NCFE CACHE Level 3 Award in Childcare and Education -Early Years Educator
About This Course
Qualification factsheet
Qualification overview
Qualification title NCFE CACHE Level 3 Award in Childcare and Education NCFE CACHE Level 3 Certificate in Childcare and Education
NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (Early Years Educator)
Qualification number (QN) 601/3998/5
601/3999/7
601/4000/8
Total qualification time (TQT): 227
663
1358 Guided learning hours (GL) 180
539
1071
Entry requirements: Learners must be at least 16 years old.
About these qualifications
The Level 3 Award in Childcare and Education prepares learners to progress to the Level 3 Certificate in Childcare and Education and then on to the Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (Early Years Educator), which enables them to gain the knowledge and experience which will allow them to work with children from birth to 5 years.
The Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (Early Years Educator) enables learners to enter the workforce as Early Years Educators or access Higher Education.
This qualification has been allocated UCAS points. Please refer to the UCAS website for further details of the points allocation and the most up-to-date information.
Qualification structure
Rules of combination for the Award:
In order to achieve the Level 3 Award in Childcare and Education learners must complete 2 mandatory units, Guided Learning: 180 (hours) including all the criteria learners must know about within the delivery requirements.
Total Qualification Time: 227 (hours)
Rules of combination for the Certificate:
In order to achieve the Level 3 Certificate in Childcare and Education learners must complete 8 mandatory units Guided Learning: 540 (hours) including all the criteria learners must know about within the delivery requirements.
Total Qualification Time: 699 (hours)
Rules of combination for the Diploma:
In order to achieve the Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (Early Years Educator) learners must complete 15 mandatory units Guided Learning: 1080 (hours) including all the criteria learners must know about within the delivery requirements.
Total Qualification Time: 1437 (hours)
Mandatory units
Child development from conception to seven years
Children’s health and well-being
Providing safe environments for children
Child health
Play and learning
Understanding children’s additional needs
Observation, assessment and planning
Professional Practice Portfolio 1
Supporting emergent literacy
Supporting emergent mathematics
Preparing for school readiness
International perspectives
Reflective practice for professional development
Professional partnerships in Early Years
Professional Practice Portfolio 2
Assessment
All units will be internally assessed using a range of methods. All units are graded A*-D. Learners taking the Certificate must also complete an Effective Practice Study Task (externally set, externally marked).
Learners taking the Diploma must also complete an Effective Practice Study Task and one Extended Assessment Task (externally set, externally marked).
Within each qualification there is a maximum of one further opportunity after the first submission for learners to submit the External Assessment in order to achieve a pass grade or to improve a grade.
Placement requirements
The Award has no requirement for placement.
We suggest that the following placement allocation is applied to the Certificate and Diploma. We acknowledge that some learners may need to spend longer in placement with specific age ranges and for this reason there is a degree of flexibility. All assessment criteria must be achieved and each age range must be experienced but significant placement experience across the age ranges must be undertaken in order to achieve the assessment criteria.
Age range Hours
Certificate Diploma Total
0-1 year 11 months 25 25 50
2-2 years 11 months 130 130 260
3-5 years 170 170 340
Specialised placement such as 5-7 years
40
60 100
Total 365 385 750
Learners who work within a setting which provides care and education for children across these age ranges, and are able to gain the necessary hours of experience, need not seek placement outside of their setting.
When working in partnership with employers, decisions relating to learners’ competence must be made by qualified, occupationally competent Assessors.
During placement, learners will need support from a professional within the real work environment.
Progression opportunities
The Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (Early Years Educator) enables learners to access Higher Education.
Alternatively, learners can progress into various job roles in the statutory, voluntary or private sectors such as:
Early Years Educator (Diploma only)
practitioner in day nurseries
practitioner in nursery schools
practitioner in reception classes in primary schools
pre-school worker
home-based childcarer
nanny