A new chapter for the early years profession with graduate competencies book

The needs of young children and their families are being further supported thanks to the first generation of graduates educated against national standards.

The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies have been co-developed by University of Northampton (UON) academics. Since their launch in 2018 they have been embedded into the teaching and learning outcomes of an ever-growing list of students at university Early Childhood degree programmes across the country.

The competencies include analysing in greater depth social, health and wellbeing and legal factors that broaden a graduate’s learning to make them more holistic practitioners.

The first generation of ‘competency trained’ students from start to end of their degrees are now emerging. The aim is for this to grow and support an evolution in the practical knowledge and reputation of early years professional practice.

To complement the graduate competencies, the ECSDN (Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network) has created a book about them that looks at the practical application of the degree knowledge alongside the issues and challenges facing the profession, written by the people involved in the initial pilot.

Some of the challenges are historical – such as the confusion between the early years sector and childhood care sector, funding, staff retention and sustainability – and exacerbated by the pandemic and Cost-of-Living crisis.

The book explains how graduates educated according to the competencies will help generate a sea-change in the profession.

Dr Tanya Richardson is Senior Lecturer in Education at University of Northampton and co-chair of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network that oversees the competencies. She says: “Although still very early days for the competencies, we are already seeing the impact of them on Early Childhood Studies graduates and therefore within the sector.

“UON research shows the growing confidence of early years students since the inception of the competencies. Many of them find they are improving their practice and give them the ability to embed what they are learning and consider how that will impact their practice.

“Early years professionals are all about understanding the important early days of a child’s life and supporting those children and their families, so it’s amazing to see how they are taking what they have learned in the classroom and putting into direct practice.”

Find out more about The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies: A Guide for Professional Practice.