussions.

You will complete Level 2 Early Years Practitioner prior to taking the end-point assessment.

You will receive a login to an on-line portfolio account which can be accessed from any Wifi point or through 3/4G either at work, at home or in our centre. You will be provided with a detailed course programme. At the centre you will have the opportunity to network with other learners, share practice and access different resources to support your learning including laptops, desktops, tablets and textbooks.

Upon completion you can progress onto an advanced or higher apprenticeship at level 3, 4 or 5.

End Point Assessment

The end-point assessment (EPA) for the Early Years Practitioner Apprenticeship contains 2 methods of assessment which will be graded as Fail, Pass or Distinction:

• Knowledge test
• Professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence