> Funding: £9,000
The Early Years Lead Practitioner Level 5 programme is designed for experienced early years professionals who provide pedagogical leadership and support quality improvement within early years settings. The course develops advanced knowledge, skills, and behaviours required to influence practice, mentor colleagues, and drive continuous improvement.
Learners deepen their understanding of child development, curriculum leadership, assessment, and inclusive practice. The programme emphasises coaching, reflective practice, and evidence-informed approaches, enabling learners to support others effectively. Delivered through a blended remote model, learners benefit from personalised one-to-one support and collaborative peer learning while applying their learning directly within their professional role.
This programme prepares learners to operate confidently as lead practitioners who positively impact practice and outcomes across early years provision.
Employers benefit from expert lead practitioners who raise quality, consistency, and outcomes across early years provision.
Employers benefit from staff who:
The apprenticeship provides:
Employers typically see:
The programme supports:
This course is designed for experienced early years practitioners with responsibility for leading practice and supporting others.
All learning aligns to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Ofsted inspection frameworks, and evidence-informed early years practice.
This course is ideal for:
Typical Job Roles Include:
This course is suitable for employers operating in:
Throughout the programme, learners are supported to:
This ensures apprentices approach the End Point Assessment with confidence and clarity.
This means you can recruit with a clear development route in mind from day one.
Many of our apprentices go on to secure permanent roles, promotions and long-term career progression within their organisations.
Receive a £1,000 incentive when you recruit an apprentice aged 16–18, or 19–24 with an EHCP or care leaver status.
Employers are exempt from paying National Insurance Contributions for apprentices under 25, provided they earn under the Upper Secondary Threshold.
Training costs are typically 95–100% government funded for non-levy paying employers — making apprenticeships significantly more cost-effective than traditional recruitment.
Apprenticeships improve retention, engagement and progression. You build capability tailored to your business from day one.
We review your role for apprenticeship alignment and suitability.
Support you in refining the job description if needed to attract the right candidates.
We advertise and promote your vacancy across our candidate network.
We screen and shortlist candidates based on your requirements.
We guide you through the onboarding and funding process end-to-end.
We don’t take you out of your role — we develop you within it.
Our programmes are designed for people already in work, helping you build the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to perform at a higher level. Everything you learn is applied directly to your day-to-day responsibilities, so the impact is immediate, practical and measurable.
From enrolment through to completion, we support both you and your employer to ensure the training delivers real value.
If you are not sure on what course may suit you, funding or how it all works, then get in touch and we can help and support and help you on your journey.