Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner Apprenticeship

The Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner (EYLP) Apprenticeship is ideal for proactive, influential practitioners, working directly with children. These highly skilled professionals take an operational lead for the care, learning and development of all young children within their care and lead and support the practice of others.

What you'll do

• Providing care: Ensuring children are safe and well, and responding to their needs
• Supporting learning: Facilitating play and learning opportunities, and developing children's speech, language, and communication
• Leading practice: Participating in and leading daily routines, and promoting best practices for observation, assessment, and planning
• Promoting diversity and equality: Ensuring all children are included and supported
• Complying with safeguarding: Ensuring the setting complies with all safeguarding legislation, policies, and strategies
• Reflecting and building on practice: Using professional enquiry and action research to contribute to the setting's pedagogical approach
• Leading other practitioners: Supporting others in developing their own practice

Training

• Early Years Educator Level 3
• Training will include paediatric first aid qualification
• The programme offers a blended approach including virtual classrooms, webinars, work-based tasks and online assignments
• Candidates are not required to attend college
• You will receive one-to-one support and tuition from your apprenticeship tutor, this tutor will make in person visits to you at the nursery, or schedule online meetings every 5-6 weeks

After the apprenticeship

The Early Years Lead Practitioner Level 5 is the equivalent to a foundation degree. You could progress to a top-up degree and Early Years Teacher Status.

Skills

• Communication skills
• Customer care skills
• Team working
• Creative
• Initiative
• Non judgemental
• Patience

Things to consider

Safeguarding Statement

This authority/organisation is dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, requiring all staff and volunteers to uphold this commitment.

As part of the safer recruitment, you will require an enhanced DBS. This will be applied for by the employer if successful.

It is an offence to apply for the role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Right to Work & Residency Requirements

Applicants who are not UK nationals must meet apprenticeship funding eligibility rules, including having lived in the UK or EU for at least 3 consecutive years prior to the start date.

You must hold a valid visa that does not expire within 18 months of your apprenticeship start date. We will require a share code to verify your right to work and study in the UK.

After submitting your application, you will receive a screening form where you can securely provide your share code for eligibility checks.

About the employer

We bring decades of experience25 years in early years, multiple languages, one shared purpose.

Some of our team have spent 25 years or more working in early years, and several hold Level 7 qualifications. Our director brings the added perspective of a career in nursing and midwifery. We are a genuinely multicultural team, and most of us speak three or four languages, which matters in a setting where most of our children are growing up bilingual or multilingual. Whatever your family's background or first language, your child will find someone here who reflects their world.

Apprenticeship details

• Course: Early years lead practitioner (level 5), Education and early years
• Apprenticeship level: Higher (level 5)
• Training provider: BEST PRACTICE NETWORK LIMITED
• Expected duration: 1 Year 6 Months
• Hours: 40 hours a week. Working week: Term Time only

Full time and part time hours available.

Working hours Monday - Friday between 7.30am-6:30pm

• Start date: 2 December 2026
• Positions available: 1
• Wage: £16,640 a year