City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner (Early Years Educator)
Start your career with Children aged 0-5. Ofqual regulated and Fully Accredited by Training Qualifications UK
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Interest-Free Payments
Tutor/Assessor Support
Ofsted Recognised
- About my course
- Requirements
- Units and Pathways
- Assessment Method
- Career Progression
- How it works
- FAQs
This City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner is a nationally recognised and Ofqual Regulated Qualification, accepted by major regulatory bodies such as Ofsted. This course also meets the DfE Criteria for Staff:Child Ratios. This course is completed on our online learning system as a distance learning course over the duration of 6 – 12 months.
Once you have begun your journey with us, you will have access to our online learning system where you will be able to contact your assessor for support and submit your written assignments and other course evidence. Our online learning platform also features easy-to-access assessment plans, feedback, course materials, course progress, and online messaging.
You will be assessed through a variety of assessment methods, including; Written Assignments, Work Product Evidence, Professional Discussions, and Direct Observation.
Our Online Learning Platform is quick and simple to enrol onto, after purchase you will receive login details by email to begin your online learning journey - with no hidden fees.
How does the City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner course work?
- Once you make the payment, you will be automatically emailed your student log-in details
- You can immediately begin enrolment from the moment you log in
- Next, you will have a course induction over the telephone
- You will then be allocated an assessor who will put together an assessment plan
- You begin your coursework on the online learning system.
- You can track your course progression on the progress bar.
- Receive support from your assessor. You will communicate via a messaging system, emails and phone calls. They will also mark your coursework and leave feedback on the online platform
- You will be assessed by an assessor who will come out to your workplace to carry out the observations
- Upon course completion, you will have achieved the City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner.
Click here to download the Sample Certificate >
TOTUM Card Eligible
Candidates enrolled in this course are eligible to apply for an NUS TOTUM Pro Student Discount Card, please follow the link for more information: https://www.thelearningstation.co.uk/totum-id-card
There are no formal entry requirements for this course, however, candidates enrolling on to this course must be a minimum age of 16. It’s recommended that candidates are working at a minimum of Level 1 in Numeracy and Literacy.
As this qualification is based online, this course is recommended for candidates who possess a basic level of IT understanding to complete the course efficiently.
There is no requirement for learners to hold a GCSE Grades at Grade A* - C or equivalent in English and Mathematics prior to enrolling on to this course, however, candidates should be aware that this may be required to obtain Early Years Educator Status.
Although it is recommended, it is not essential for candidates to be in full time, or part time employment to complete this course, however, candidates must have access to a suitable workplace to be able to meet the work experience requirements.
The placement hours for this qualification have been set at 250 hours.
Mandatory Units
Unit 201: Exploring roles and development opportunities in early years settings
- Understand own role and development opportunities in early years settings
- Be able to reflect on personal development in early years settings
Unit 202: Child development from birth to 7 years
- Understand principles of child development and learning
- Be able to support babies and young children with transitions
- Understand how to support positive behaviour in early years settings
Unit 203: Safeguarding babies and young children in early years settings
- Understand safeguarding relating to early years settings
Unit 204: Supporting health and safety in early years settings
- Understand health and safety relating to early years settings
- Be able to follow health and safety procedures in early years settings
Unit 205: Promoting wellbeing in early years settings
- Understand principles of wellbeing relating to babies and young children in early years settings
- Be able to support wellbeing for babies and/or young children in early years settings
Unit 206: Supporting effective communication in early years settings
- Understand communication needs
- Be able to communicate effectively in early years settings
Unit 207: Supporting activities, purposeful play and educational programmes
- Understand how to support the planning of activities and assessment in early years settings
- Be able to demonstrate inclusive practice in supporting play and the delivery of activities in early years settings
Unit 208: Understand how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
- Understand support required by babies/children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
Unit 209: Working with parents, colleagues and other professionals in early years settings
- Understand how to work with others in early years settings
- Be able to develop positive working relationships with parents and other professionals in early years settings
- Understand how partnership working contributes to children’s wellbeing during transition to school
To achieve the Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner (England), candidates must achieve 9 mandatory units shown above.
This qualification requires an assessment of both competence and knowledge. Throughout your City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner course, you will be assessed through a variety of methods:
- Written assignments and coursework
- Having a manager or colleague complete a witness testimony of tasks completed in a workplace
- Direct observations of you carrying out work-related tasks
- Professional discussions over the phone
- Supplying us with work product evidence.
On successful completion of the City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner, learners can progress to other qualifications such as:
- Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (RQF)
- Level 3 Diploma for the Children’s Workforce (Early Years Educator) (RQF)
Where can you work with this qualification?
There is a diverse range of job roles for people with child care qualifications. This Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Educator can help you find work as a:
- Nursery nurse
- Nursery assistant
- Childminder
- Sure Start worker
- Preschool advisor
Course Enrolment
After your purchase, you will receive login information to begin your online course registration. Once logged in to your account, you will complete a quick 10-step enrolment progress consisting of initial assessments, skill checks and a telephone induction before you are allocated an assessor to begin your course.
Starting the course
Your assessor will issue you with your first assessment plan, detailing the units and criteria that you need to complete, which format to complete them in and where to find additional information if needed. You can find your assessment plan, progress bar and all the work you need to complete quickly and easily from your course dashboard.
Submitting Work
When you have completed a written assignment, you can upload your written work to your online course within just 2 clicks from logging on to your online account. Your assessor will mark your work and give you feedback which will be displayed on your course page and emailed to you for ease of reference
Getting Help
Getting Help From time to time, you might need a little bit of help, which is why we have a ‘live chat’ button on your learning portal for you to use at any time between 9 am and 6 pm Mon - Fri. You also have a messaging button that can be accessed from your dashboard to quickly message your assessor, IQA or administration staff.
On completion
Once you have completed your course, your assessor will need to finalise your course work before sending it to our IQA, this usually takes a week or two as they may need to revisit all the work you have completed. The IQA will sample your work once the assessor submits it to them, and from that point, your certificate should be claimed within 2-4 weeks.
Staff Qualifications and Ratios:
Level 2
For anyone who has a level 2 early years qualification that they attained after 1st September 2019, provided that this meets the level 2 relevant and full criteria, they can be counted towards the staff to child ratio at level 2.
Level 3
For a staff member who has a level 3 qualification from 1st September 2014, provided they meet the full level 3 relevant criteria, they can also be counted towards the EYFS staff to child ratio at level 3.
Higher levels
For those staff members who have a qualification in early years at the level of four or five (completed as part of a level 6 course) if that four or five level qualification is not listed as meeting the relevant and full criteria, they will not be able to be part of the EYFS staff to child ratio at level 3.
The DfE has a list of qualifications which meet their criteria allowing the holder of that qualification to count as part of the staff to child ratio according to the regulations set down by the EYFS. If you are not sure whether your qualification qualifies you to work in the early years setting then you can check this early years qualification list:
early years qualifications list
How do I log into my course?
Approximately 15 minutes after purchase, you will receive your login details by email, including a link and instructions to log into your course. You can also find your learning portal by clicking on the ‘student login’ button on our website, or by clicking here; lms.thelearningstation.co.uk
When will I have my induction?
Your induction will be arranged once you have finished all of the other enrolment modules, and will take place over the phone.
When will my work get marked?
You can expect any work submitted to be marked within just 14 days unless agreed otherwise with your assessor. Your work may not be marked within 14 days if you submitted more than 3 assignments in a month.
Are there any classes or learning materials?
As our qualifications are vocational and work-based courses, you are expected to conduct research and gain skills, knowledge and understanding from your working environment. Your assessor will provide you with assessment plans, which may include guidance and materials, as well as providing constructive feedback on the work that you complete.
When will I hear from my tutor/assessor?
Your assessor will provide you with assessment plans with work to complete, as well as their contact information. They will not reach out to you if you are not doing your work, you need to get in touch if you are having trouble with your assignments.
Your assessor should respond to any messages from you within just 3-working days, but it is usually sooner. If you have sent your assessor a message and you haven’t heard back from them, please let us know by emailing [email protected].
When will I get my certificate?
On completion of your course, there are steps that we must take to quality assure your qualification to then send to the awarding organisation.
- The Assessor must review your work in full before submitting it to our IQA, this usually takes around 2 weeks.
- The IQA will review any requests within 1-months, but this is usually sooner. If there are actions on your portfolio it will be sent to the assessor for them to complete, and then these steps will be repeated.
- Once the IQA has quality checked and approved your portfolio for external sampling by the awarding body, the office will submit the claim for your certificate within 5 working days.
- The awarding body will usually issue a certificate within 2-weeks from this point; however, they may request sampling of your work, in which case it can be up to one month.
- The usual duration is 1-2 months from completion.
This City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner is a nationally recognised and Ofqual Regulated Qualification, accepted by major regulatory bodies such as Ofsted. This course also meets the DfE Criteria for Staff:Child Ratios. This course is completed on our online learning system as a distance learning course over the duration of 6 – 12 months.
Once you have begun your journey with us, you will have access to our online learning system where you will be able to contact your assessor for support and submit your written assignments and other course evidence. Our online learning platform also features easy-to-access assessment plans, feedback, course materials, course progress, and online messaging.
You will be assessed through a variety of assessment methods, including; Written Assignments, Work Product Evidence, Professional Discussions, and Direct Observation.
Our Online Learning Platform is quick and simple to enrol onto, after purchase you will receive login details by email to begin your online learning journey - with no hidden fees.
How does the City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner course work?
- Once you make the payment, you will be automatically emailed your student log-in details
- You can immediately begin enrolment from the moment you log in
- Next, you will have a course induction over the telephone
- You will then be allocated an assessor who will put together an assessment plan
- You begin your coursework on the online learning system.
- You can track your course progression on the progress bar.
- Receive support from your assessor. You will communicate via a messaging system, emails and phone calls. They will also mark your coursework and leave feedback on the online platform
- You will be assessed by an assessor who will come out to your workplace to carry out the observations
- Upon course completion, you will have achieved the City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner.
Click here to download the Sample Certificate >
TOTUM Card Eligible
Candidates enrolled in this course are eligible to apply for an NUS TOTUM Pro Student Discount Card, please follow the link for more information: https://www.thelearningstation.co.uk/totum-id-card
There are no formal entry requirements for this course, however, candidates enrolling on to this course must be a minimum age of 16. It’s recommended that candidates are working at a minimum of Level 1 in Numeracy and Literacy.
As this qualification is based online, this course is recommended for candidates who possess a basic level of IT understanding to complete the course efficiently.
There is no requirement for learners to hold a GCSE Grades at Grade A* - C or equivalent in English and Mathematics prior to enrolling on to this course, however, candidates should be aware that this may be required to obtain Early Years Educator Status.
Although it is recommended, it is not essential for candidates to be in full time, or part time employment to complete this course, however, candidates must have access to a suitable workplace to be able to meet the work experience requirements.
The placement hours for this qualification have been set at 250 hours.
Mandatory Units
Unit 201: Exploring roles and development opportunities in early years settings
- Understand own role and development opportunities in early years settings
- Be able to reflect on personal development in early years settings
Unit 202: Child development from birth to 7 years
- Understand principles of child development and learning
- Be able to support babies and young children with transitions
- Understand how to support positive behaviour in early years settings
Unit 203: Safeguarding babies and young children in early years settings
- Understand safeguarding relating to early years settings
Unit 204: Supporting health and safety in early years settings
- Understand health and safety relating to early years settings
- Be able to follow health and safety procedures in early years settings
Unit 205: Promoting wellbeing in early years settings
- Understand principles of wellbeing relating to babies and young children in early years settings
- Be able to support wellbeing for babies and/or young children in early years settings
Unit 206: Supporting effective communication in early years settings
- Understand communication needs
- Be able to communicate effectively in early years settings
Unit 207: Supporting activities, purposeful play and educational programmes
- Understand how to support the planning of activities and assessment in early years settings
- Be able to demonstrate inclusive practice in supporting play and the delivery of activities in early years settings
Unit 208: Understand how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
- Understand support required by babies/children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
Unit 209: Working with parents, colleagues and other professionals in early years settings
- Understand how to work with others in early years settings
- Be able to develop positive working relationships with parents and other professionals in early years settings
- Understand how partnership working contributes to children’s wellbeing during transition to school
To achieve the Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner (England), candidates must achieve 9 mandatory units shown above.
This qualification requires an assessment of both competence and knowledge. Throughout your City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner course, you will be assessed through a variety of methods:
- Written assignments and coursework
- Having a manager or colleague complete a witness testimony of tasks completed in a workplace
- Direct observations of you carrying out work-related tasks
- Professional discussions over the phone
- Supplying us with work product evidence.
On successful completion of the City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner, learners can progress to other qualifications such as:
- Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (RQF)
- Level 3 Diploma for the Children’s Workforce (Early Years Educator) (RQF)
Where can you work with this qualification?
There is a diverse range of job roles for people with child care qualifications. This Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Educator can help you find work as a:
- Nursery nurse
- Nursery assistant
- Childminder
- Sure Start worker
- Preschool advisor
Course Enrolment
After your purchase, you will receive login information to begin your online course registration. Once logged in to your account, you will complete a quick 10-step enrolment progress consisting of initial assessments, skill checks and a telephone induction before you are allocated an assessor to begin your course.
Starting the course
Your assessor will issue you with your first assessment plan, detailing the units and criteria that you need to complete, which format to complete them in and where to find additional information if needed. You can find your assessment plan, progress bar and all the work you need to complete quickly and easily from your course dashboard.
Submitting Work
When you have completed a written assignment, you can upload your written work to your online course within just 2 clicks from logging on to your online account. Your assessor will mark your work and give you feedback which will be displayed on your course page and emailed to you for ease of reference
Getting Help
Getting Help From time to time, you might need a little bit of help, which is why we have a ‘live chat’ button on your learning portal for you to use at any time between 9 am and 6 pm Mon - Fri. You also have a messaging button that can be accessed from your dashboard to quickly message your assessor, IQA or administration staff.
On completion
Once you have completed your course, your assessor will need to finalise your course work before sending it to our IQA, this usually takes a week or two as they may need to revisit all the work you have completed. The IQA will sample your work once the assessor submits it to them, and from that point, your certificate should be claimed within 2-4 weeks.
Staff Qualifications and Ratios:
Level 2
For anyone who has a level 2 early years qualification that they attained after 1st September 2019, provided that this meets the level 2 relevant and full criteria, they can be counted towards the staff to child ratio at level 2.
Level 3
For a staff member who has a level 3 qualification from 1st September 2014, provided they meet the full level 3 relevant criteria, they can also be counted towards the EYFS staff to child ratio at level 3.
Higher levels
For those staff members who have a qualification in early years at the level of four or five (completed as part of a level 6 course) if that four or five level qualification is not listed as meeting the relevant and full criteria, they will not be able to be part of the EYFS staff to child ratio at level 3.
The DfE has a list of qualifications which meet their criteria allowing the holder of that qualification to count as part of the staff to child ratio according to the regulations set down by the EYFS. If you are not sure whether your qualification qualifies you to work in the early years setting then you can check this early years qualification list:
early years qualifications list
How do I log into my course?
Approximately 15 minutes after purchase, you will receive your login details by email, including a link and instructions to log into your course. You can also find your learning portal by clicking on the ‘student login’ button on our website, or by clicking here; lms.thelearningstation.co.uk
When will I have my induction?
Your induction will be arranged once you have finished all of the other enrolment modules, and will take place over the phone.
When will my work get marked?
You can expect any work submitted to be marked within just 14 days unless agreed otherwise with your assessor. Your work may not be marked within 14 days if you submitted more than 3 assignments in a month.
Are there any classes or learning materials?
As our qualifications are vocational and work-based courses, you are expected to conduct research and gain skills, knowledge and understanding from your working environment. Your assessor will provide you with assessment plans, which may include guidance and materials, as well as providing constructive feedback on the work that you complete.
When will I hear from my tutor/assessor?
Your assessor will provide you with assessment plans with work to complete, as well as their contact information. They will not reach out to you if you are not doing your work, you need to get in touch if you are having trouble with your assignments.
Your assessor should respond to any messages from you within just 3-working days, but it is usually sooner. If you have sent your assessor a message and you haven’t heard back from them, please let us know by emailing [email protected].
When will I get my certificate?
On completion of your course, there are steps that we must take to quality assure your qualification to then send to the awarding organisation.
- The Assessor must review your work in full before submitting it to our IQA, this usually takes around 2 weeks.
- The IQA will review any requests within 1-months, but this is usually sooner. If there are actions on your portfolio it will be sent to the assessor for them to complete, and then these steps will be repeated.
- Once the IQA has quality checked and approved your portfolio for external sampling by the awarding body, the office will submit the claim for your certificate within 5 working days.
- The awarding body will usually issue a certificate within 2-weeks from this point; however, they may request sampling of your work, in which case it can be up to one month.
- The usual duration is 1-2 months from completion.

The Learning Station is fast becoming one of the UK’s top providers of online tuition with many students happily completing their chosen Online & Distance Learning courses. Whatever your reason is for enrolling on one of our courses, you can rest assured that you will be supported by a highly qualified, experienced and helpful assessor.
Why Study With The Learning Station?
- We have thousands of successful learners
- All our qualifications are Fully Accredited and Nationally Recognised
- Our courses are specifically designed to ensure fast progression
- Simple to use e-learning and distance learning courses
- Easy online payment options
- Experienced & Responsive Online Tutors/Assessors
- On-Site Internal Quality Assurance & Moderator
- Technical Support 09:30 – 17:00 Mon-Fri
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Why Study With The Learning Station?
The Learning Station is fast becoming one of the UK’s top providers of online tuition with many students happily completing their chosen Online & Distance Learning courses. Whatever your reason is for enrolling on one of our courses, you can rest assured that you will be supported by a highly qualified, experienced and helpful assessor.
- We have thousands of successful learners
- All our qualifications are Fully Accredited and Nationally Recognised
- Our courses are specifically designed to ensure fast progression
- Simple to use e-learning and distance learning courses
- Easy online payment options
- Experienced & Responsive Online Tutors/Assessors
- On-Site Internal Quality Assurance & Moderator
- Technical Support 09:30 – 17:00 Mon-Fri