Level 4 Early Years courses to be reintroduced next year
A new level 4 early years course is set to begin this January. The course is aimed at improving the skills of those working with the under 3’s. Some fear that with the increasing pressure on those working with children in preschool receiving the 3 and 4 year old funding that the important work with those under 3 will somewhat be forgotten. Practice and knowledge of child development in the under 3’s is as equally important as the 3-5 and with the two year funding reaching out to more people the demand for quality practice in the under 3’s is only going to get stronger.
The level 4 course will be the equivalent of what those who are completing a degree achieve in their first year. The course will encourage a wealth of new knowledge and an improved skill set. For those who complete the level 4 course they will be awarded credits that can be placed towards gaining a degree should the students decide this is what they want to achieve. The level is a great taster to those considering gaining a degree and gives an understanding at what studying at a degree level would be like.
The course can be completed by all of those who work in the early year’s sector including practitioners, room leaders, managers and support workers. The course is part time which offers more freedom to those who decide they would like to take the next step in their professional development. It will be running one evening a week meaning students can still work full time hours and do not have to give up jobs or earning. For more information about making the choice to work and study look here.
Upskilling the workforce to improve the quality of provision to improve outcomes for children has been high on the early years agenda for a long time now so seeing the introduction of the course is a great step forwards in supporting practitioners gaining further skills.