Early Years Professional Development Programme
The Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) is an exciting opportunity for early years practitioners to improve their understanding and skills in supporting the development of the most disadvantaged children between the ages of 2 and 4.
About the programme
Funded by the Department for Education in England and delivered by Education Development Trust, the EYPDP is a tailored professional development programme and forms part of the government’s Early Years Education Recovery Plan which aims to address the continued effects of the pandemic on young children.
The training is available to eligible practitioners across all participating local authorities in England. There will be staggered start dates across the 2023\25 period with a total of four cohorts, the next of which is due to start in January 2024. Participants will receive high quality, evidence-based CPD (continuous professional development) to support them to improve outcomes on school readiness, early language, early mathematics and Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED).
FAQs
| EYP Places Available | Start Date | Completion Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | February 2023 | October 2023 |
| 3000 | September 2023 | May 2024 |
| 3000 | January 2024 | September 2024 |
| 2000 | April 2024 | December 2024 |
The EYPDP has been made available to all 152 Local Authorities across England, with eligible practitioners from all participating Local Authorities encouraged to apply.
Pre-reception practitioners and childminders from schools and private, voluntary and independent settings (PVIs) who offer childcare to children between 2 and 4 years are eligible, with priority given to applications from settings that meet at least two of the following criteria:
- Provide to at least one child with an Education, Health and Care Plan or Disability Access Fund indicator
- Provide to at least one child in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)
- Provide to at least one child taking up the disadvantaged two-year-old offer
EY providers which do not meet the above criteria but where local intelligence suggests disadvantaged children would benefit from their practitioners receiving additional CPD support, may also be eligible.
Additionally, participating practitioners must:
- Be qualified to at least level 3
- Be currently working with 2-4 year olds (e.g. a manager who does not spend any time with the children is not eligible)
- Not have completed a previous version of the early years professional development programme delivered by Education Development Trust.
This programme is free to access. Support with backfill costs will be made available to settings via their local authority to help complete the training.
It is expected that it will take participants 8 months and approximately 60 hours to complete the programme. Some flexibility may be granted in extenuating circumstances. For further details, please contact us to see our extenuating circumstances policy.
If you are a Setting Manager* and are interested in practitioners from your setting taking part in the Early Years Professional Development Programme starting, please click here to complete an expression of interest form.
*We are using the term Setting Manager to refer to all those who manage Early Years Practitioners. Examples could include: EYFS leads, EYFS teachers, Nursery Managers, Childminders
If you are an Early Years Practitioner interested in signing up for the programme, please speak to your setting manager and ask them to complete the expression of interest form on your behalf
News
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Interview with Jan Dubiel
Jan Dubiel has decades of experience in the early years sector, as a Nursery, Reception and Year 1 teacher in schools across England and then leading teams as an Early Years Coordinator. He is the former Head of National and International Development at Early Excellence, and now works as an independent speaker, consultant, trainer, author…
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Jan Dubiel shares his thoughts on the importance of targeted CPD
One of the most significant features of the Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) is its unashamed and deliberate focus on the pre-Reception Years of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This specific age-related focus fully acknowledges the importance of this element of the phase and the vital, unique and explicit strands of development that…