Which early years apprenticeship fits your employee?
Choose the statement closest to the employee’s current or planned responsibilities, or compare every route side by side.
Showing the early years routes covered by this guide. The employee’s closest starting point may be Level 2. The employee’s occupation may align with Level 3. A practice-lead role may align with Level 5. A teaching occupation may align with the Level 6 degree apprenticeship.
Early Years Practitioner
- Best fit
- An entry or support role working with children under the guidance of experienced colleagues.
- Workplace focus
- Care routines, play, safeguarding, wellbeing and communication.
- Employer use
- Develop nursery assistants and employees new to professional early years work.
Early Years Educator
- Best fit
- A role with responsibility for children’s learning, development and welfare.
- Workplace focus
- Planning learning, observations, child development, safeguarding and the EYFS.
- Employer use
- Develop practitioners towards the full Early Years Educator occupation.
Early Years Lead Practitioner
- Best fit
- An experienced practitioner who leads day-to-day practice while working directly with children.
- Workplace focus
- Evidence-informed practice, coaching colleagues and quality improvement.
- Employer use
- Develop room leaders, senior practitioners, deputies and practice leads.
Early Years Teacher
- Best fit
- A suitable role supporting a degree-level route into early years teaching.
- Workplace focus
- Pedagogy, assessment, inclusive teaching and professional leadership.
- Outcome
- A degree plus Early Years Teacher Status, subject to programme requirements.
A role-matching guide, not an eligibility decision. The provider must assess duties, prior learning and the need for substantial new learning. Level 5 remains active under version 1.1, introduced for new starts on 1 August 2025.
Discuss your staff training needs →Choosing an apprenticeship starts with the employee’s occupation and the skills they need to develop. It is not simply a choice between easier and harder qualifications, and employees do not always need to complete every lower level first.
Level 2: Early Years Practitioner
This is the main entry route for an employee working under the guidance of experienced early years professionals. It covers care routines, play, safeguarding, health and wellbeing, and communication with colleagues and families.
Read the Level 2 employer guide
Level 3: Early Years Educator
Level 3 fits an occupation with greater responsibility for children’s learning, development and welfare. Early Years Educators plan and deliver activities, apply the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements and exercise greater professional judgement.
Read the Level 3 employer guide
Level 5: Early Years Lead Practitioner
Level 5 is for an experienced professional who works directly with children while leading day-to-day practice, developing colleagues and influencing quality. The original standard version ended on 31 July 2025, but an updated version applies to new starts from 1 August 2025.
Read the Level 5 employer guide
Level 6: Early Years Teacher with EYTS
The Level 6 Early Years Teacher degree apprenticeship is a distinct degree-level teaching occupation leading to Early Years Teacher Status. It has its own entry, workplace and delivery requirements and should be chosen for the occupational outcome rather than its level number.
Read the Level 6 Early Years Teacher guide
Can an employee skip a level?
Potentially. A provider assesses the role, existing knowledge and prior learning. The selected programme must deliver substantial new occupational learning rather than repeat capabilities the employee already has.
Compare roles before making an enquiry
Use the comparison tool, then tell us about the employee’s current duties and development goals. A training provider must make the final eligibility and prior-learning assessment.