This book is written to support and challenge early years practitioners who have chosen to study on award bearing courses in the work place. It is specifically targeted at those practitioners who have reached the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 and above, and who are entering Higher Education (HE) courses such as Early Years Foundation Degrees and intend to progress towards a BA (Hons.) degree. It will provide strategies for those settings that wish to be seen as 'learning communities' supporting work based students. The content is designed to provide a framework for managing and maximising very different and complex components involved in work-based learning.The cohorts across the country currently finishing SureStart Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degrees and BA (Hons) degrees are the Early Years Professionals of the future and role models for the new generation of early years workers who are developing personally and professionally through work-based learning and many are going on to attain the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS). The text and structure of the chapters support a framework for the challenges and changes that early years practitioners face on a day-to-day basis and in recent times there have been many!The book identifies and presents dilemmas and issues that prompt the reader to articulate how they make decisions and why. Chapter 1 presents a 'Key Components Framework' that enables the work based learner (WBL) to consider their own practice and how it can be affected by many influences externally, personally, professionally and in their setting. The book also draws on a wide range of current research that links how older theories have influenced current practice and explores how boundaries between different disciplines can be illuminated to enable effective future working. There are inspiring stories from practitioners who have forged a new pathway that others can follow to improve the quality of children's learning and improve their own career opportunities. It challenges the WBL to make connections between their own practices and where and how it relates to current theoretical approaches and beliefs.