Research highlights positive impact of early years professionals

A study by a team of researchers at the University of Wolverhampton has found practitioners with Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) are making a positive impact on workforce development.

The study carried out by the University’s Centre for Developmental and Applied Research in Education (CeDARE) was commissioned to explore the roles of Early Years Professionals (EYPs).

It looked at the effect the role had on their settings along with their career development and aspirations over three years.

Its findings are based on two national surveys of EYPs and in-depth case studies of 30 early years settings across England.

The researchers found that EYPS is creating a cohort of practitioners who are more willing and confident about leading practice in their settings and better able to use a range of approaches to improve the quality of practice in general.

Findings from the study highlight the very positive impact EYPS has had on future career prospects and on the professional status of practitioners in the early years sector as a whole.

Also it showed how Early Years Professionals are improving and sustaining quality through leading practice and supporting their colleagues to improve provision in their settings.

Professor Mark Hadfield, director of CeDare, said: “One of the key findings of the research was that Early Years Professionals are making a difference, in both leading improvements themselves and enabling others to enhance the quality of provision in early year settings.

“It also demonstrated that although EYPs were leading in very different ways these were effective when they were sensitive to the challenges of the very different contexts in which they worked.”

The Longitudinal Study of Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) was a three-year study commissioned by the Children’s Workforce Development Council.

EYPS is the only professional graduate accreditation for the early years’ workforce, endorsed by the Government and increasingly recognised as the credential for leading practice in early years provision.

Launched in 2007, there are now more than 10,000 qualified EYPs across England and more than 1,800 in training.

For more information about the study go to http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=20748

ENDS

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