Education and Early Years T Level
- Level
- Level 3
- Typical duration
- 2-year course
- Industry placement
- At least 9 weeks with an employer
- Status
- Open to applications
During the 2-year programme, students will learn the core knowledge and skills that are needed for entry to a range of education and early years occupations.
What you can do with this T Level
Roles this subject is designed to lead into, as listed by the T Levels programme site:
- learning mentor
- nursery worker
- playworker
- portage home visitor
- special educational needs (sen) teaching assistant
- teaching assistant
What you'll learn
All students will develop an understanding of:
Core content 12
- understanding the Education and Early Years sector from ages 0 to 19
- child development
- how to support children and young people’s education
- safeguarding, health and safety and wellbeing
- understanding and managing behaviour
- observing and assessing children and young people
- equality and diversity
- special educational needs and disability
- English as an additional language
- working with parents, carers and wider families
- working with agencies and services that support children, families and carers
- reflective practice and other forms of professional development
In addition to the core content, students choose a specialism:
Options to specialise 2
- early years educator
- assisting teaching
Entry requirements
T Levels are one of your options after you’ve finished GCSEs. Entry requirements for each course are set by the individual school or college. Check with your local T Level school or college to find out the entry requirements for the Education and Early Years T Level.
Where you can study this
360 providers are registered to deliver T Levels for the 2026 to 2027 academic year, but the government's provider list doesn't say which specific subjects each one teaches — that's set by each provider and can change between years. To check who teaches Education and Early Years near you:
Official sources
Source: T Level subjects (T Levels programme site, GOV.UK), checked 2026-08-30. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Always check the official page before applying or enrolling — provider registrations and course availability change.