UNISON Ulearn Northern Ireland

UNISON is sponsoring places on this course for members for the October 07 – June 08 intake. The deadline for expressions of interest is Friday August 3rd. If you would like to know more contact Fidelma Carolan f.carolan@unison.co.uk 028 90270150

Course content This is a 30 point Open University course which when combined with ‘Supporting Children’s Learning in the Early Years (E124) awards an Open University Certificate of Early Years Practice.

This course is for a wide range of people who work in childcare and education, including unqualified early years teachers, teaching assistants, nursery nurses, playgroup workers and leaders, childminders and others working voluntarily in school, early childhood and out-of-school settings. It will enable you to consider your roles, responsibilities, knowledge and skills in relation to work with young children and working with other adults, including parents and carers. You will increase your understanding of the role of the early years practitioner, the nature of learning, and the importance of the context of learning in the early years, and you will develop an awareness of the structure and nature of the wider range of provision for young children.

Through DVD recordings, a course reader and activities linked to your work with young children, you will explore the ways in which young children develop and learn, and the factors that affect learning, including the role of parents and the learning that takes place in the home and the surrounding community. You will further your understanding of the nature of the early childhood curriculum, underpinning principles and values. You will increase your understanding of the role of curriculum frameworks in children’s learning, and consider the roles of creativity, communication and play in learning.

By the end of the course you should: •know about the range of early years settings, and parents’ and children’s entitlement to them •have further developed your understanding of how young children learn and develop •have explored further your understanding of the principles that underpin early years policy and practice •have increased your understanding of the factors that affect learning •have explored your own roles in relation to work with young children •have increased your understanding of the role played by curriculum frameworks in children’s learning •have developed your understanding of working with other adults, including parents.

Vocational relevance This course is for practitioners working in a wide range of early years care and education settings with young children and their families, and its content is directly relevant to practice.

Entry This course is available in the United Kingdom and to students working in English-medium, early years care and educational settings in Europe and British Forces schools. It is expected that you will have been working with young children, in either a paid or a voluntary capacity, in an education or care setting prior to starting the course for six months if full time, and a year if part time. During the course, you will need to be working in the setting for a minimum of five hours a week in order to carry out the practical activities. To work in an early years setting you will need to meet the ‘fit person’ criteria for doing so, including obtaining the necessary criminal record clearance required for the setting and country in which you are working. It is the responsibility of you and your employer to ensure you meet these requirements, and not the OU. You should contact the relevant agency in your country for more information if you are in doubt about your eligibility, or to find out more. For who to contact in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales visit www.open.ac.uk/early-years.

Level 1 courses provide core subject knowledge and study skills needed for both higher education and distance learning to help you to progress to courses at Level 2. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Preparatory work

To undertake the course you must be working in either a paid or a voluntary capacity with young children. You and your employer will need to complete a permission agreement form confirming this before you begin the course. You must also ensure you meet the ‘fit person’ criteria as noted in the section entitled Entry. There is no essential preparatory work before the course starts, but it is suggested that you locate and become familiar with the policy and curriculum documents for your local area and for the childcare or education setting in which you work. Reading publications such as ‘Nursery World’, ‘Early Years Educator’ and ‘Early Education’, as well as other practitioner journals, will allow you to acquaint yourself with current educational issues in the early years sector.

Qualifications This is a compulsory course in our: •G01 Foundation Degree in Early Years •C37 Certificate of Early Years Practice It is a specified course in our: •B23 BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant award descriptions for information on the circumstances in which the course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements of a qualification may change.

Course materials We use a mixture of media to help you learn. Our courses may include any of the following media that you will use from home (or wherever you choose to study): specially written texts, set books, online resources, audio CDs, audio and video cassettes, DVDs, CD-ROMs, computer software, a home experiment kit. For further information on set books go to http://www3.open.ac.uk/about/setbooks/index.shtm .

Teaching and assessment Support from your tutor You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. If you are new to the OU, you will find that your tutor will be particularly concerned to help you with your study methods. We may also be able to offer tutorial support online through computer conferencing and group tutorials that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with the Open University before you register.

Assessment There are three tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), submitted on paper, which together make up the formative assessment, and a project at the end of the course that takes the place of an examination. Equal weighting is given to the TMAs and the final project and you must pass both parts to pass the course. Assessment is an essential part of the teaching and so you are required to complete it all. You will be given more detailed information when you begin the course.

Professional recognition The Certificate in Early Years Practice is approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) for inclusion as a Level 4 qualification in the National Qualifications Framework (the early years education, childcare and playwork framework of nationally accredited qualifications). Ofsted accepts, for regulatory purposes, all those qualifications listed on the DfES acceptable list and those qualifications at an appropriate level on the NQF that have relevant coverage of early years, childcare and play work. The Certificate is also part of the Open University Foundation Degree in Early Years which is recognised by the DfES as a SureStart Unit Recognised Early Years Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree offering a new level of professional practice known as the Senior Practitioner. The SureStart Recognised Foundation Degree is on the DfES website of acceptable qualifications recognised by OfSTED for regulatory purposes. The Foundation Degree in Early Years offers a progression route to an honours degree in Childhood and Youth Studies.

Date : 5 Saturday tutorials spread out between October 2007 and June 2008
Venue: Depends on where applications come from, likely to be Belfast and possibly Omagh

Download an application form here