Training
We offer many exciting ways to train with the Alliance. Whether you're just starting out or you're a professional looking to refresh or enhance your knowledge and skills, we offer a range of high quality courses face-to-face or online.
The Alliance has been a trusted provider of high-quality early years and childcare qualifications for over 30 years. We deliver training on all aspects of early years provision including regulatory requirements, best practice, preparation for inspection. We offer professional development workshops through to full and relevant level 5 qualifications and Apprenticeships.
The Alliance offers the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner and 3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship Standards. Apprenticeship training programmes are delivered through a blend of virtual classroom teaching sessions, online training courses, written tasks, 1-1 reviews and assessment in the workplace.
We know that Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plays a vital role in motivating and inspiring reflective early years practice, enhancing learning opportunities for children and helping to deliver positive Ofsted inspection outcomes. That’s why we are so passionate about delivering online training and networking opportunities that are affordable, flexible and fun through our popular Virtual Classrooms, Spotlights and Connect sessions:
- Alliance Virtual Classrooms are online training sessions for early years professionals, with prices starting at just ÂŁ25 per person for members and ÂŁ35 for non-members for a two-hour session.
- Alliance Insights are virtual training and networking sessions. Each one-hour session starts from ÂŁ13 for members and from ÂŁ26 for non-members.
- Alliance Connects, our popular online networking sessions, are free to attend.
If you and your team can't make the scheduled Virtual Classroom or Spotlight sessions, we can deliver all our exclusively to your whole staff team at a date and time of your choosing.
From time to time we offer free webinars hosted by our own early years experts on matters of sector-wide interest such as updates to legislation or changes to the EYFS. Participants view a live presentation and have the opportunity to submit questions and contribute to discussion.
Whether you’re a manager keen to support your staff’s development or an educator in a nursery, pre-school or childminding setting looking to fill some gaps in your early years knowledge, our new CPD Spotlight Collections provide affordable, flexible and fun learning whenever and wherever suits you best.
Working in partnership with St John Ambulance, the nation’s leading first aid training provider, the Early Years Alliance is delighted to offer this innovative two-day blended course which covers emergency situations that can happen while looking after young children and babies. Alliance members get a 20% discount off the course price.
Volunteer
Whether you can offer a lot of time or just a couple of hours a week, we've got plenty of opportunities. Work in an early years settings, offer support with fun outings or organise fundraising activities. Or take-up a more formal role such as treasurer or trustee on a committee.
Experience based route
The Department for Education have introduced an experience-based route (EBR) for early educators to gain approved status to work within staff: child ratios at Level 3. This is available now, however those who are successful in gaining experienced-based route status would not be able to count in Level 3 ratios until at least September 2025 after they have completed the required assessment period (751-900 hours of supervised practice), and the necessary changes have been made to the EYFS.
Through the EBR route, early years setting managers will be able to make assessment decisions about their staff’s knowledge, skills and experience.
Eligibility criteria apply to both the candidate and the setting wishing to use this route.
Guidance outlining the process for assessing a member of staff is available
It is important to note that the EBR is not a qualification and will not be automatically transferable to new employers.
As such EBR does not increase the number of qualified staff in a setting.
