Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to develop, and (2) to retain, a workforce of highly qualified early years teachers, including by furthering access to continuous professional development.

The department is committed to supporting the sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare. We are investing £20 million in a high quality, evidence-based professional development programme for practitioners in targeted disadvantaged areas, and a further £10 million to fund a second phase of the programme.

In June 2021, the department announced a further £153 million for training for early years staff to support the learning and development of the very youngest children and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of our recovery strategy, we will be expanding the number of training places to increase the supply of qualified graduates to the sector.

The department is also developing new early years training routes. Employer trailblazer groups have developed level 2 and 3 apprenticeships. In August 2021, we launched a level 5 apprenticeship. From April 2021, free level 3 early years qualifications became available through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.