Early Childhood Education and Care in England is provided for young children between the ages of birth to five years. Over the past fifteen years successive government policy has focussed on professional qualifications for those who care for young children, and the impact these have on children’s development and learning. This presentation focuses on the findings of two research projects. One was funded by the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network and one was funded by the University of Chichester. Both projects explored perspectives of: a new undergraduate degree pathway which included the study of the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies (ECGPCs); and, the impact of Higher Education on students studying the Early Childhood Studies (ECS) degree programmes. Previous research has already highlighted the benefits of a graduate workforce and its impact on the provision of high-quality education and care which achieves the best outcomes for young children. However, there has been limited appetite for policy makers to reflect the wider need for graduates in non-compulsory provision. Policy mandates that a level 3 vocational accreditation (equivalent to high- school leaving certificates/qualifications) is sufficient to work with young children (DfE, 2021), which contrasts with other age phases of education where a graduate level qualification is required (Mikuska, 2021).