Want to enhance your leadership skills? The National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) is a free, high quality and evidence-based leadership course provided through the Department for Education. It’s designed for current and aspiring nursery leaders, childminders, and leaders of school-based nurseries.
The NPQEYL will help you develop the knowledge and skills to meet today’s challenges, effectively lead your team and manage your setting, and boost early years development to ensure every child has the best start in life. The deadline to apply is fast approaching. Read on to find out how the NPQEYL will benefit you and apply in-time for February 2023 at GOV.UK.
We know that leading a nursery requires a wealth of strategic and operational knowledge and that leaders rely on working with and through colleagues. Designed alongside sector experts, the NPQEYL will help participants become experts in leading high-quality early years education and care, as well as building effective staff and organisational management skills. Skills that PVI leaders and early years professionals can develop whilst undertaking the NPQ, include:
- Delivering high-quality and ambitious curriculum
The NPQEYL enables leaders to understand the components of an effective curriculum and how to support all children to develop and experience success. The NPQEYL curriculum covers routines and strategies for supporting children to build early mathematical skills, communication, comprehension, and age-appropriate behaviours.
- Working successfully with parents
Effective parental engagement is known to play a key role in children’s academic success. To reflect this, participants will learn how to encourage positive, two-way discussions about children’s learning, in order to build parents’ and carers’ confidence in assisting their child’s learning at home.
- Managing settings effectively
Leaders will explore the importance of effective decision-making and good financial, staff and educational resource management. They will also understand the role of strategic planning, employee relations and risk management in successful early years settings.
- Supporting staff to engage in effective professional development
During their study, leaders will understand how to protect time for staff to plan, test and implement new ideas and learnings. This will support leaders to promote the importance of professional development and help staff to see how beneficial it is to their work, organisation and ultimately improving outcomes for children.
For more information about the NPQ in Early Years Leadership, including course content, funding and how to apply, visit: Early years leadership NPQ (education.gov.uk)