Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have (a) begun and (b) graduated from early years initial teacher training courses in each year since the introduction of the early years teacher status.

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets staffing and qualification requirements for early years providers. The government would like to see more trained graduates in the workforce, and we are supporting this by providing funding for course fees and bursaries to eligible trainees, and also funding for employers to support trainees.

The number of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and between 2008 and 2013 the proportion of full day care staff with a degree or higher increased from 5% to 13%. The National Day Nursery Association’s June 2015 survey showed that 88% of settings employ a graduate Early Years Teacher. There are currently 15,962 individuals who have achieved Early Years Professional Status and Early Years Teacher Status.

Since the inception of early years initial teacher training in September 2013, we have recruited an overall number of 3206 trainees, of which 2358 have graduated and been awarded Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). The 2014/15 cohort has 421 individuals still in training and awaiting an outcome. We have set high standards for individuals gaining Early Years Teacher Status as we want individuals of the highest calibre in these roles.