EYI Regulatory notice 02/2026 
Background
Each employee and a registered provider working directly with children in a Pre-school Service must hold either:
- A minimum of a Major Award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications, or
- A qualification deemed by the Minister to be equivalent to the above.
One exemption to this is a person employed under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) Level 7. Please refer to DCDE AIM Policy and Rules for further details.
Note: The qualification requirement does not apply to staff who exclusively work with children attending a School age Service, or to staff who do not work directly with children.
Different training requirements apply to registered childminders under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Childminding Services) Regulations 2024
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