Finding high-quality training for an entire Early Years team can be challenging.
Nursery managers and childcare providers need to keep staff knowledge up to date across everything from safeguarding and food safety to child development, neurodiversity, medication and health and safety.
That’s why we developed the First Stop Learning Hub, an online Early Years CPD platform giving childcare settings access to more than 25 online training courses in one place, with new courses continually being developed and added.
But what CPD should Early Years practitioners actually be completing? Which subjects can be studied online? And how can managers make ongoing staff development easier to manage?
This guide covers the key areas of Early Years CPD and online nursery staff training across the UK, as well as the courses currently available through the First Stop Learning Hub.
Ready to give your team access?
Access more than 25 Early Years CPD courses in one place, with new courses added regularly.
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What is CPD in Early Years?
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development.
It describes the learning and development practitioners undertake throughout their careers to maintain their knowledge, develop new skills and improve their professional practice.
For Early Years practitioners, CPD can include online training, face-to-face courses, qualifications, workshops, webinars, staff development sessions, reflective practice and professional reading.
Good CPD shouldn’t simply be about collecting certificates. The real purpose is to help practitioners develop their knowledge, reflect on their practice and ultimately improve outcomes for the children and families they support.
Why is ongoing CPD important in Early Years?
Early Years practitioners have significant responsibilities.
On any given day, staff may need to respond to a safeguarding concern, administer medication, manage an allergy, prevent the spread of infection, support a child’s behaviour or development, assess a risk or respond to an emergency.
At the same time, legislation, professional guidance and best practice continue to develop.
Regular CPD helps practitioners keep their knowledge current and allows managers to identify and address gaps in knowledge across their team.
It also helps create a workplace culture where professional development isn’t something that happens once every few years, but an ongoing part of good Early Years practice.
What training do nursery and Early Years staff need?
There isn’t one universal list of online courses that every Early Years practitioner in the UK must complete.
Requirements can differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The training an individual needs will also depend on their role, responsibilities, the children they support and the type of setting they work within.
Managers should consider relevant legislation and guidance, regulatory requirements, workplace risk assessments, previous training, individual development needs and any changes to policies or procedures.
An effective training programme should combine essential workplace training with broader professional development.
Key Areas of Early Years CPD
A well-rounded Early Years CPD programme should look beyond compliance alone.
Practitioners need knowledge across child development, safeguarding, health and safety, communication, behaviour, inclusion and the everyday care of babies and young children.
Child Development, Learning and Early Years Practice
Understanding how babies and children learn and develop is at the heart of Early Years practice.
Professional development in this area can help practitioners better understand children’s development, plan meaningful experiences, observe progress and build positive relationships with children and families.
Courses currently available through the First Stop Learning Hub include:
Child Development: Birth to Five Years
Observation, Assessment & Planning in Early Years
Outdoor Learning in Early Years
Fulfilling the Role of the Key Person in Early Years
Partnership with Parents
Speech & Language Development in Early Years
Introduction to Makaton for Early Years Practitioners
Safeguarding, Behaviour and Emotional Wellbeing
Everyone working with children needs to understand their responsibilities for safeguarding and protecting children from harm.
Supporting children’s wellbeing goes much further than safeguarding alone. Practitioners also benefit from understanding behaviour, emotional regulation, trauma, neurodiversity and how children’s experiences can influence the way they communicate and respond.
Courses currently available include:
Safeguarding and Child Protection
Trauma-Informed Practice in Early Years Settings
Supporting Neurodiversity in Early Years
Understanding and Responding to Biting Behaviour in Early Years
De-escalation & Safe Physical Intervention in Early Years (Practitioner Level)
Online Safety for Young Children
Health, Safety and Risk Management
Early Years settings have responsibilities for creating environments that are safe for children, employees and visitors.
Staff training should be appropriate to their responsibilities and the risks present within the setting.
Courses currently available include:
Health & Safety for Early Years
Risk Assessments in Early Years
COSHH Training for Early Years Settings
Manual Handling for Early Years
Managing Slips, Trips and Falls in Early Years
Fire Safety for Early Years
Infection Control for Early Years
These courses have been developed around situations practitioners are likely to encounter within real childcare environments rather than generic workplace examples.
Food Safety, Mealtimes and Choking Prevention
Mealtimes are a major part of the Early Years day.
Staff need to understand how food can be prepared and served safely, while also considering how to create positive mealtime experiences and reduce risks to young children.
Courses currently available include:
Food Hygiene & Safety (CPD)
Supporting Children at Meal and Snack Times
Setting the Table
Choking Prevention & Treatment
Together, these courses allow practitioners to develop their knowledge of food safety, safer mealtimes and good Early Years practice.
Children’s Health, Medication and Safe Care
Early Years practitioners may be responsible for children with a wide range of health and care needs.
Clear policies are important, but staff also need the knowledge and confidence to put those policies into practice.
Courses currently available include:
Medicating Children in Early Years Settings
Safe Sleeping
These courses help practitioners understand good practice and the importance of following their setting’s own policies, procedures and individual care arrangements.
More Than 25 Early Years Courses in One Learning Hub
The First Stop Learning Hub has been developed specifically for Early Years and childcare teams.
Our current online course library includes:
Child Development and Practice
Child Development: Birth to Five Years
Observation, Assessment & Planning in Early Years
Outdoor Learning in Early Years
Fulfilling the Role of the Key Person in Early Years
Partnership with Parents
Speech & Language Development in Early Years
Introduction to Makaton for Early Years Practitioners
Safeguarding, Behaviour and Wellbeing
Safeguarding and Child Protection
Trauma-Informed Practice in Early Years Settings
Supporting Neurodiversity in Early Years
Understanding and Responding to Biting Behaviour in Early Years
De-escalation & Safe Physical Intervention in Early Years (Practitioner Level)
Online Safety for Young Children
Health and Safety
Health & Safety for Early Years
Risk Assessments in Early Years
COSHH Training for Early Years Settings
Manual Handling for Early Years
Managing Slips, Trips and Falls in Early Years
Fire Safety for Early Years
Infection Control for Early Years
Food, Mealtimes and Choking
Food Hygiene & Safety (CPD)
Supporting Children at Meal and Snack Times
Setting the Table
Choking Prevention & Treatment
Children’s Health and Care
Medicating Children in Early Years Settings
Safe Sleeping
New courses are continually being developed and added to the Learning Hub, giving settings an expanding CPD library for their teams.
Can Early Years CPD Be Completed Online?
Yes. Many areas of knowledge-based Early Years CPD can be delivered effectively online.
For busy childcare settings, online learning has some significant advantages. Practitioners can complete courses around shifts and staffing requirements rather than managers having to release an entire team for training at the same time.
It can also make professional development more accessible by allowing practitioners to work through different subjects according to their role and development needs.
However, not all training should be completed entirely online.
Some qualifications and practical competencies require face-to-face teaching, demonstration or practical assessment. First aid is an important example.
Where a first aid qualification requires practical training and assessment, completing an online CPD course alone does not replace that requirement.
The best staff development programme therefore combines online CPD with practical or face to face training where appropriate.
How Often Should Early Years Staff Complete CPD?
There isn’t one renewal period that applies to every CPD subject.
Some qualifications have specific expiry or renewal requirements. Other areas of knowledge should be reviewed according to the needs of the practitioner and setting.
Further or refresher training may be appropriate following changes in legislation or guidance, changes in responsibilities, changes in the needs of children, updates to policies and procedures, incidents, identified gaps in knowledge or discussions during supervision and appraisal.
CPD is most effective when it forms part of continuous staff development rather than simply repeating the same courses at fixed intervals without considering individual learning needs.
Making CPD Easier for Nursery Managers
Finding training is only one part of managing professional development.
Managers also need to know who has completed what.
When staff purchase courses from different providers at different times, training records can quickly become difficult to manage.
A central online learning platform can make it easier to provide consistent learning opportunities across the team and maintain evidence of completed development.
This was one of the main reasons we created the First Stop Learning Hub.
About the First Stop Learning Hub
The First Stop Learning Hub is an online CPD platform developed by First Stop Safety Training for Early Years and childcare professionals.
Rather than purchasing individual courses every time a member of staff needs training, settings can access a growing library of Early Years-specific CPD through one platform.
Our courses are designed to be relevant to Early Years practice, easy to follow, flexible around working patterns and focused on practical application.
Practitioners receive evidence of completion, and a number of courses within our library have also received independent CPD accreditation.
CPD Training for Your Whole Team
One of the biggest benefits of the Learning Hub is the ability to make professional development available across your team.
Instead of choosing one or two courses because of the cost of purchasing training individually, settings can give practitioners opportunities to develop their knowledge across a much wider range of subjects.
One practitioner might need to improve their safeguarding knowledge, while another may want to develop their understanding of speech and language, neurodiversity or child development.
Having a shared CPD library gives managers much greater flexibility to use training according to the needs of individual practitioners and their setting.
How Much Does the First Stop Learning Hub Cost?
Access for an Early Years setting costs £199 + VAT per year.
This gives the setting access to the Learning Hub course library for its team, with new courses continuing to be added.
For settings wanting to develop staff throughout the year, this can provide a much more flexible alternative to repeatedly purchasing individual online courses.
Frequently Asked Questions About Early Years CPD
What does CPD stand for?
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. It describes the ongoing learning and development professionals undertake throughout their careers.
Do nursery staff need CPD?
Early Years practitioners need to maintain and develop the knowledge and skills appropriate to their role. The exact professional development required will depend on their responsibilities, setting, location and applicable regulatory or professional requirements.
Are Early Years training requirements the same throughout the UK?
No. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regulatory frameworks and guidance. Providers should ensure their training arrangements reflect the requirements applicable to their location.
Can nursery staff complete CPD online?
Many knowledge-based areas of professional development can be completed online. Practical qualifications or competencies may require face-to-face teaching or assessment.
Does online CPD replace first aid training?
No. An online CPD course does not replace a first aid qualification where practical training and assessment are required.
Do practitioners receive certificates?
Practitioners receive evidence of successful completion of courses through the Learning Hub.
Are the courses CPD accredited?
A number of courses within the First Stop Learning Hub have received independent CPD accreditation. Course information identifies the accreditation applicable to individual courses.
Can the whole nursery team use the Learning Hub?
Yes. The Learning Hub has been designed to make ongoing CPD accessible across Early Years teams.
Are new courses added?
Yes. The course library is continuing to grow, with new Early Years training subjects being developed and added to the Hub.
Give Your Team Access to More Than 25 Early Years CPD Courses
Professional development shouldn’t just be another box to tick.
Done well, CPD gives practitioners an opportunity to build their confidence, develop their knowledge and continually improve the care and learning experiences they provide for children.
The First Stop Learning Hub gives Early Years settings access to more than 25 online CPD courses in one place, covering everything from safeguarding and child development to food safety, neurodiversity, health and safety and children’s wellbeing.
With new courses continuing to be added, the Hub provides a simple way to make ongoing professional development part of everyday Early Years practice.
Explore the First Stop Learning Hub and give your team access to our growing Early Years CPD library.
Ready to give your team access?
Access more than 25 Early Years CPD courses in one place, with new courses added regularly.
https://elearn.firststopsafetytraining.co.uk/product/first-stop-cpd-hub/
