Early Years Training Requirements: What the EYFS Demands

Early years training is not a matter of good practice — it is statutory. The EYFS framework requires at least one person with a current full paediatric first aid certificate on the premises at all times when children are present, safeguarding training for every practitioner renewed every two years, and specific qualification levels inside the staff:child ratios. Ofsted inspects against it, and a gap in any of these is a compliance failure rather than a training preference.

This guide sets out what the EYFS statutory framework actually requires of nurseries, pre-schools and school-based early years provision, with the paragraph-level detail, and is honest about which requirements online training can and cannot satisfy.

At a glance: Nexis CPD offers £9 CPD-accredited online courses relevant to early years settings, with a verifiable e-certificate on passing — and any three courses cost £18.

Safeguarding training: every practitioner, every two years

The framework is direct. Providers must ensure that all practitioners are trained in line with the criteria in Annex C of the framework, and must ensure practitioners are supported and confident to implement the setting’s safeguarding policy and procedures on an ongoing basis.

And then the renewal rule: “Training must be renewed every two years.” The framework adds that providers may consider whether any staff need annual refresher training within that two-year period — to maintain basic skills, keep up with changes to safeguarding procedures, or in response to concerns that have arisen in the setting.

Three practical points fall out of that:

• “All practitioners” means all. Not just the room leaders, and not just permanent staff. Anyone working with the children needs it.
• Two years is a maximum, not a target. If your setting has had a safeguarding incident, or procedures have changed, the framework explicitly invites more frequent refreshers.
• Training alone is not the requirement. The wording is that practitioners are supported and confident to implement the policy. A certificate with no follow-through does not meet it.

The designated safeguarding lead

In every setting, a practitioner must be designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children. The DSL is responsible for liaison with local statutory children’s services agencies and with the Local Safeguarding Partners, and must provide support, advice and guidance to all practitioners on an ongoing basis.

The DSL must attend a training course consistent with the criteria in Annex C, which sets out additional content beyond the training all practitioners receive — including how to build a safe organisation and the roles of other professionals involved in safeguarding. DSL training should also take account of any advice from local safeguarding partners or the local authority about appropriate courses.

Induction, supervision and ongoing support

Training is only part of what the framework asks for around staff. Providers must also support practitioners to improve the quality of provision and to fulfil their roles effectively, and supervision must provide opportunities for staff to discuss any issues — particularly concerning children’s development or wellbeing, including child protection concerns — to identify solutions to address issues as they arise, and to receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness.

In practice, inspectors ask how safeguarding training is delivered and how practitioners are supported to put it into practice. A setting that can show supervision records, discussion of real concerns and changes made as a result is answering a different and much stronger question than one that can only produce certificates.

Providers must also put appropriate whistleblowing procedures in place, and staff must know what to do if an allegation is made against a member of staff, how mobile phones and devices with cameras are used in the setting, and the procedures for checking the suitability of new recruits.

Paediatric first aid: the rule with the sharpest edges

This is where settings most often trip. The framework requires that at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present, and must accompany children on outings.

Read that carefully. “At all times” includes early drop-off, late pick-up, staff sickness and the school run. “Must accompany children on outings” means that if your only PFA holder goes to the park with one group, the children remaining on the premises are uncovered.

The other details:

• The certificate must be for a full course consistent with the criteria set out in Annex A of the framework.
• PFA training must be renewed every three years, and must be relevant to people caring for young children and babies.
• Providers should take into account the number of children, staff and the layout of the premises so that a paediatric first aider can respond to emergencies quickly. In a large or multi-floor setting, one certificate holder is unlikely to be enough in practice even though it is the minimum on paper.
• Providers should display, or make available to parents, staff PFA certificates or a list of staff who hold a current certificate.

PFA and the staff:child ratios

There is a second, separate PFA rule attached to ratios. Staff who obtained a level 2 or level 3 qualification, and those approved through the experience-based route, must hold a PFA qualification to be counted in the ratios at level 3 — and to continue being counted, that certificate must be renewed every three years.

One exception worth knowing: staff who obtained a level 2 or level 3 qualification before 30 June 2016 are not required to hold a PFA qualification in order to be included in the required ratios. The general requirement for a PFA holder on the premises still applies regardless.

Qualifications and ratios

In settings on the early years register, the manager must hold an approved qualification at level 3 or above, and at least half of all other staff must hold at least an approved level 2 qualification. “Approved” has a specific meaning: it is defined by the Department for Education against the Early Years Qualification Requirements and Standards, and approved qualifications are published on a list.

The headline ratios are:

• Under two: at least one member of staff for every three children. At least one must hold an approved level 3 qualification (or have experience-based route approval at level 3) and be suitably experienced in working with under-twos. At least half of the others must hold an approved level 2.
• Aged two: at least one member of staff for every five children, with the same level 3 and level 2 requirements.
• Aged three and over, where a person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status or Early Years Teacher Status is working directly with the children: at least one member of staff for every 13 children.
• Aged three and over, where such a person is not working directly with the children: at least one member of staff for every eight children.

Ratios apply to the total number of staff available to work directly with children across the whole provision, not room by room. Children must usually be within sight and hearing of staff, and always within sight or hearing.

There is also an English requirement: to count in the ratios at level 3, staff holding an Early Years Educator qualification and those approved through the experience-based route must have achieved a suitable level 2 qualification in English.

Building a training matrix that survives an inspection

Because several of these requirements have different renewal cycles, a simple grid saves a great deal of trouble. For each member of staff, record:

• Safeguarding training — date completed, and the two-year renewal date
• Paediatric first aid — date, three-year expiry, and whether they count in ratios at level 3
• Qualification level — level 2 or level 3, and whether it is on the approved list
• English level 2, where needed for level 3 ratio purposes
• DSL training for whoever holds that role, with its renewal date
• Any setting-specific training: food hygiene, allergens, medication, SEND, fire

Then run two checks that catch the real-world failures. First, a rota check: is there a PFA certificate holder on the premises for every session, including the earliest and latest hours, and cover for the day someone takes a group on an outing? Second, an expiry check at 60 days out, because PFA and safeguarding courses need booking well in advance and a lapse cannot be fixed retrospectively.

Four gaps that show up in inspections

1. PFA cover during outings. The framework requires a PFA holder to accompany children on outings and to be available on the premises. One certificate holder cannot do both.
2. Bank, agency and student staff without current safeguarding training. The requirement covers all practitioners, and short-term staff are the usual gap.
3. A DSL with out-of-date training, or no named deputy. The framework requires a designated lead; settings that name one person and never plan for absence discover the problem at the worst moment.
4. Certificates without practice. Inspectors ask practitioners what they would do about a specific concern. If the answer is vague, the training record does not save you.

What online training can and cannot do here

Being straightforward, because this sector is badly served by vague claims:

• Paediatric first aid cannot be done online alone. The certificate must be for a full course consistent with Annex A, which includes practical assessment. An online awareness course does not meet the EYFS PFA requirement, ours included. Book a proper PFA course with a competent provider.
• Safeguarding training must meet the Annex C criteria. Check any course against that annex rather than against a provider’s marketing. The Department for Education has also developed online safeguarding training with the NSPCC, which is free for early years educators, and it is worth looking at that first.
• Qualifications are not CPD. Level 2 and level 3 early years qualifications are regulated qualifications from awarding organisations. No CPD course substitutes for them or affects your ratio position.

Where online CPD genuinely helps is in the surrounding topics: the ones that keep a setting safe and inspection-ready but sit outside the named statutory qualifications.

Training that follows from other framework duties

Several requirements elsewhere in the framework generate training needs even though they are not headed “training”:

• Medicines. Staff must have training if administering a medicine requires medical or technical knowledge. Prescription medicines must not be administered unless prescribed for that child by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist — and medicines containing aspirin only if prescribed by a doctor.
• Safer eating and food. The framework has specific requirements on food, drink and safer eating, including supervision while children are eating. Anyone preparing food needs food hygiene knowledge appropriate to what they handle, including allergen management.
• Safer sleep. Children must always be within sight and hearing of staff when sleeping, and practitioners must read NHS advice on sudden infant death syndrome. Settings with babies should make that reading part of induction rather than assuming it.
• Children’s screen use. Providers must have regard to children’s screen use — a newer addition that most existing staff will not have covered in their original qualification.
• Premises and fire. Fire exits must be clearly identifiable and fire doors free of obstruction and easily opened from the inside. Banned dog breeds under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, including the XL Bully type, must not be kept or present on the premises at any time.

None of these requires a named certificate. All of them are things an inspector can ask any member of staff about, which makes them induction and refresher topics rather than paperwork.

Which courses suit an early years setting?

• Safeguarding Children — supporting knowledge alongside your Annex C training (see what is safeguarding children and types of child abuse)
• Fire Safety in Nurseries — evacuation with babies and toddlers, which is a genuinely distinct problem
• Food Safety and Hygiene (Catering) Level 2 — for anyone preparing food, including snack and weaning provision

Those three together cost £18 rather than £27, because any three courses trigger the pay-for-2-get-3 offer. Add them to the cart and the discount applies automatically. Settings often add Safeguarding Babies, Safeguarding Children with Disabilities or Child Mental Health Awareness depending on the children they care for.

Frequently asked questions

How often must early years safeguarding training be renewed?

Every two years. The EYFS statutory framework requires providers to ensure all practitioners are trained in line with the criteria in Annex C, and states that training must be renewed every two years. Providers may also consider whether staff need annual refresher training within that period, particularly after changes to procedures or safeguarding concerns in the setting.

What are the paediatric first aid requirements in the EYFS?

At least one person with a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present, and must accompany children on outings. The certificate must be for a full course consistent with Annex A of the framework, and PFA training must be renewed every three years.

Can paediatric first aid be completed online?

Not on its own. The EYFS requires a full course consistent with the criteria in Annex A, which includes practical assessment, so an online-only awareness course does not meet the requirement. Book a paediatric first aid course that meets Annex A with a competent provider; online CPD can support surrounding knowledge but cannot replace it.

What are the EYFS staff to child ratios?

For children under two, at least one member of staff for every three children. For two-year-olds, one for every five. For children aged three and over, one for every 13 where a person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status or Early Years Teacher Status is working directly with the children, and one for every eight where such a person is not.

What qualifications must early years staff hold?

In settings on the early years register, the manager must hold an approved qualification at level 3 or above, and at least half of all other staff must hold at least an approved level 2 qualification. Approved qualifications are those meeting the Department for Education criteria published in the Early Years Qualification Requirements and Standards.

Does every early years setting need a designated safeguarding lead?

Yes. In every setting a practitioner must be designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children. The designated safeguarding lead liaises with local statutory children's services agencies and the Local Safeguarding Partners, supports practitioners on an ongoing basis, and must attend training consistent with the criteria in Annex C, which covers more than the training all practitioners receive.

Training courses for early years settings

£9 per course. CPD accredited, 100% online, verifiable e-certificate. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It summarises the EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers; childminders follow a separate version, and requirements differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A CPD awareness course is not a regulated early years qualification and does not meet the paediatric first aid requirement, which needs a full course consistent with Annex A. Always work from the current EYFS statutory framework and any advice from your local safeguarding partners.