In the top quarter nationally for Early Years Educator

Alphabet Training is ranked in the top quarter of Early Years Educator providers in England, 16th of 71, on the Department for Education's published 2024/25 achievement rates.

Our achievement rate for the standard is 75%. The national average is 67.7%. That puts us 7.3 percentage points ahead of the national picture, measured across 40 of our leavers in a national cohort of 13,180.

What an achievement rate measures

It is the share of apprentices who complete the programme and pass their end point assessment, measured against everyone who left that year.

It is the most demanding figure in apprenticeship data, because it accounts for every learner who started rather than only those who reached assessment. A pass rate tells you about the people who made it to the end. An achievement rate tells you about all of them, which is why it is the figure worth asking for when you are committing a member of staff to a year of training.

Measured on the same basis as everyone else

Only providers with at least 30 leavers in the year are ranked, so the table compares like with like. We were measured on 40, on exactly the same basis as every other provider in it.

The source is the DfE's own published achievement rate release, covering every provider delivering the standard. It is not a survey, a nomination or a self assessment.

What it means in practice

On the government's own data, an apprentice who starts Early Years Educator with us is more likely to finish and qualify than the national picture would suggest.

Seven percentage points is roughly one apprentice in every fourteen. For a nursery group putting a cohort through together, that is more qualified staff on the floor at the end of the year.

What to ask when you choose a provider

Ask for the achievement rate, by standard, for the most recent published year. Ask how many leavers it is based on, because a rate built on a handful of people tells you very little. Then compare it with the national average for that same standard.

Any provider should be able to answer those three questions in a minute, and we are always happy to.

Early Years at Alphabet Training

Early Years Educator at Level 3 is one of four early years apprenticeships we deliver, alongside Early Years Practitioner at Level 2, Teaching Assistant at Level 3 and Early Years Lead Practitioner at Level 5, which opens in 2027.

We also deliver three short NCFE CACHE Awards in your own setting: Designated Safeguarding Officer, SEND Coordinator Assistant and Early Years SEN Coordinator. All three are assessed by portfolio with no examination.

If you want to talk about building an early years team rather than filling one vacancy, call 01254 679998 or see the Education and Childcare programmes.

Sources

Find a Training Provider, Early Years Educator provider rankings
GOV.UK, apprenticeship achievement rates