The Level 3 certificate for work with children in early years or playwork is aimed at experienced early years practitioners, childcare workers and playworkers who have been working in a Level 3 role but do not hold a formal Level 3 qualification, and for those who gained qualifications before the Children Act 1989.
The qualification is the first award devised by the Government to use the APEL (Accreditation for Prior Experience and Learning) assessment methodology. An estimated 20,000 early years and playworkers will have to undergo this route to Level 3 to meet the Government's new national standards for daycare.
QCA accreditation has meant that the Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education has been receiving around 200 calls a week from prospective students. CACHE chief executive Richard Dorrance said, 'There has been an enormous interest. Quite a few are people either managing playgroups or supervising settings who've been doing it for many years and would have to leave the sector otherwise.'
But he stressed the course was 'for people who are absolutely convinced they are at Level 3' and who have 'all the knowledge, practical competencies and skills and don't need any training, but a rigorous and quality assured system so they can have accreditation under the daycare regulations'. Candidates must be aged 25 or over and be working without direct supervision in an early years or playwork setting.
For details contact CACHE on 01727 847636 or see the website www.cache.org.uk.