Distance learning: From afar

Improving your knowledge and qualifications need not involve travelling to a college or leaving family at home, says Judith Napier

You may choose to study in hopes of increased job prospects, or simply for your own satisfaction. And where full-time education is impractical, distance learning may be the answer. According to Montessori Centre International (MCI), women, for all their juggling of jobs and families, are often the most committed and successful students.

But inevitably working in isolation is a daunting prospect, particularly for those whose schooldays are long past. So what exactly is involved?

Why now?
Distance learning is nothing new - Montessori started its programme in the 1950s, and the National Extension College (NEC) was founded in 1963. But there is an unprecedented level of interest in the pre-school sector, inevitable given the surge in Government policy initiatives. Those developments are reflected in the courses on offer. For example, the NEC's Diplo- ma in Pre-school Practice, run in partnership with the Pre-school Learning Alliance, has been revised three times, most recently to address the Early Learning Goals and Ofsted regulation and inspection, and to meet specifications for the awarding body, CACHE.