Nurseries will be able to count experienced practitioners in the staff:child ratio at Level 3 without the need to hold a full and relevant qualification from September 2025.

Early years providers can start assessing practitioners using the government’s new experience-based route from 3 March. They will not be able to be included in ratio until September due to the time required to complete a supervised practice period and planned changes to ratio requirements in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

The government has published guidance for early years settings which includes recommended approaches for decision-making for providers deciding if they want to offer this route to their staff, which members of staff this route might be suitable for, and how to assess if an applicant meets the eligibility criteria to access it.

Staff wishing to undertake the experience-based route must hold either a full and relevant Level 2 qualification, or a Level 3 or above that is relevant to the care or education of children, but is not full and relevant. “Full and relevant” qualifications are those listed by the Department for Education as qualifying practitioners to be counted in the staff: child ratio at a particular level. Staff may also hold equivalent qualifications that have been achieved outside England.

Staff must also have worked with children aged five and under in an early years setting or a related sector in England, for a minimum of one year, and early years providers must have received a good or outstanding judgement for overall effectiveness in their most recent Ofsted inspection.

The Department for Education said it was introducing the measure now to support recruitment and retention. It intends to develop an assessment-only route to a full and relevant qualification which staff holding experience-based route status will likely need to take in order to continue working in the staff:child ratios at Level 3.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We know there are countless dedicated, skilled and experienced educators working in the sector who, despite being excellent at their jobs, are unable to progress due to a lack of formal qualifications. As such, at a time when the early years staffing crisis remains so severe, we hope the launch of the new experience-based route will encourage many more talented individuals to both join and remain in the early years.”

He added:  “That said, we’re clear that working as an early educator is, and should be seen as a highly-skilled profession. It is absolutely vital, therefore, that the rollout and impact of this policy is monitored closely, and this new route does not come at the expense of the quality of provision that children receive.”