The Department for Education (DfE) recently announced that the Early Years Professional Development Programme (PDP) is to be extended to around 50 new local authorities across England in 2021/22.
The £10 million extension, building on £20 million already invested in the programme since 2019, is aimed at improving outcomes for children, particularly the most disadvantaged, between the ages of two and four by providing high-quality training and professional development support for staff in nurseries and preschools, or childminders.
Up to 2,000 early years practitioners and teachers in the new areas will benefit from high-quality online training delivered directly by experienced trainers, reaching up to 32,000 pre-school children across the country. The local authorities who will benefit from the additional training support will be confirmed later in the autumn.
Children and Families Minister Vicky Ford said:
“We know high-quality early years education can make an enormous difference to the outcomes of our youngest children, not just in their language and numeracy but also their social and emotional development, helping to give them the best possible start to life. This is more important than ever as we build back from the pandemic.
“This programme will play a central role in equipping our important early years staff with the high-quality training they deserve, so that they can support children at the very beginning of their education, enabling them to build on these skills with confidence as they grow up.”