Department for Education praises EDT’s delivery of the Early Years Professional Development Programme for improving staff knowledge, skills, and confidence, boosting children’s outcomes

The EYPDP, which we delivered between 2019 and 2025 in three phases, supported early years educators in England to develop their skills and provision, and in turn, improve children’s outcomes. The third phase of the EYPDP supported 10,000 early years practitioners across four cohorts between February 2023 and March 2025. The programme provided training through online eLearning and facilitated webinars, to improve professional practice and educational outcomes for children aged two to four. Practitioners worked with a total of 118,783 children, including nearly 15,000 from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The primary aim of the DfE’s report was to understand whether training for early years professionals results in improvements in the quality of early years settings. We are thrilled that the report confirms that it does, aligning with what we know from our evidence-informed work in early childhood education (ECE). These improvements extend across both early years educators’ knowledge and understanding, practice and confidence, and outcomes for children as they take their first steps in education. The DfE reported,

“The vast majority of EYPs [early years practitioners] agreed that the changes they had made to their practice following participation of EYPDP3 would improve children’s development in language and communication, mathematics and PSED [personal, social, and emotional development].”

Why was the programme so successful? The DfE found multiple reasons, including:

• Relevance: the programme addressed the needs of the early years sector.
• Flexibility: the programme was flexible in delivery to aid participation and opportunities to catch up.
• Backfill funding: this supported participation when administered by local authorities effectively.
• Practical focus: in addition to the theory, practical ideas aided implementation of learning.
• Collaboration: the opportunity to share and network with other practitioners supported the embedding of learning.
• Leader participation: this helped practice be shared, cascaded and embedded in settings.
• Networking: hearing and learning from others through peer networks were particularly beneficial for childminders.
• Recognition: the sector received deserved recognition as a profession, further empowering early years educators.

We are delighted that the DfE has found that ‘appetite for future EYPDP3 style training or similar training was high due to the positive learning experience and perceived impacts on practice’. Every child deserves the foundation of high-quality ECE, and to achieve this, we must ensure those working with our youngest learners have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to do the job they love well.

Key findings show high satisfaction with the EYPDP across the board, with 94% of setting leaders feeling that the programme improved the quality of provision, and 85% of practitioners agreeing the changes made to their practice would impact children’s development. Other practitioners reported already seeing improvements in children’s outcomes as a result of the programme.

The EYPDP has also had wider positive impacts on strengthening the early years sector in England. 84% of participants said their morale has improved, with one sharing, “We feel sparked, enthused and excited again. It has helped with things like building our confidence, especially with maths.” Setting leaders also reported that the programme has led to improvements in retention and made recruitment easier.

“EDT is very proud to have delivered the Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) on behalf of the DfE, and it is heartening to receive such strong confirmation of our positive impact from this independent evaluation report. High-quality early childhood education significantly improves life chances, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and this rigorous assessment of impact shows how the EYPDP made a difference to young lives in diverse communities across the whole of England.

“We are delighted that the report highlights how the EYPDP improved the professional knowledge of both frontline early years educators and their managers and, as result, boosted progress for young children in the vital areas of communication, mathematics, and social and emotional skills. This is an intervention that made a big difference, and we hope that the government will build on the EYPDP going forward and recognise the vital importance of investing in the professionalism of the early years workforce.”

Tony McAleavy, Chief Education & Skills Officer, EDT

Read the DfE’s full evaluation report on the Early Years Professional Development Programme (Phase 3).