Skip to main content

Early Years Statement for qualifications achieved outside of the UK

Skip contents

Overview

This information is for anyone who:

  • has an early years qualification outside of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
  • needs an Early Years Statement for their international qualification, so they can work with children from birth to 5 years old in England

The Early Years Statement shows how your international early years qualification matches against the criteria set by the Department for Education (DfE).

The Statement will confirm the next steps that are needed to count towards your employer's staff-to-child ratios.

The Statement is free of charge.

The process is different for anyone who was awarded an early years qualification in the UK.

This service is only for people with an early years qualification. If your qualification is not focused on early years, you may wish to apply for a Statement of Comparability.

What you will get

When we have received all your documents, our evaluation team will compare the details of your qualifications against the criteria set by DfE.

If we can provide a Statement, the outcome will either be 100%, above 50% or below 50%.

The Statement will give you a detailed qualification mapping. It will confirm:

  • whether your qualification is relevant to the early years sector in England
  • the comparable level of your qualification to the UK education systems
  • the relevancy of your qualification when comparing it against the DfE criteria for the early years educator or early years practitioner
  • pathways to gaining recognition so you can get qualified to work in staff-to-child ratios
  • whether your school-level qualification meets level 2 literacy and numeracy requirements
  • recommended next steps, if not all the criteria have been met

We will also provide advice on general requirements that you will need to successfully meet additional criteria set by DfE.

Experience-based route

Instead of the overseas recognition route, you might be eligible for the Department for Education’s experience-based route (EBR) (opens in a new tab). This lets early years practitioners without an approved qualification gain status to work at level 3 staff-to-child ratios.

Talk to your employer if you want to take this route and think you might be eligible.

The EBR gives you a status, not a qualification. It is not automatically transferable between settings. The ENIC international qualification recognition route is transferable. Take this into consideration when deciding which route is most suitable for your circumstances.

Changes to DfE level 3 years educator criteria

The Department for Education has introduced new, higher-quality level 3 Early Years Educator (EYE) criteria, which came into force on 1 September 2024. These criteria can be found at Annex E of the Early Years Qualification Requirements and Standards document (EYQRS) (opens in a new tab).

The level 3 EYE criteria have been expanded to include:

  • more details about areas like safeguarding and SEND
  • references to UK and English statutory and non-statutory guidance and processes that are specific to English early years settings

For this reason, DfE recognises that applicants with non-UK qualifications are unlikely to obtain a Full and Relevant outcome (100% of the subcriteria fully met) on the Statement.

If your qualification is assessed as meeting 50% or more of the subcriteria, you may need to complete an adaptation period or standalone modules to be counted in level 3 staff-to-child ratios. DfE recommends that the adaptation period is 6 months. This can be shorter if the employer is satisfied that the candidate has demonstrated the necessary experience and skills in the subcriteria that UK ENIC assessed their qualification to be missing.