Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the course completion rate is for people taking full qualifications at (a) NVQ Level 2, (b) NVQ Level 3, (c) T-Level in education and early years, (d) early years apprenticeships, (e) early childhood degree with practitioner competencies and (f) early years Initial Teacher Training.

In the 2021/22 academic year, the adult (19+) education and training achievement rate for learning at National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 2 was 83.4%, and the adult (19+) education and training achievement rate for learning at NVQ Level 3 was 75.7%.

The apprenticeship achievement rate for the Early Years Educator apprenticeship was 53.3%, and the Early Years Practitioner was 42.7% in the 2021/22 academic year. Further information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4a09cee3-e95c-43e2-36e4-08db30eaf34e. The early years lead practitioner apprenticeship was introduced in August 2021 and typically takes 24 months to complete, which means achievement rate data is not currently available.

The department’s provisional T Level results publication shows data on the outcomes achieved by T Level students in the 2021/22 academic year and is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/provisional-t-level-results/2021-22. It shows that 450 students on the Education and Childcare T Level subject area received a ‘Pass’ or above, leading to a pass rate of 93.4% for those who took the assessment. Whilst the 2020 T Level Action Plan shows that approximately 650 initially started an Education and Childcare T Level in September 2020, some students moved to different courses after enrolment. This is a reflection of the novel nature of T Levels and of the impact of the pandemic on students’ learning at that time.

T Levels are being rolled out in a phased approach to ensure high quality. The number of providers will increase year on year and the department expects student numbers to grow significantly over the next few years. In September 2022, over 2,000 students started a T Level in Education and Childcare. While the majority are expected to study the Early Years occupational specialism, students do not need to make their final decision until the end of their first year of learning.

For early years initial teacher training, in the 2020/21 academic year, there were 527 final year postgraduate early years teacher trainees, of which 463 (88%) were awarded early years status. Further information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles.

The department continues to explore how to best support the early years sector to recruit and retain the staff it needs. We will work closely with the sector to develop plans to grow and support the workforce. The department will share further information in due course.