Introduction

This course has been devised to meet the needs of teachers in schools all over the World who want accreditation for their continued professional development. It is for those who are employed as teachers in the country in which they work and who now want a new developmental challenge.  The course is accessible to any employed English speaking teacher anywhere in the World and will enable each teacher to develop their expertise and demonstrate their commitment to on-going professional development.  

This course has been designed as a direct result of requests made by teachers who have been unable to find appropriate developmental opportunities in Early Childhood Development. (For the purpose of this qualification, Early Childhood includes children up to the age of eight.)  

This course promotes professional, global common values and seeks to reinforce the position of the child in the process of learning and the need to protect the child from influences that are inappropriate.  

Good practice will be promoted by identifying effective approaches to teaching and learning.  

Outcomes

As a result of the course, you will gain further knowledge of early child development. You will be expected to use this knowledge to develop your approach when working with children. You will develop your observational skills and learn how to use these to analyse situations for the elements that are either beneficial to learning or acting as barriers to supporting effective learning.  

This course is based around the experiences you have in your normal working environment. You will examine and build on these experiences.  

The structure

This is a self-study course and has ten milestones. The first seven milestones are achieved through seven self-study units. Each unit takes a minimum of 75 minutes to complete and is supported, if required, by a tutor available through e-mail or other on-line exchanges.  

Milestones eight and nine are two diaries. Each is kept for a minimum of one term and each chronicles the development of a detailed study, carried out at your place of work. The area of study has to be agreed by the you and your school.  

The final milestone is an evaluation of the detailed study. You are asked to produce a 2500 word dissertation. The assessment of this, by The College, is for the award of the DOES.  

The Content

·         Milestone 1 is achieved by the completion of the first unit:

An Introduction to Early Childhood Development.

This unit gives candidates a broad overview of Early Childhood Development by exploring the key issues that need to be considered when an approach is developed.  

·         Milestone 2 is achieved by the completion of the second unit:

The Early Childhood Syllabus, Western Australia.

Candidates are required to study the approach to early Childhood education as presented by the government of Western Australia. Key elements have to be identified together with the breadth of the required curriculum.  

·         Milestone 3 is achieved by the completion of the third unit

Early Childhood Services, New Zealand.

The Early Childhood Services of New Zealand gives an alternative to the approach adopted by Western Australia. Candidates are required to identify common elements as well as comment on the differences between the two.  

·         Milestone 4 is achieved by the completion of the fourth unit

EYFS areas of Learning and Development, England and Wales.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum used in England and Wales has a different structure to that used in Western Australia and New Zealand. Candidates will be required to explore the significance of the approaches.  

·         Milestone 5 is achieved by the completion of the fifth unit

Foundation for Child Development, USA.

Examining the stance of the US Foundation for Child Development. Candidates will be required to identify key elements and the underlying philosophy as presented. They will be able to explore the purpose of the Foundation.  

·         Milestone 6 is achieved by the completion of the sixth unit

Learning Styles in the Early Years.

Given a breakdown of learning styles that was produced by a school in England, candidates will be required to observe children and use the breakdown to identify learning styles. Candidates will be asked to comment on how useful the breakdown is.  

·         Milestone 7 is achieved by the completion of the seventh unit

Principles of effective learning and teaching.

The principles previously identified together with the work in the other units will be used as the basis for the candidate to express their views. Candidates will be required to explain the relevance of the principles to planning for early Childhood Development.  

·         Milestone 8 is achieved by the completion of the first diary.  

·         Milestone 9 is achieved by the completion of the second diary.  

·         Milestone 10 is achieved by the completion of a 2500 word dissertation. Candidates are required to apply the information gathered whilst achieving milestones 1 to 7 to the evaluation of the diaries kept to achieve milestones eight and nine.  

Each of the first seven units requires the teacher to explore areas of learning. The materials required are all freely available on the Internet or are reproduced as part of unit of work.  

Each of the units from one to seven includes a school follow-up task and an Internet based investigation. Both are optional but candidates will be encouraged to undertake them.  

Timescale

The initial seven units each take about 75 minutes each. A breakdown of how the time could be spent is given for each task. Units eight and nine take one term each. The final submission has no time limit. The assessment of the final unit is that which counts for the award of the Diploma. The minimum time for completion is about 6 months but we do not envisage having an upper time limit for completion.  

Cost

The total cost is in two parts.  

The course fee is £350, payable to National Inspections. This includes course materials, email tutor support and help with the production of the final evaluation (milestone 10) where required.  

The registration fee for the Diploma is £90, plus £5 for Student Membership, making a total of £95 and is paid directly to The College of Teachers on completion of the course.  

Next Step

If you wish to take the course, simply email peter@national-inspections.co.uk and we’ll sign you up.