CHILDREN'S CARE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Level 3 Diploma

Level 3
Courses For Industry
Banbridge Campus

Overview

This course is fully funded as part of the Skills Focus Programme. To qualify, your business or social enterprise must have less than 250 employees and you must be based in Northern Ireland and operate for profit.

This qualification is designed to help learners build the knowledge and skills needed when working with children up to the age of 5 years 11 months. It covers a diverse range of job roles and occupational areas in children’s settings, including early years.

It is suitable for those who wish to work, or are working at an unsupervised level, in children’s care, learning and development in Northern Ireland. Students enrolled on this course must undertake 600-700hrs work placement (on average 3 days a week working in a childcare setting with children 0-5 yrs 11 months).

The qualification confirms competence in these areas and serves as the required qualification for all new practitioners for registration and regulatory requirements in Northern Ireland.

This qualification aims to:

Focus on the study of children’s care, learning and development in Northern Ireland.
Offer breadth and depth of study, incorporating a key core of knowledge.
Provide opportunities to acquire a number of practical and technical skills.

The objective of this qualification is to:

Build knowledge and skills needed to work with children in Northern Ireland.

All learners MUST have access to either employment or work experience in a real work setting to support them to develop and practice their skills, and apply their knowledge at an appropriate level. This ensures that learners are able to demonstrate consistent competence at level 3 to meet the requirements of the Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning and Development (Northern Ireland).

Applicants must hold:

A Level 2 Diploma in Childcare or BTEC Level 2 Diploma/ NVQ Level 2 or equivalent in a related field; OR
A minimum of 15 points at level 2/GCSE (grade C or above); OR
A Leaving Certificate - three C3 grades (Ordinary Level).

Applicants should be aged 16 or over.

Applicants should have achieved a GCSE English Grade C or above or Essential Skills Literacy Level 2
Applicants must provide a reference from a current employer/academic setting
All learners must have access to either employment or work experience in a real work setting to support them to develop and practice their skills and apply their knowledge at an appropriate level. This ensures that learners are able to demonstrate consistent competence at level 3 to meet the requirements of the Level 3 Extended Diploma for Children’s Care, Learning and Development (Northern Ireland) units
All learners must undergo initial assessment against the requirements of the qualification, and this must be documented. An individual learning plan can then be produced
All learners must complete an Access NI check and additional vetting as required per setting i.e. Medical, Reference Checks and Social Service Checks. Applicants and learners will be subject to the Professional Suitability and the Fitness to Practise Policy
Applicants must provide clear evidence of completed placement hours from Diploma qualification (570 hrs if level 2 qualification held or experience in the last 2 years & 600-700 hrs if no previous experience)

The work setting must be either a regulated (via social services) or an inspected (via social services or the Education and Training Inspectorate) early years setting. This means that the learner must have access to working with children aged from 0–5 years and 11 months for all of their practice/placement hours. Appropriate settings, including Irish-medium schools, would be:

registered childminding settings – working with children up to 5 years 11 months
playgroups
daycare nurseries
statutory nursery settings
Early years foundation stage provision up to the age of 5 years 11 months
Sure Start provision

The requirement cannot be met by time spent with children within a learner’s family/extended family, babysitting or through other informal arrangements.

To be awarded this qualification learners are required to successfully complete 70 credits overall, 56 credits from the mandatory units and 14 credits from the optional units.

Units of study include:

Context and principles for the early years sector – Theme 1
Communication and partnership working – Theme 2
Safeguarding children – Theme 3
Keeping children safe, healthy and well – Theme 4
Support children’s personal care and nutrition – Theme 5
Supporting children’s development – Theme 6
Supporting children’s play opportunities and experiences of play – Theme 7
Contribute to the support of children with disabilities and/or special needs – Theme 8
Understand the needs of children and young people who are vulnerable and experiencing poverty and disadvantage
Support children with learning disabilities
Support the learning and development of children with health needs

All coursework is assessed by lecturers. There are no formal exams with this qualification.

In addition to coursework, students will complete three practical assessments in their placement, assessed by a workplace assessor.

Successful students can progress to a level 4/5 qualification in a related field.

On completion of this course, successful students can work with children in an unsupervised capacity in the public, private or voluntary sector such as in nurseries, crèches or schools.