Guidance

Early years initial teacher training (ITT): a guide for employers

Updated 23 October 2024

Applies to England

Overview

This information is for early years employers. If you’re interested in applying for EYITT, visit the Get into Teaching website, or contact one of our EYITT providers.

Providing children with good quality education and care in their earliest years can help them succeed at school and later in life. Early years teachers are specialists in early childhood development, trained to deliver the early years foundation stage for children from birth to five.

To become an early years teacher a trainee has to complete an EYITT course. This training provides opportunities to gain practical skills and underpinning theoretical knowledge to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years). Successful completion of the training leads to the award of early years teacher status.

Funding and training

Funding is available to train graduates already employed in an early years setting. Training providers receive the funding and retain the course fee. The remaining funding is given to you to cover some of your costs in supporting the trainee employed by you to complete their course. For instance, supply costs or salary enhancement.

Read the early years initial teacher training funding guide and the early years initial teacher training: 2025 to 2026 funding guidance for further information.

How your employee can apply

If you have a graduate employed in your early years setting, encourage them to apply. They can apply directly to an EYITT provider offering the graduate employment based route.

Academic entry criteria

To apply, graduate employees must have: 

• a standard equivalent to a grade C or 4 in the GCSE examinations in English, Mathematics and a science subject
• a first degree from a UK higher education institution or equivalent qualification

International students

International students can be offered funded EYITT places as long as the applicant meets:

• all the academic entry criteria for the EYITT course
• the relevant immigration permissions

International students can be awarded EYTS in the usual way on completion of an EYITT course.  

Immigration permissions 

Before they start their EYITT course every international EYITT student must have the right to study or work in the UK and must hold the relevant visa. This is in line with the standard practice for all international students undertaking any course in an English university.  

EYITT providers can find support on recruiting international students and the requirements needed at recruit trainee teachers from overseas: accredited ITT providers. Please note that the further support section at the bottom of this guidance is not applicable to EYITT. 

Potential international students can visit check if you need a UK visa to check eligibility for a visa.

Research

The following research reports show that the quality of provision is higher when early years practice is led by specially trained graduates:

• Early years workforce qualifications and children’s outcomes found that there is a positive association between the presence of degree-qualified staff and children’s outcomes measured by the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) (particularly communication and maths), as well as KS1 and KS2.  The strongest effects were seen for children in settings where a staff member held qualified teacher status (QTS), followed by those holder early years teacher status (EYTS – achieved through EYITT), with smaller effects for staff holding early years professional status (EYPS).
• Evaluation of the graduate leader fund: final report found that settings which gained a graduate leader with early years professional status (the predecessor of early years teacher status) made significant improvements in quality for preschool children (aged 30 months to 5 years) as compared with settings which did not. Improvements were most evident where those with early years professional status worked directly in a room with children and led the practice.
• Longitudinal Study of Early Years Professional Status: an exploration of progress, leadership and impact final report found that early years professional status had created professionals who are confident about taking on a leadership role in settings. 80% of early years professionals felt that gaining early years professional status had increased their ability to carry out improvements in their settings.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please use our contact us form.