School of Education news

Celebrating 10 years of teaching early years professionals

The University of Brighton is celebrating its 10th year of providing professional qualifications for early years’ practitioners.

Early Years Professional Status was introduced by the government in 2007 with the aim of raising the standards in early years education through high-quality graduate-led provision. The programme has evolved over time and graduates are now awarded Early Years Teacher Status, with entry requirements as for primary teaching.

The university’s School of Education has offered the programme from the outset and to date has supported over 300 Early Years practitioners to achieve the professional status they deserve. This has had a huge impact on the quality of provision in the South East and many of our graduates now lead practice across the early years foundation stage.

Erica Evans, was amongst the first cohort who graduated with Early Years Professional Status and is now course leader of the University of Brighton’s programme. She said: “It has been a complete privilege to support practitioners in the south east to gain the graduate level professional status in early years.

“Graduate leaders are making a real difference to children and families through their commitment to excellence and their outstanding leadership in early years settings. Through our alumni group we continue to work together to explore emerging research and new ideas in early years practice. I am looking forward to the next ten years of partnership working with early years practitioners and teachers in our locality.”

Some of our alumni have also shared their experiences about how studying this course has helped further their careers:

“Having gained EYTS, I feel more confident and able to contribute towards developments in the provision at my setting to promote the children’s wellbeing and enhance their educational experiences” (Jo Donovan)

“The placements were really enjoyable as they helped me to see just how different practice needs to be with the varying ages of children, and how practice can be adapted from the same foundational principles to provide high quality care for all children”. (Beth Thomas, graduated 2016).

“I think the professional approach and dedication of the lecturers were the most striking aspect of the experience. Their passion and commitment to providing great learning opportunities for young children was really infectious. It was super well organised and it really felt like I was able to make the most of every opportunity the course offered me” (Alexander Paterson, graduated 2011).

There are still places available for Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) at the University of Brighton commencing in September 2017.

Full details about the programme and how to apply can be found on the University of Brighton website.

Please feel free to contact our team with any questions: eyitt@brighton.ac.uk

Christina Camm • April 27, 2017


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