Skip to main content
Statutory guidance

Early years qualification requirements and standards

The qualifications that staff must hold to be included in the specified staff:child ratios at levels 2, 3 and 6 of the early years foundation stage (EYFS).

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
8 December 2023
Last updated:
1 September 2026
Show all updates

  1. Removed 'Early years qualification and standards: effective until 31 August 2026' as it is no longer valid.

  2. Added 'Early years qualification requirements and standards: effective from 1 September 2026'. This update consists of minor clarifications to the existing version. The current version applies until 1 September 2026.

  3. Removed 'Early years qualification requirements and standards: until 1 January 2026', which first came into effect on 4 January 2024. The requirements in the updated document come into effect on 1 January 2026.

  4. Added 'Early years qualification requirements and standards: effective from 1 January 2026'. This update consists of minor clarifications in the 'Experience-based route' section. The current version applies until 1 January 2026.

  5. The latest ‘Early years qualification requirements and standards’ came into force on 1 September 2025.

  6. Added 'Early years qualification requirements and standards: effective from 1 September 2025'. This has minor clarifications to the existing version. The existing version applies until 31 August.

  7. The updated version of the statutory guidance is now in force. We originally published this document on 10 February when the related statutory instrument was laid.

  8. Published an update to 'Early years qualification requirements and standards' to come into force 3 March 2025 subject to parliamentary procedure. This update allows for the introduction of the experience-based route for early years. It also clarifies the qualification requirements for staff counting in the level 6 staff:child ratios in early years settings and references to the early years qualifications list.

  9. 'Early years qualification requirements and standards' updated to reflect the Early Years Educator level 3 criteria from September 2024.

  10. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Early years qualification and standards

PDF, 681 KB, 49 pages

Details

This document first came into effect on 4 January 2024. Changes in this latest version took effect from 1 September 2026.

Sign up for emails or print this page