14/10/03 - More students qualified to work in childcare : Cumbria County Council

At a prestigious awards ceremony recently at Lancaster University, 27 students from West Cumbria and Carlisle received their Lancaster University Early Years Care & Education Certificates. Cumbria Early Years Development & Childcare Partnership supported the students with a bursary, which supplemented the ESF / Lancaster University funded course, so that they could develop their skills and knowledge for working in early years and child care sector.

Students completing the highly sought after 15-month course at NVQ Level 3 now have the professional skills to work with children on matters such as behavioural development, social and emotional development, and curriculum and planning. Students, if they wish, can now progress on to the Foundation Degree for Childcare and Education.

County Councillor Joan Stocker, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education says

“I am delighted that Cumbria Early Years Development & Childcare Partnership has been able to support these students in gaining such a worthwhile qualification. The Partnership is developing innovative and practical ways of raising local awareness and supporting people through the process of considering working within the childcare sector. By developing the skills needed these students can now give professional support to managers in the sector and children throughout the area.

The National Childcare Strategy is creating new childcare places for children in nurseries, pre-schools, childminders, and out of school clubs and in Cumbria we need to recruit more people who are committed and enthusiastic and care about children and young people and want to give them a good start in life. Cumbria County Council believes that everyone can improve their education and skills levels and this support is entirely consistent with our priority to promote the development of education and training for people aged 16 and over. I wish them every success with their chosen career.”

Angela Murphy, Training Officer at Cumbria Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership, says,

“We are delighted to support people in Cumbria who wish to undertake training for the early years and childcare sector with our bursary. We have offered bursaries to students from across Cumbria, studying at all our local colleges and universities, and who are undertaking training from introductory level right through to degree level training.”

Greta Grindell, Development and Project Manager for Early Years and Education at CETAD, Lancaster University says

‘We are very proud to witness these students achieve such a worthwhile HE qualification together with their NVQ Level 3. They have worked tirelessly throughout the programme and the results are most rewarding for all concerned. 75% of the students achieved Commendations, which in itself is remarkable. Many have now taken up paid employment in the Child Care Sector and the number of potential students contacting us for places on future courses continue to grow which is most encouraging. We thank CEYDC Partnership for their continued support with our training programmes.

If you are working in early years or childcare and wishing to enhance your skills and gain a new qualification, if you wish to improve your career prospects in the sector, or even if you want an introduction to the sector, then this course may be just for you.

For more information Early Years Care & Education certificate at Lancaster University, contact Anthony Cook on 01524 593318 or via email. For more information on the bursaries offered by Cumbria Early Years Development & Childcare Partnership, please contact Carolyn Davies on 01228 606297.