Written by
23 June, 2021

Checking overseas and UK based childcare qualifications

Do you have an overseas childcare qualification, or one from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland which you would like to get mapped to see if you are within the Level 3 childcare ratios in England?

The Early Years Service provided by UK National Information Centre (UK ENIC) ended on 31 December 2020.

As of 1 January 2021, requests for recognition of overseas qualifications should now be sent for the attention of the Early Years Workforce Team.

Recognition will be granted where qualifications are comparable in scope, content and level to either of the following:

You should include the following in your request for recognition email to the Early Years Workforce Team. It is important to have all of this ready to ensure we can deal with your request as quickly as possible:

  • Confirmation of either the EYE or EYP criteria that you want the qualification to be compared to
  • Photos of the final certificate
  • Your transcript of all the modules you have achieved and the learning outcomes
  • AStatement of Comparability (SoC) from UK ENIC (European Network of Information Centres, the SoC will also need to include details of any English and maths qualifications obtained overseas to fulfil the literacy and numeracy requirements for level 3 early years educators.

If any of the documents are not in English, we will need certified translations. The translations need to show:

  • Qualification title
  • Full detail of the content of the modules studied.

We are unable to assess your request without the required evidence.
Please email all your evidence to the Early Years Workforce Team at: EarlyYearsOverseas.QUALIFICATIONS@education.gov.uk

You can start an application for a UK ENIC Statement of Comparability on its website.

There are literacy and numeracy requirements for level 3 early years educators.

Decisions already received from the DfE about overseas qualifications for working in the EYE or EYP staffing ratios will remain recognised and valid.
If you trained as a teacher overseas or obtained a level 6 qualification, you may be able to obtain qualified teacher status (QTS). We would recommend that you start with applying for this, as it would enable you to work in early years or in primary schools and work in the higher staff:child ratios. For more information, read qualified teacher status (QTS): qualify to teach in England.

Lists of early years qualifications for qualifications in England

Setting managers and practitioners can find the details of all full and relevant qualifications at levels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 at: Check early years qualifications – GOV.UK. These lists should be used to check whether qualifications completed in England are reflected there and therefore meet the Early Years Educator or Early Years Practitioner criteria and whether they can count in EYFS staff:child ratios when working in an early years setting.  If the qualification does not appear on the list exactly how it appears on the certificate, it is not a full and relevant qualification.

Degree qualifications that are approved for working in the level 3 ratios are listed on our qualifications list, these include Early Childhood Studies degrees where they meet the generic statements on the EYQL.

We aim to respond to all enquiries that you send us within 15 working days for both overseas and UK qualifications.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long will it take to receive a response from the Department for Education (DfE)?

If you write in to DfE, DfE will usually respond to you within 15 working days.

Who can I contact for further information?

Please email EarlyYearsOverseas.QUALIFICATIONS@education.gov.uk and address your email to the Early Years Workforce team.

Checking your qualification from England – why are there 3 different list of DfE approved qualifications?

There are three lists to review depending on the level of your qualification and the date it was completed:

  • Qualifications completed pre-September 2014
  • Qualifications post September 2014.
  • Level 2 qualifications

What if my qualification doesn’t appear on the list?

If the qualification isn’t listed, it’s not approved by the Department for Education for working in the ratios.  If the title of the qualification on the list does not exactly match the certificate, it is not approved for working in the ratios.

Can I add my qualification to the list?

If you want your English early years qualification to be mapped to the early years educator criteria, please contact the DfE at EarlyYearsEducator.QUALIFICATIONS@education.gov.uk and provide a full breakdown of the modules completed.

Check early years qualifications

Supreme Recruitment are an award winning, specialist education recruitment agency based in West London who supply qualified teachers and support staff in Primary, Secondary, Early Years, Post-16, SEN, PRU and professional tutors across all subjects and key stages.

 

Please get in touch with our specialist education team to discuss your next role or recruiting requirements

Contact details:

Tel: 02085772442

Email: education@supremerecruitment.co.uk

Web: https://education.supremerecruitment.co.uk

Source: NDNA

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