A training programme at Just Learning has encouraged 14 staff at its Newcastle nursery to embark on a degree programme.
Two have started to study for a foundation degree in Professional Care and Education and 12 will begin the course in September. Staff will attend organised night classes at the Riverside Children's Centre on North Tyneside and do work-based learning projects.
Victoria Solomon, the manager who is also taking the degree, said, 'It is exciting for me personally to be embarking on this course and to have so many colleagues opting to further their skills and qualifications. We encourage and help each other and I hope our experiences give others the confidence to follow suit.'
Just Learning currently operates 67 nurseries.
www.justlearning.co.uk
- Parenting online
More parenting programmes and independent ratings are being added to the free online Commissioning Toolkit provided by the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, which is designed to assist local authorities in meeting their training needs for working with parents. Developers of parenting programmes are urged to submit their programmes for inclusion.
www.commissioningtoolkit.org
- Tuning up
Music For Starters, a specialist supplier of music, percussion and puppets for young children, has launched two new courses, 'Music Making With Very Young Babies' and 'Action Songs and Rhymes', as well as a repeat of 'Using Music to Support Inclusion'.
The first course explores a range of musical activities suitable for the very young. The second is aimed at practitioners working with four-year-olds up to Key Stage 1. It shows how skills and concepts across the curriculum can be learned, developed and practised through music and actions, and shows how to use instruments, puppets and props.
e-mail info@musicforstarters.com or visit www.musicforstarters.com
- Towards pedagogy
Inside-Out-Nature offers a range of courses based on the Scandinavian tradition of using nature and the environment as a learning resource. These include Outdoor Practitioner/Pedagogue Level 3 and residential study courses in Denmark. All courses are Open College Network accredited.
www.insideoutnature.com