What will I learn?
Course Outcomes:

Understanding Child Development: Learn about the basic stages of a child’s growth and how they learn through play.

Health and Safety: Identify common hazards in a childcare setting and learn how to keep children safe and clean.

Encouraging Healthy Eating: Understand the importance of nutrition and how to provide healthy snacks and meals for children.

Caring for Children: Gain practical knowledge on daily care routines, including hygiene and the importance of rest.

Effective Communication: Develop the "soft skills" needed to talk to children, parents, and other professionals in a care environment.

What will I need to take part?
Learners will need a notepad and a pen. A folder will be provided by NALS to keep your portfolio work safe. While we use laptops in class, having a smartphone, tablet, or computer at home with internet access will help you look at the extra videos and resources we put on Google Classroom.

What to expect
Delivery Model: A 12-14 week hybrid programme. One face-to-face session per week (approx. 3 hours) focussed on discussion and practical activities, supported by easy-to-use resources on Google Classroom.

Methodology: Practical and visual learning. You will complete workbooks, take part in group discussions, and use "real-life" scenarios to show what you have learnt.

Sequencing: The course starts with "The Role of the Carer" and "Keeping Children Safe" to build your confidence. We then move on to "Play and Learning" and "Healthy Eating," finishing with a look at how to progress your career.

Assessment: There are no exams. You will build a portfolio of simple tasks and workbooks that your tutor will help you complete during the sessions.

Where can it lead to?
Progression: Most learners move from this course onto the Level 1 Award in Caring for Children or the Level 1 Introduction to Health, Social Care and Children’s Settings.

Employment: This qualification is excellent for showing local schools or nurseries that you are serious about volunteering or working as a lunchtime supervisor or play assistant.

Achievement: You will receive a nationally recognised NCFE CACHE Entry Level 3 Certificate, which is a great addition to your CV.

Course eligibility and fees
This adult learning course may be fully funded or co-funded through the Adult Skills Fund.

To be considered for funding, you will usually need to be:

- aged 19 or over on 31st August in the funding year

- resident in England, outside a devolved adult skills funding area.

- ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of learning.

- Able to provide evidence of your identity, residency, prior qualifications and where relevant, benefits or income.

If you are unemployed, receive benefits such as Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment Support Allowance, Universal Credit or other state benefits, or if you are working and earn below £26,800 per year you may qualify for full funding.

If you are fully funded, your course will be free. If you are co-funded, you will need to pay a partial 50% course fee. If you are not eligible for public funding, including some international students or people not ordinarily resident in the UK, you will need to pay the full course fee.

Asylum seekers may be eligible for funding in some circumstances, including where they have lived in the UK for 6 months or longer while their claim is being considered, or where they receive certain types of local authority support. We will check this with you at enrolment.

If you are co-funded or not eligible for public funding, your first exam attempt will be included in the course fee. Any subsequent resits will incur an additional fee, which must be paid before the exam is booked.

These requirements are not exhaustive, and other conditions may apply for more information or to see whether you may qualify contact Adult Learning Northants or fill out our Online Eligibility Checker tool to see whether you might qualify - https://forms.office.com/e/Wv2Mb9nSz6

Funding is subject to eligibility checks and course availability.