Overview
Fuelled by curiosity and wonder, children are extremely fast learners and take in all of their surroundings to grow and develop vital skills to prepare them for school and their future. As a Level 2 Early Years Practitioner, you’ll play a vital role in supporting the social and physical development of children ages 0-5, using imaginative learning techniques, encouraging language and literacy skills, and promoting independence along with the way. If you’re interested in a fulfilling and challenging career in childcare, this course is a great starting point.
Once you’ve gained your certificate, you’ll be a qualified Early Years Practitioner with NCFE CACHE. This means you can start working, under supervision, with children up to the age of 5, and you’ll have proven knowledge of working with children up to the age of 7. You’ll also count towards the Level 2 ratio as a qualified Level 2 Early Years Practitioner across the Early Years Workforce.
To complete this course, you’ll need to either be working or volunteering in a placement for at least 250 hours so that you can gain skills-based experience and complete observations. This course is completely flexible so that you can study in your own time, at your own pace.
What you'll learn
- Responsibilities, boundaries, skills and behaviours of the Early Years Practitioner
- Policies and procedures within the Early Years setting
- Effective communication within the Early Years setting
- Professional development and reflective practice within the Early Years setting
- Legislation and legal requirements for health and safety in the Early Years
- Lines of reporting
- Guidelines for good practice
- Common childhood illnesses
- Equality, diversity and inclusive practice in the Early Years Settings
- Legislation and codes of practice
- Types of abuse and neglect
- Safeguarding legislation, policies and codes of practice
- British values and prevent
- Policies and procedures
- Child development from birth to seven
- Influences on the expected pattern of development
- Transitions in the Early Years
- Support care routines for babies and young children
- Care routines
- Play and child development
- The benefits of different types of play
- Play and child development
- The benefits of different types of play
- Support well-being of babies and young children for healthy lifestyles
- Planning a weaning programme
- What do they need?
- Effects of poor diet on babies and children
- Special dietary requirements
- The benefits of exercise and physical activity
- National initiatives to promote physical activity
- Support the needs of babies and young children with special educational needs and disability
- Attachments and key person approaches
- Transitions in the Early Years
- Effects of transitions
- Working with others to meet children’s additional needs
- Promote positive behaviour in Early Years settings
- Partnership working in the Early Years
- Reporting lines
- Benefits of working with parents/carers
- Encouraging parents to take an active role
- Support the needs of the child in preparing for school
- Strategies for developing emergent literacy
- Developing emergent mathematical skills
Extra info
Awarding Body
CACHE stands for the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education, and are the leading specialist Awarding Organisation for the Care and Education Sector.
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Course Outcome
Upon completion of the qualification, learners can be counted towards the statutory framework for the EYFS staff: child ratio at Level 2. Learners will be awarded a formal certificate of achievement by NCFE CACHE. Read more about NCFE CACHE.
This qualification allows a learner to count towards the Level 2 ratio as a qualified Level 2 Early Years Practitioner across the Early Years Workforce.
Learners may work under supervision in a variety of roles such as:
- Nursery practitioner
- Classroom assistant
- Pre-school practitioner
How is this course assessed or examined?
How are you assessed?
Your progress is assessed over the course of 14 units of study. Each unit provides tasks and assignments carefully designed to aid your knowledge-based learning. Skill-based outcomes must be achieved with reference to a real work environment and must include direct observation within the workplace.
Do you need to be working to take the qualification?
Learners will need to be working, volunteering or on a practical placement to show competence in both knowledge and skills. Learners are recommended to complete 250 placement hours in a childcare setting to gain relevant skills-based experience.
During your placement, observation by an assessor or qualified teacher is required.
We recommend finding yourself an assessor, but they will need to be suitably qualified and evidence of this will be required. If needed, your tutor can provide information, support and training for your chosen observer to fully understand the requirements of observation. Find out what is required of an assessor here. If you are unable to find a suitable assessor, we can send one of our tutors to complete the observation for an additional fee, just let us know.
Your learner journey will be tracked with an Evidence Record and Record of Assessment Cycle form.
Assessors and Internal Quality Assurance
Staff involved in the assessment and internal quality assurance of this qualification must be able to demonstrate that they have (or are working towards) the relevant occupational knowledge and/or occupational competence, at the same level or higher than the units being assessed and internally quality assured. This may be gained through experience and/or qualifications.
To support Early Years Settings, the UKCIS Education Working Group has developed two documents to help Early Years Settings managers and staff consider their practice and to take steps to safeguard both children and adults online
Entry requirements
You must be working, volunteering or on practical placement as you will need to show competence in both knowledge and skills. You need to complete over 250 hours of placement whilst undertaking this qualification. Your placement must allow for skills application with babies and young children to meet the assessment criteria for this qualification.
