Education is the best provision for the journey to old age. - Aristotle

Diploma for the Children & Young Peoples Workforce

Overview

The Level 3 Diploma aims to guide and assess development of knowledge and skills relating to Early Learning and Childcare, Social Care and the Learning Development and Support Services workforces. This qualification confirms competence in these areas where appropriate and serves as the required qualification (for all new practitioners) for registration and regulatory requirements in the sector.

This qualification has been designed to:

  • Provide a broad background understanding of the children and young people’s workforce sector and an introduction to the practical skills and knowledge required
  • Provide an awareness of the range of jobs and work settings in the children and young people’s sector Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce
  • Enable learners to make an informed assessment of their own aptitude for work in this sector and to make informed decisions about careers
  • Encourage learners to reach a level of knowledge and skills that will facilitate progress into further vocational learning or to potential employment in the sector
  • Introduce learners to the discipline of the working environment and to encourage mature attitudes to the community in general
  • Encourage learners to value continued learning and remain in the learning process
  • Allow learners to learn, develop and practise selected skills required for progression in the sector
  • Provide opportunities for progression to the relevant Level 4/5 Diplomas or Foundation/Honours Degrees in the sector.
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Qualification details

Designed for:

This qualification meets the needs of candidates who work or want to work in health or social care settings or with children or young people in a wide range of settings, for example in the roles of:

  • Care Worker
  • Childminder
  • Early Years Practitioner
  • Nursery Nurse
  • Education Welfare Officer
  • Connexions Worker
  • Learning Mentor
  • Careers Adviser
  • Youth and Community Worker
  • Foster Carer
  • Speech and Language Therapist

Duration:

18-24 Months depending on the learner’s commitment to the programme along with support from their employer.

Assessment:

This competence-based qualification is designed to be assessed in the candidate’s workplace as they undertake their normal work role. The evidence must at all times reflect the policies and procedures of the workplace as informed by current legislation, the relevant service standards and codes of practice for the sector. The majority of assessment for this competence-based qualification will take place in the workplace under real work conditions, using observations by a qualified assessor and/or testimony from an expert witness, work products etc. All the identified assessment criteria must be evidenced and a holistic approach to assessment is encouraged.

Programme Outline

Learners must gain a minimum of 65 credits to achieve the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce.

To do this they must achieve 27 credits from the mandatory Group A of units. Learners must select one mandatory pathway from Groups C, D or E. (There is no separate Group B of units; ‘Group B’ is the umbrella term for Groups C, D and E.)

  • Learners selecting Group C (Early Learning and Childcare pathway) must achieve 22 credits.
  • Learners selecting Group D (Social Care pathway) must achieve 13 credits.
  • Learners selecting Group E (Learning, Development and Support Services pathway) must achieve 13 credits.

The remaining credits must be achieved from Group F.

Guided Learning Hours (GLH):

Minimum Guided Learning Hours (GLH) are 442.

Maximum Guided Learning Hours (GLH) are 525. These GLHs apply to all pathways.