Bradford College

Early Years Professionals Honoured

Bradford College was proud to recognise and celebrate the achievements of its Early Years Professional graduates at a special ceremony held in the Henry Mitchell Hall at Bradford College. Former students who have already achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) and received their validation were invited to attend the event, together with those pursuing the status, employers, local authority representatives and other key stakeholders.

Bradford College has successfully delivered a training programme on all four Early Years Professional pathways since its launch in 2007.  The team, based at the McMillan School of Teaching, Health and Care includes several EYPs and qualified teachers; two of whom hold PhDs for research in early years. The College prides itself on the successful delivery of this respected recognised status. 

The successful candidates come from a variety of childcare settings in and around Bradford, Leeds, Lancashire and Sheffield. These inspiring individuals are skilled in ensuring each child is nurtured appropriately, and they can effectively lead the development of children under five years old through play. After training for up to fifteen months, our third major cohort of early years practitioners will be awarded their Early Years Professional Status certificates.

Trish Cooke, writer, actress and one of Bradford College’s 175 Heroes was also in attendance at the celebration event as the Key Note Speaker.  As an actress, Trish has played many roles on TV including parts in popular dramas such as Eastenders and Casualty.  Between 1988 and 1996 Trish presented the preschool programme Playdays for Children’s BBC.  She was one of the original writers for CBeebies Tweenies and has worked alongside BBC producers to develop more preschool programmes for CBBC. Trish has also written fourteen books for children, including Catch, Zoom, So Much and her latest, No Dinner for Anansi. Trish will be sharing her life experiences and motivations as a children’s TV presenter/author and prompting thought about how books can be positively shared with children.

This event is supported by the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC), which aims to improve the lives of children, young people, their families and carers. EYPS is the first step in a national drive to transform the early years workforce, with a target of employing one Early Years Professional in every childcare setting by 2015.