New experience-based route to Level 3

A: The experience-based route is a new route for early educators who do not have a full and relevant Level 3 early years qualification to gain approved status to work within staff:child ratios at Level 3.

Eligible educators will be able to start the process of accessing the experience-based route from March 2025, though they will not be able to count in Level 3 ratios until the necessary changes have been made to the EYFS, expected from September 2025.

A: Settings will need to undertake an initial assessment of an educator’s knowledge, skills and experience against the Level 3 EYE criteria. If, following this initial assessment, the provider is satisfied that the educator meets at least 50% of the Level 3 EYE criteria, they can then use the experience-based route to help the educator gain the other criteria not yet met through a period of supervised practice.

At the end of the supervised practice period, and after the educator has completed 751-900 hours of relevant work, the setting must reassess their knowledge, skills and experience against the Level 3 EYE criteria and satisfy themselves that each are met. If so, then the provider can consider using the educator in the ratios at Level 3 (assuming all other eligibility criteria are met – see below).

A: Educators wishing to use the route must hold a Level 2 qualification that is full and relevant (or an equivalent achieved outside of England) OR a non-full and relevant Level 3 or above qualification (or equivalent) that the setting considers to be relevant to the care or education of children (e.g. early years and childcare, teaching, play work or health and social care).

They must also have worked in early years or a related sector (such as teaching, health and social care, nursing and midwifery, social care, play work, counselling and psychotherapy) in England for a minimum of one year.

In addition, educators undertaking the experience-based route must hold a suitable Level 2 English qualification and a Paediatric First Aid qualification before they can be counted in Level 3 ratios.

A: Settings wishing to offer the route must have received a 'good' or 'outstanding' overall effectiveness judgement in their most recent Ofsted inspection to offer the experience-based route to their staff (NB: this criteria will be updated once further details around the removal of single-word Ofsted judgements is published).

Providers who have not yet received an Ofsted inspection will also be eligible to offer the experience-based route.

In addition, under the plans, both the person undertaking the experience-based route assessments (normally the manager, though this is not a requirement) and staff involved in supervising a staff member during the experience-based route must hold a full and relevant qualification at Level 3 or above, and must have been working in an early years setting for a minimum of two years.

A: The DfE has confirmed that an educator’s experience-based route status will not be automatically transferable between early years settings.

However, the DfE has said that exceptions to this may include cases where educators move to a new setting within the same provider, stating: "If the manager deems it appropriate for the member of staff and the children in their premises, it is possible for this status to apply in multiple premises within the same provider".

A: Yes, no more than 50% of Level 3 staff across the whole setting can hold experience-based route status.

Further information on the experience-based route is available at bit.ly/u5experiencebased.