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Bromley Childminding Association

Acknowledgement Liz Hodgman

You need the following two courses:
Level 1
Course Title	Points	UK Fee
Working with children in the early years (E123)	30	£295
Supporting children's learning in the early years (E124)	30	£295
You will be required to pass E123 and E124 within four calendar years of starting E123 in order to be awarded the Certificate in Early Years Practice.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

Qualifications for Childminders
Whether you have chosen to do a qualification because you want to develop your practice, to look more professional to parents or because you want opportunities to go into other forms of childcare, it is important that you chose the qualification that suits your needs and abilities.

This page contains just a few of the main qualifications suitable for childminders, however it is by no means exhaustive and we would recommend that you discuss your plans with the Training and Qualifications Co-ordinator at Bromley Early Years before enrolling on any course.

Distance Learning V College attendance?

This decision will very much depend on you and your commitments.
For example, if you are a Childminder with young children of your own and a partner who works shifts, attendance at college one evening a week for 15 weeks, may prove difficult unless you have friends and family who you can rely on for support. Some people find distance learning difficult as you need to be very self motivated and disciplined to complete the course, others prefer to be taught and learn from group discussions and peer support.

Most qualifications are now available to do as Distance Learning or taught in a College.

Course Title	Points	UK Fee
Level 1 Compulsory
Working with children in the early years (E123)	30	£295
Supporting children’s learning in the early years (E124)	30	£295
Personal professional development: early years setting (E115)	60	£620
Level 2
EITHER Level 2 Option 1 60 points from the following courses
Child development (ED209)	60	£525
Childhood (U212) (Compulsory course if you wish to progress to the BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies)	60	£525
Working with children and families (K204)	60	£595
OR Level 2 Option 2 60 points from the following courses
Inclusive education: learning from each other (E243)	30	£295
Ways of knowing: language, mathematics and science in the early years (E230)	30	£295
Level 2 Compulsory
Extending personal professional development: early years settings (E215)	60	£620

Bromley Early Years and Childcare Service may have funding available to contribute to the costs of childcare qualifications for Bromley Ofsted Registered Childminders.

Cache NVQ3
in Children’s Care, Learning and Development
This Level 3 Qualification requires you to be assessed in your workplace , with regards to your practical competence, knowledge and understanding. You will also be required to submit a portfolio of your work covering all the areas. Whilst there are no formal entry qualifications, you will need to be an experienced practitioner and some colleges require childminders to have already undertaken some formal qualification in childcare.

http://www.cache.org.uk/pages/qualifications/
pages/qualifications_directory/pages/early
_years_care_and_education/level3/
cache_nvq_level3_early_years_care_and_education.php

Diploma in Home based Childcare

NCMA and the Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education (CACHE) have worked together to produce an updated qualification for home-based childcarers. Called the Diploma in Home-based Childcare (DHC), the new award takes the place of the Certificate in Childminding Practice (CCP).
DHC is made up of FIVE units, the first of which is called Introduction to Childcare Practice (Home-based). This is similar to NCMA's previous course Introducing Childminding Practice, but with a broader scope to cover the work of nannies and other home-based childcarers, as well as Registered childminders. After completing this introductory unit, there are a further four units:

Childcare and Child Development (0 - 16) in the Home-based Setting
The Childcare Practitioner in the Home-based Setting
Working in Partnership with Parents in the Home-based Setting
Planning to Meet Children's Individual Learning Needs in the Home-based Setting.

These four units may be completed in any order but all must be completed to gain the full, level 3 Diploma in Home-based Childcare.

The first unit, Introduction to Childcare Practice, has 12 guided learning hours, while the other four have 30 guided learning hours each.

A certificate can be requested after each unit. The assessment of DHC has also changed as the first unit, ICP, will be assessed by a multiple choice question paper.

National Extension College (Distance Learning)
Diploma in Home based Childcare
http://www.nec.ac.uk/courses/product?
usca_p=t&product_id=1860&category_id=1880

NCMA Qualifications
http://www.ncma.org.uk/

Orpington College Diploma in Home Based Childcare
http://www.hotcourses.com/pls/hot_sys/aff_pag
e_pls_user_crs_details?x=36706383608&y=0&w=
11270221&a=180804&aui=115111157

Early Years Sector-Endorsed
Foundation Degree
(Open University)

http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q02G01

This Foundation degree consists of 240 points, 120 at undergraduate Level 1 and the remaining 120 at undergraduate Level 2 (I level on the FHEQ framework).

Top of Page

Some of the most popular qualifications taken by Childminders:

Diploma in Home based Childcare
(replaced the Certificate in Childminding Practice)

Cache NVQ3 in Children’s Care, Learning and Development

Certificate in Early Years Practice (Level 4)

Early Years Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree

Certificate in Early Years Practice
(Open University)
http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01C37

Each of these courses runs from February to October each year.

They consist of 3 Tutor marked Assignments with word lengths of 1000, 1500 and 2000 words. There is no final exam but an End of Course Assignment of 3000 words. At the start of the course you are provided with all the resources, including Study topic material, Reader, Video and Audio Cassette. Support is available via optional tutorials, contacting your allocated tutor or from peers via the on-line conferences. It is estimated that each course requires 8 hours of reading/assignment writing per week.

Child Protection Training

This Child Protection for Childminders course is in line with the latest government guidance including Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 and Ofsted's requirements. The training course provides the knowledge and tools required by childminders, to help you fulfil your safeguarding responsibilities. It covers abuse and identifying concerns, legislation and guidance, child protection policies and procedures, working with other agencies, handling allegations and complaints and how and when to make referrals. The course consists of 10 modules and a final assessment, and throughout incorporates information, case studies and questions specifically relevant to those working in childminding.

The course can be paused, stopped and restarted at any time to allow you to take the course at the pace and time that suits you and can be retaken as many times as is needed to pass the final assessment, at no extra cost. The course takes around two hours to complete. At the end of the course you will get a personalised certificate valid for 2 years and access to useful downloads, references and sample policies. The course content and these downloads remain accessible to you for the duration of your certificate, so you can refer back or refresh your knowledge at any time.

For further information or to purchase the course please click here.