Course description
This course consists of two different courses:
- OCN Level 3 Award in Child Care Home Practitioners
- OCN Level 3 Award in Child Psychology
Student Profile:
This programme is designed for people who wish to gain an understanding of Child Psychology and Child Care. The course can be studied at your own pace and there are no deadlines for assignments, however you must complete the course within 24 months from the date you purchased it.
Support:
As a UK Open Learning student you will get access to tutor support 7 days a week by a qualified tutor.
Assessment:
Assessment takes the form of a series of tutor marked assignments. There is no final exam at the end of the course.
Location:
The programme is home or work-based enabling students to complete the course without having to attend scheduled college teaching sessions.
Time Scale:
The programme takes place over a timescale to suit the student. Once registered, tutor support is available for up to one year or until completion whichever is the soonest.
OCN Award Child Care Practitioners Course Information.
The long hours culture and the fact that more and more women are returning to work after having children, have brought about something of a mini-revolution in childcare. The truth is, in today’s busy world, the need for quality childcare has never been greater.
And that’s why this exciting Childcare Home Practitioners Diploma is such good news. If you have ambitions to work in the childcare sector – as a childminder or nanny, or in a nursery or crèche for example – this is the course for you. You’ll find it interesting, challenging and highly rewarding and it could lead to a whole new exciting career playing a vital role in the care, development and education of children.
Your chance to have being an enjoyable and rewarding new career.
As any parent knows, the early years of a child’s life are absolutely crucial in his or her future health and happiness. So whether you simply wish to enjoy a rewarding career in childcare, or have ambitions to eventually run your own childcare business, this Diploma course would provide the first step on a highly worthwhile and fulfilling career.
Now you can learn important childcare skills.
Our Childcare Home Practitioners Diploma gives you a valuable insight into understanding the role of learning and development in childcare settings. The course deals with the legal requirements for setting up a childcare business from your own home and covers the frameworks of early education including Birth to Three, Every Child Matters and The Early Years Foundation Stage. You will also gain a full understanding of the personal and interpersonal skills you will need to develop your career in childcare.
Who can take this diploma?
The Diploma in Childcare and Child Psychology is from UK Open Learning, one of the UK’s leading distance learning providers. The course provides a valuable route to the formal qualifications needed to work in the childcare sector. No prior knowledge is required and the course is open to anyone
How does the course work?
The great thing about distance learning is that you can study from home or work, at your own pace and in your own time. You will also have your very own professional personal tutor offering unlimited support via email and post, seven days a week. He or she will be happy to answer any questions you may have and give you advice as to how to complete the course successfully.
There are a series of tutor marked assignments to be completed to be awarded your diploma, there is no word count for these assignments however you do have to prove to your tutor that you have fully understood the question asked, one sentence answers will be rejected and you will be asked to re-submit it again.
Is the Diploma recognised?
Yes, this is an accredited qualification.
UK Open Learning is a registered centre with Open College Network North West Region.
OCNNWR is licensed with the National Open College Network which is approved as an awarding body with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)
Do you want a FULLY recognised qualification which carries learning credits towards further learning?
UK Open Learning is a leading distance learning company offering these qualifications in conjunction with OCN an approved awarding body with strict quality assurance to ensure you receive the best training possible
This course has been prepared to enable students to obtain the OCN (Open College Network Level 3 certificate).
This award will satisfy current OFSTED requirements for people working in, or planning to work in, a child care environment in a wide variety of roles.
Does your course map to Every Child Matters?
Yes. This course has been written to meet the new Government initiative.
Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19.
The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to:
* Be healthy
* Stay safe
* Enjoy and achieve
* Make a positive contribution
* Achieve economic well-being
This means that the organisations involved with providing services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - will be teaming up in new ways, sharing information and working together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life. Children and young people will have far more say about issues that affect them as individuals and collectively.
Over the next few years, every local authority will be working with its partners, through children's trusts, to find out what works best for children and young people in its area and act on it. They will need to involve children and young people in this process, and when inspectors assess how local areas are doing, they will listen especially to the views of children and young people themselves.
Our course is mapped to National standards for Under 8s day care and childminding, Surestart, 2003, and to Every Child Matters Outcomes
How long do I have to complete the course?
Anytime up to two years. We suggest that you read through the entire course initially to familiarise yourself with the contents. After this, please work your way through the units in numerical order. If we update the course, the information will either be posted on our supporting website or sent to you free of charge. We estimate that the course will take around 100 hours of study to complete.
What happens if I’ve paid for the course but find it unsuitable?
Not a problem. If you return it within seven days, we’ll give you a complete refund, as long as the course is in resalable condition.
Can I apply for a job on completing this course?
Yes. This qualification will allow you to apply for employment in most Child Care settings.
Is this an NVQ?
No. NVQs have to be taken in the workplace but this qualification is equivalent to an NVQ Level 3, GNVQ Advanced or a full A Level in terms of the level of knowledge required. The credit value indicates the amount of learning time that the course broadly requires, in this case 100 hours.
Will I be able to obtain Insurance if I want to care for children at home?
Yes. This qualification we allow you to get full liability insurance.
Child Care
The course is divided up into nine units, as follows:-
Unit 1 The key factors of child development and developmental needs of children 0-8 years inclusive of individual and special needs
* The main development of a child from birth to 8 years
* Social, economic and environmental factors influencing development
* Genetic and hereditary factors affecting development
* Children’s overall development needs
* Defining special needs
* Supporting children with special needs
* Key transitions
* Supporting children through transitions
Unit 2 Diversity and inclusion issues within the childminding environment
* Policies to meet diversity within the childminding setting
* Inclusion within the childminding setting
* Effects of discrimination
Unit 3 Providing for children’s physical needs inclusive of health and safety
* Meeting children’s nutritional needs
* Meeting children’s rest and sleep needs
* Maintaining appropriate hygiene procedures
* Exploring consequences as a result of the failure to meet appropriate hygiene procedures
* Signs and symptoms of common childhood illnesses
* Informing parents of illness and documenting illness
* Maintaining a safe and secure environment
Unit 4 Learning through plan for child development
* Types of play and their importance in relation to
o development
o age
* Observation and planning
* Every Child Matters and Birth to Three Matters Framework
* The Early Years Foundation Stage
* Available resources in relation to
*
o health and safety
*
o diversity and inclusion
Unit 5 Behaviour Management
* Stages of behaviour in children
* Encouraging appropriate behaviour
* Informing parents of inappropriate behaviour and documentation
* Behaviour attributed to specific special needs
Unit 6 Child Abuse
* The main types of child abuse
* Signs and symptoms of child abuse
* Documentation relating to
o confidentiality
o reporting and recording incidents of child abuse
* Contacting professionals in the case of child abuse
* Procedures to follow in the case of child abuse
* Sources of support
Unit 7 The legal responsibilities of the childminder
* Childminders legislation
* Legal responsibilities of the childminder
* Procedures for admission and collection
* Legal implications of childminding
* Policies and procedures to meet OFSTED requirements
Unit 8 Promoting positive working relationships
* Working in partnership with parents and other professionals
* Accessing childminding services
* The childminders responsibilities for building positive relations with parents and other professionals in relation to
o confidentiality
o complaints and documentation procedures
Unit 9 The statutory, voluntary and private support available for childminders
* Explore the contacts for support for the childminding service
OCN Award In Child Psychology
Course outline:
Module One Major Developmental Issues
Unit One The First Year of Life
* Infant reflexes; Social development during the first year of life including the social smile and onset of fear of strangers.
Unit Two The Formation of Attachments
* Imprinting; Attachment (Bowlby) including cross-cultural studies; Harlow and surrogate mothers; Relevance of animal studies in child development.
Unit Three Consequences of Breakdowns in Attachments
* Maternal deprivation; Implications of theories of attachment and maternal deprivation when placing children with surrogates.
Unit Four The Home, Family and School
* Group vs family care and studies of effects of maternal employment and father absent families; Importance of peers and siblings.
Unit Five Basic Principles of Research Methods
* Nature and purpose of research, what is an experiment, supporting and refuting hypotheses, independent and dependent variables, control of variables, standardised instructions and procedures, methods of sampling, design of investigations.
Unit Six The Development of Visual Perception
* Introduction to the nature/nurture debate on visual perception; Fantz – form perception; Gibson and Walk – depth perception; how the physiology of the human visual system helps us judge depth and distance; Bower – size constancy; animal experiments on early sensory deprivation.
Unit Seven The Development of Language and Communication
* Development of non-verbal communication in humans, gestures etc; comparisons with non-human primates; outline of language development in humans; including naturalistic observational in humans; including naturalistic observational studies and criticisms of these; Innate and reinforcement theories.
Unit Eight Intelligence and Intelligence Testing
* Definitions of intelligence; mental age and IQ; Tests of intelligence; Advantages and disadvantages of IQ testing.
Unit Nine The Nature/Nurture Debate in the Study of Intelligence
* Twins studies; stability of IQ; Are early experiences decisive for later development?
Unit Ten Data Collection and Interpretation
* Tables and histograms, correlation and scattergrams; Mean; Range; Drawing conclusions from data.
Module Two The Child as an Individual
Unit Eleven How Children Think
* Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; including studies of egocentrism and criticisms of his work.
Unit Twelve Learning Theory – How Behaviour is Acquired
* Learning and conditioning – classical conditioning and operant conditioning; including explanations of extinction, discrimination and generalisation; positive and negative reinforcement; Social Learning Theory and criticisms.
Unit Thirteen Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory – An Alternative Approach
* Personality structure, 5 stage theory, criticisms.
Unit Fourteen Moral Development
* Definition in psychological terms; investigation of moral behaviour, moral feelings and moral judgement.
Unit Fifteen The Development of Gender Roles
* Sex-typing; Gender identity; Biological, social and cultural theories.
Unit Sixteen Aggression in Children
* Biological basis of aggression; Psychological theory and aggression; Aggression as a learned response;
Imitation of aggression; viewing violence; Punishment for aggression; sex differences in aggression.
Unit Seventeen Methods Used in Child Development Research
* Observational, Survey, Correlational, Experimental – advantages and disadvantages.
Unit Eighteen Play
* The importance of play to learning;
Piaget’s theory of play; forms of play;
Relevance of psychological theories to pre-school education;
Play and learning in nursery schools; Play therapy.
Unit Nineteen Learning in School
* Programmed learning and its relationship to learning theory – advantages and disadvantages; Discovery learning and its effectiveness.
Unit Twenty Behaviour Modification
* Explanation and examples; Relationship to learning theory; Points systems, Advantages and disadvantage
