These courses are delivered by experienced staff from a broad background of health and social care areas, Social Services, Psychology, Child Care and Biology. Students on the course are offered high quality work placement opportunities and many progress onto apprenticeships or University courses with the aim of pursuing careers in nursing, midwifery, radiography, occupational therapy, social services and paramedic science.

In the L3 Single Certificate in Childcare and Education, you will learn about opportunity-rich sectors of employment which include a wide range of important and rewarding professional roles such as: teaching, nursery work and other professionals supporting and working with children.

The Childcare and Education Certificate uniquely looks at both childcare settings, the caring role of professionals as well as developing a greater understanding of how children develop. This will allow students to have knowledge that is transferrable to many career pathways as well as future study relating to working with children. It is a subject that can fit alongside a variety of other subjects for students who wish to work with children in the future or have an interest in learning about children’s development.

As the course is mostly coursework based, you will develop core research skills such as collecting information from various sources such as books, internet, magazines, and journals and then presenting this material in a professional portfolio. You will also gain confidence in developing independent learning and communication skills that will be essential in any workplace or university setting.

The L3 Single Certificate in Childcare and Education is suitable for you if you have an interest in working with young children it can lead to a variety of opportunities and would be appropriate for you in a range of careers including teaching – primary education, nursery care and other childcare settings. It works well with a range of other subjects including Health & Social Care, Psychology, Sociology, Biology or core subjects such as English and Maths.

You will study a variety of different topics all linking to support children in their early stages of learning. It will include insight into settings and the variety of child related careers but also the knowledge and theory behind how children learn. In addition, you will learn practical skills of how to work with children and we encourage students to take the opportunity of completing the “Learning with Children” enrichment course, to complement their studies, alongside the opportunity of gaining a Paediatric First Aid certificate.

• The course is assessed by four pieces of coursework and two external examinations.
• You will complete 3 units in the first year working towards the Level 3 Award. Two of the units will be internally assessed coursework followed by 1 scenario-based examination covering both units.
• In the second year you will complete an additional 3 units and a controlled assessment covering all topics giving you a Level 3 Certificate which is equivalent to one A Level.

• Unit 1: Children’s development
• Unit 2: Development of children’s communication, literacy and numeracy skills
• Unit 3: Play and learning
• Unit 6: Children’s physical development, care and health needs

We arranged a number of trips this year which include attending a Forest School Day with the Hampshire and IOW Trust, students also visited the Florence Nightingale Museum in London and we were able to work in partnerships with Sovereign Housing to support with a group of elderly individuals.

Having high standards and expectations means that each individual in their care is guided to achieve to the best of their ability. A significant number of students go on to pursue a related career, ranging from nursing and midwifery to occupational and clinical psychology.