The Yorkshire-based Internet College for Early Years Education (I-C-EYE) is offering a course on Introducing Childminding Practice that was developed jointly by the National Childminding Association and CACHE. It intends to provide two further courses, Developing Childminding Practice and Extending Childminding Practice, in the coming year.
The college has already enrolled 500 students on the ICP course and expects thousands more to begin their studies in September. It is also developing courses on becoming a Montessori assistant teacher and on marketing and public relations for early years providers.
The courses allow childcarers to study in their own time and support is provided by qualified CACHE-approved tutors. There are also student networks on the internet, a computer health desk, and access to resources, information and associated websites.
I-C-EYE director Rosie Pressland said, 'There has been a huge amount of interest in the courses. Introduction to Childminding Practice is accredited by CACHE and is its first course to go online.
'Our aim is to bring courses into the home, and one of our emblems is a big pair of fluffy slippers because we want people to study at their leisure, in their own home and at their own pace. It can either be taken fast-track for someone who is unemployed and needs qualifications, or taken over as long a period as they like for people who are combining studying with work. We have organised the courses so they are exciting and interactive, and have made them accessible and affordable.
'It is a very exciting time for us because it is the beginning of online training for early years workers. This sector in particular needs 24-hour access to training. It must be available for when it best suits the hard-pressed workers. After a long day at work it is a lot easier to access training through a home PC than to get a bus to the nearest college.' Richard Dorrance, CACHE chief executive, said, 'E-learning is one of the more flexible methods of training, and it should help encourage the sector to train and improve qualification levels. But people do not want to communicate just with machines. There must also be face-to-face tutorials and good quality mentoring for it to work. Early years workers will also need access to computers, but there are lap-top loan schemes being launched.'
For further information contact I-C-EYE, Bielby Lane, Pocklington, York YO42 1NT (01759 305436, www.iceye.co.uk).