Question for the nursery teachers

Hello zennie..i need some help regarding cache3 . Kindly could u plj help me out

Hi honeymunster Thank you _ im finding it all a little overwhelming to be honest! Ive started looking at the course notes online as it will be too expensive to get them posted out here to me. Did you finish the course recently? <em>edited by Misshome@94 on 25/06/2013</em>

Hi Miss home, thanks for finding out the facts of the course :-) yes I did buy a few books but to be truthful you can get most the info of the internet now and it is also allowed to be used just so long as you put the quote in the bibliography at the end,,,, books are way to expensive unless you can get a second hand one. Good luck and it is a good course full of interesting facts,,,

thank you Asti

Very exciting! Good luck ladies with your studies. :)

Hi Sharry yes, no problem, would be great - my email is [email protected] good luck with the job!

Hi I will sign up as soon as I get my contract for a job, hopefully this week, let me know if you my email to help keep in touch a study buddy would be great!!

Hi Sharry I just paid for mine a few days ago_ make sure you request a 10% discount if you pay in full online, which will come to £647.50 including cache registration fee. Just reading through the course guide that they have sent me! Good luck and keep in touch

Miss home, I think I will be doing it too ;-)

To Honeymunster Hi, Im just wondering if you used any other books/resources to help you with the cache dilpoma in preschool practice? Eg. by Penny Tassoni?

Hi everyone I did some further research into the cache courses. The cache cypw offerred by cache dubai(eyes, knowledge village, sarah rogers) is around 18,000 aed. I rang them to enquire about the cache level 3 diploma in preschool practice (DPP/06) which is a similar course to the cypw, but I was told that they no longer offer this course. The cache DPP/06 is offered as a distance learning course by NEC at a price of £700 which includes the registration fee for cache! wow! This is the info I got from Cache after enquiring about the course from them: Hi I am a British expat currently residing and working in the UAE. I am considering pursuing the above course with the National Extension College- cache level 3 dilpoma in preschool practice. Please could you confirm if this centre is registered with Cache and what is the final date with Cache to complete this course as I understand it will soon be replaced by the level 3 cypw. I appreciate your co-operation AND THE REPLY FROM CACHE: Thank you for contacting us. There are a number of distance learning organisations which are approved as CACHE training providers. The NEC is one we strongly recommend. The DPP/06 finishes for registration 31/12/2013 and the latest date you would be able to get your certificate on completion is 31/12/2016. The L3 CYPW has been up and running for over 2 years now - it's a large qualification but to gain the full qualification (65 credits) you would need to be volunteering or working in the setting. I don't know whether you know, but we do have a Cache approved centre in Dubai: http://www.cache.org.uk/Centres/Pages/Centre-Search.aspx Click on the icon to the left of Overseas, and it will pull up a list - amongst which you'll find Early Years Educational Services, Middle East, located in the Knowledge Village in Dubai. All the very best in the future. Sincerely, Caroline-Customer services Cache SO LADIES, Hope the info helps and IM DEFINTELY going to sign up with NEC this week to do the DPP at £700 - if anyone else is interested, I would love to have a study buddy. Good luck to everyone By the way, this is the link to the course: http://www.nec.ac.uk/courses/level-3-diploma-pre-school-practice

Hi Everyone, After reading this thread, I decided to do some research myself. Firstly, I contacted NEC myself: Hi I am considering the diploma in pre-school practice. Is it a level 3 qualification? I am working in a nursery in the UAE. Please can you advise me if this or the cache level 3 cypw is more appropriate to work with under 5s. When I checked on the cache website, it doesn't mention the preschool diploma qualification in the list for your centre? Please can you confirm whether or not the diploma will be cache accredited and if the course that you are offering conforms with the new changes in place with the Early years sector? Kind regards I RECIEVED THIS REPLY FROM THEM: Thank you for your interest in NEC's Childcare courses. Our distance learning courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, wherever you want, whenever you want. There are no set term times or classes to attend, so you can enrol whenever best suits you. If you choose to enrol on an NEC course you will benefit from course materials specially written for independent study, one to one support from a personal tutor, automatic access to our Online Study Centre and support from a named course co-ordinator. In regards to the Level 3 Diploma in Pre-School Practice, you need to spend at least eight hours a week working with children in an appropriate setting, this can either be paid or voluntary work. The recommended hours of study are 240 hours plus additional time for completing assignments and for work experience. To gain the full Diploma, you must complete four units - all three core units, plus one of the optional units of your own choosing. You will need to let us know your option unit choice when you enrol. There are no formal entry qualifications for the Diploma, however, CACHE recommends that you have completed the CACHE level 2 Certificate in Pre-school practice (or a relevant Level 2 qualification). You must be at least 16 years old at the date of registration for the award and 18 when you actually gain the award. You will need to show that you have adequate level of general education to cope with the demands of the DPP programme. The cost of the course is £525 plus a registration fee of £175, when paid in full. If you would like to pay by monthly payments we would require a deposit of £307 followed by eight monthly payments of £53.06. In regards to the Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce, there are no formal entry requirements, such as a Level 2, but you will need to be at least 16 years old and working or volunteering in a childcare setting, such as Preschool, Nursery, Childminding at Home or working as a nanny. Recommended hours of study: Approximately 650 learning hours, plus time spent in your setting. This in an online course, so you will need easy access to the internet and to be competent working with electronic documents. Assessment: You will create an online portfolio of evidence using different formats such as learning plans, written tasks and discussion. Then there is a final direct observation in the workplace. You will need to complete Unit Clusters 1, 2 and 3 plus three or four Optional Units to reach the total of 65 credits. The cost is £1825 plus £110 CACHE registration fee. NEC also offers an direct debit arrangement from a UK bank account. Pay £567 when you enrol, then £184.69 monthly for 8 months.In this particular case, I would advice you to consider the Level 3 Diploma in Pre-school Practice as there is no workplace assessment it may prove more convenient for you. However, if you decide you prefer to enrol on the Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce, do bear in mind that there may be extra charges to send out an assessor for the workplace assessment that is part of this course. Do also bear in mind that we are only taking enrolments for the Level 3 Diploma in Pre-School Practice until December of this year but it will still be fully recognized. So basically, a level 3 Cache preschool practice diploma can be done via distance learning - this course is not done by Sarah Rogers anymore, but its worth considering as it is more than appropiate if you want to work in a nursery. Hope the information helps everyone. Thanks

Sarah Rogers started her business a few years ago,, a long time after people were dong the online diploma, I know many people who have done the online course and this is what Sarah takes her information from, so all the people who hold Diplomas did not have to be observed, if you care to check the official pages from CACHE and the online course which is through the National Extension College and certified by CACHE you will see there is no requirements that say you have to be observed... Please see below, "To gain your qualification you will need to work for a minimum of 360 hours in pre-school setting, ideally eight hours a week. This is a CACHE recommendation, and NEC and the PLA also believe that attendance in a pre-school setting is essential to your success. Assignments There are nine assignments, four of which count towards your final mark. Of these, three are marked by your tutor and sent to CACHE for moderation, the other is assessed entirely by CACHE. Most learners require approximately 600 hours to complete the course, plus additional time for some assignments and any relevant work experience." If Sarah has introduced that requirement then that is her own requirements, all I am saying is you can do this course on line and without having to pay a fortune and be observed doing anything :-)

I do agree though that it is good for teachers to be observed and to know that they are understanding what they are learning about but it is not a requirement in the CACHe course, Sorry, but it is part of the Cache courses, and without these observations, you cannot complete the course.

No, there seems to be some misunderstanding. There is one task which covers how you show how to conduct an observation of a child in your setting. You need to show evidence, reports, plan tasks and activities based on your findings. This is separate (think it's task MU 2.7?). The observations we are referring to and the ones where you are observed. As mentioned, you have three of these per course (one per term). They each cover the criteria you have covered in that term, and the observer wants to see them put into practise in your work setting. An assessor comes into the workplace and watches you. You will need to plan ahead and make sure your planning for that time covers all or most of what you have to demonstrate/show. You then have a 121 discussion with the assessor following this observations. It's not based on the number of hours you work over the duration of the course.

so the assessor watches you do what? you are there to observe the child not to interact with them? it is your understanding of a situation that you choose to observe.. then it is about what you write up in your observation, I have a friend that is an assessors in the UK and some that have done the course and it is not a requirement that you have to be observed for a CACHE level 3, you do have to be working in a nursery setting, I do agree though that it is good for teachers to be observed and to know that they are understanding what they are learning about but it is not a requirement in the CACHe course, anyway this is getting off track, all I am saying is that it is just as good to do it on line and much cheaper and just as legally acceptable, if you are happy to do it alone and not go to a 'school setting" to do it.. :-) it is about personal choice

The observation carried out is to watch you in practise not to watch you observe a child! I think this is essential for teachers. If you tlook CACHE qualification comprises of two parts - a knowledge component and a skills part. The observations, as I am sure Zannie will agree, is to observe that we are putting into practise the things we have learnt. Hence why over the course we are observed 3 times, once for each term to be able to demonstrate our learning. I have friends that have done this in the Uk and these observations are standard practise - which is why I fail to see how it can be done online. As part of the qualification is given as a result of these observations. The observations we don on children are a separate thing.

OK, didn't know that. Thanks for letting us know. Just wasn't sure how you could get around it. :-)

Hi Zannie, you dont have to be observed during your observations, you have to write up your conclusions ,,, Sarah has introduced this new concept,,, if you check online you have to write about the observation you have done then write up your conclusions,,, there is NO need to be observed whilst you are doing an observation! it is about your understanding of the child and your interpretations, not a bout how you observe a child....

Just to add, going through EYES makes completing the course so much easier. Having to send the documents home will take a long time, especially if you need to make changes and resend. EYES use the Onefile systems, so you can upload your work and the assessors have it straight away and if any changes need to be made, you are informed immediately. So much easier than having to post everything and much quicker. Not to mention the support they offer you. Worth every fils!

But how are the observations conducted if completing online? As far as I'm aware (having just completed my Cache Level 2 and about to start level 3), the observations have to be done in the work setting by a qualified Cache assessor. I would imagine completing the course online in the UK for example would be easier, due to having easier access to the like to assessors to visit you at your nursery. Several of the units carry a large percentage of the final results based on these observations.

poons, it is absolutely the full qualification, this Diploma has been around long before Sarah started her business, she has just made it easier to do in dubai by setting up the "school " there, but you do pay for the privilege of going to her to do the course ! It is recognised by CACHE and all nurseries here and in the UK you send your assignments to the UK by post and they are marked there by the tutors. the Observations are done and the nursery you work in will sign a paper saying you have been there.. the price difference is HUGE ! I was happy to do it on my own as I didn't need the pressure of getting in homework on time ! the online way is more relaxed and you set your own time lines. but saying that you still have to work hard and get the assignments in, but please dont think it is not the 'real Deal" because it is,,,

I do not think it can be the full qualification - as the diploma has knowledge bits which you could do online and skills part which is why they come to observe us. Surely without the observation part, you cannot get a full qualification?

Lulamae, give EYES a call and talk to Sarah, she will answer all your questions about the online qualification, and hers - she is a very knowledgeable lady who is always happy to explain and answer questions! To be honest she would perhaps be able to offer the most reliable information.

I do not think it can be the full qualification - as the diploma has knowledge bits which you could do online and skills part which is why they come to observe us. Surely without the observation part, you cannot get a full qualification?

I do not think I would have felt so confident doing it online - I would not have had the drive to get homework in, etc. I also liked the social aspect of being part of a group - I was lucky to have a really nice group of ladies with me on my course. I think you need to talk things through and share ideas - because early years can be challenging!

If you do online, how do you get around the three observations in the workplace you're required to complete? Its says on the page you must complete 360 hours in a preschool setting before you will be awarded with a diploma (in addition to your online studies). http://www.nec.ac.uk/courses/product?product_id=820&category_id=4920

If you do online, how do you get around the three observations in the workplace you're required to complete?

If you are happy to do the course as a home course then it is much cheaper to do it on line, I did mine that way and found it much better as you can go as your own pace, the web page is nec.ac.uk then go to the childcare courses, and it is a credited by CACHE so the best one you can do ... they offer 2 years online tutor with their course, but you can do it as quick or slow as you want :-) much easier and much cheaper ! good luck

Lulamae - I think I am right in saying that the CACHE and City and Guilds are different qualifications? I would ask you to do a bit more research, as I did a quick look at this website http://www.nurseryjobs.co.uk/childcare_qualifications_uk.php and it shows that they are different. I did my CACHE Level 2 and 3 qualification with EYES and I am pleased that I did. I would also check that the Ministry recognises the City and Guilds - as copies of my certificates were sent to them to show my qualification level. As Zannie said the EYES team offer really good support, I would check that it is comparable and that it will be the qualification you need.