Level 3 Childcare

If you would like to work with children and help to make a real impact on their development, then you could be destined for a career in childcare. This two-year programme is an excellent starting point if you wish to have a successful career in childcare. This course will help you gain the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to work in this rewarding sector, setting you up for a career working with babies and young children from birth to seven years of age.

This highly work experience-based course will provide you with the vast range of experience needed for a career in childcare and instil inspiration for your future career. This course will give you opportunities to develop academically as well as strengthening the wider skills needed for career progression. Whether you would like to become an early years teacher in a primary school, work in a nursery setting, or become a youth worker, there are plenty of opportunities available to you. With the average qualified early years teacher starting their role on a salary of £22,244, you could be working your way up the career ladder whilst earning a good wage and doing something you love.

In this hands-on, work-focused course you will gain plenty of experience directly working with young people. You will study fascinating topics such as observation, planning and assessment, child health and development, professional partnerships, international perspectives in education, and supporting literacy and numeracy. These topics will be learnt in our specialist early years classrooms and on the job during your exciting industry placement.

After successfully completing this course, you will have an Early Years Educator (licence to practice) in childcare, meaning you will have the opportunity to work in schools, nurseries, and youth work settings. Upon completing this qualification, you may wish to seek employment as a nursery practitioner, childminder, classroom assistant or pre-school practitioner, before potentially progressing on to supervisory roles such as nursery room leader. Or you may wish to explore the university route with higher education courses such as primary education with qualified teacher status (QTS), to enable you to become a fully qualified primary school teacher.

Our dedicated childcare department has a wide range of links with private day nurseries, primary schools, and childminders in the local area and further afield. This will broaden your career prospects and help you to secure work placements in your preferred career. Guest speakers will also come into college to talk to you about the different roles within the industry, enhancing your career awareness.

You will be allocated a progress coach who will provide you with support to help you succeed on your study programme and progress on to your chosen career or progression path. We have a team of staff dedicated to providing learning support if required, as well as a Welfare Team that is on hand to offer guidance, support and help when needed.

Additionally, eligible students can access a wide range of finance and funding support to help them during their time at college.

Click here for learning support: https://wvr.ac.uk/college-life/learning-support

Click here for finance support: https://wvr.ac.uk/college-life/financial-support

The childcare courses at Warrington & Vale Royal College are delivered by an outstanding department, with all tutors being graded as outstanding in lesson observations. Our tutors come from a variety of relevant industry backgrounds within the subjects they teach and enjoy sharing their extensive experience with their students. This course has a key focus on enrichment, careers, and work placement, helping you to take your first step on your journey towards your chosen career.

On this stimulating course, you will also take part in a number of trips and visits, exploring a variety of exhibitions at places such as the Slavery Museum, Eureka Science Museum and the Thackray Medical Museum to enhance your knowledge of this sector. Previous students have enjoyed trips to Prague, Disneyland Paris, and Poland, with a visit to London planned for the next academic year. You may even get the chance to take a bite of the big apple on an enrichment trip to New York!

You will need a minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English and/or maths, or you will have needed to have successfully completed a Level 2 course and have GCSE English and/or maths at grade 4 or above . If you have not already achieved a grade 4 in your either your GCSE English or maths and you wish to study at Level 3, you will be required to work towards GCSE English or maths as part of your qualification.

As you will be going on a mandatory work placement, the biggest expense on the course will be your DBS check which is approximately £38. You may be required to purchase a polo shirt with the college logo on, to wear whilst you are out on work placement. Other costs could include purchasing relevant textbooks and materials to the course, along with paying to go on educational trips and visits.