KEY Partnership

Delivering Early Years Professional Status in London and the South East

Open days

Visit us at an open day to learn more about the EYPS opportunities available across our partner institutions.

Kingston University has been leading a consortium titled the KEY Partnership, comprising of five exceptional partner universities, to deliver Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) to local and national networks since 1st October 2011. All members are leading providers of Early Years courses staffed by experts in their field, undertaking cutting edge research in Early Years and across the full 0-19 age range including families and carers.

The KEY Partnership will work collaboratively to ensure candidates applying to any one of the partner institutions will receive high quality tuition and support across all EYPS pathways.

What is Early Years Professional Status (EYPS)?

Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) is a professional accreditation endorsed by the Government for graduate practitioners who can demonstrate a set of professional standards and which recognises their expertise as practitioners and professional leaders. Through assessment, practitioners will demonstrate their knowledge and experience across the full 0-5 age range.

"All children deserve the best possible start in life and it is important that the people who provide early years services have the right skills, knowledge and experience to have a positive impact on the children they work with."

Jane Haywood (CWDC)

Research highlights that EYPs continue to make a difference to children's learning and development through providing leadership across early years settings and improving outcomes directly for the children they work with, this is particularly relevant for children in areas of deprivation.

With this in mind the Government has charged EYPS providers to prioritise applicants from settings in these areas, or those serving an area of deprivation, for funded places. Working with Government data and with Local Authority Children's Workforce colleagues, the Key Partnership will review all applications with this in mind.