Back To Studying with NCC Home Learning

I have been keeping it on the down-low, but my husband and I have started our own business, creating an after-school club at my son’s school. With neither of us having worked in childcare before, we won’t be the ones running the club on a day to day basis, and be much more behind the scenes, paying the bills and doing the admin. But I’ve been looking into different online courses to hone my skills should I need to stand in if staff are off sick etc.

To be a play worker in the club, then there are no real specific qualifications that you need (other than first aid and an approved DBS check). However, the manager does need a level 3 qualification in child care in order to be the manager. We do have a manager in place, but I have started working on an online level 3 Child Care Diploma with NCC Online. Because I’m not busy enough, right? 😉

Course Details

• 100% based online

• 200 hours to complete

• Online exam at the end of the course to pass

There are five modules to the course too, varying from child development, babies, health and safety, safeguarding, and a module dedicated to learning about all that a childminder or childcare provider will need. So the final module, module five, covering the aspects of working with OFSTED and in partnership with parents will be a really important module for me to pay close attention to. It will really help as we go forward with the club, especially if we choose to expand.

I have completed the first module so far, and have found it pretty interesting. Despite being a mother of two, there are lots of new things that I have been learning, particularly around child development. Their little mind really are fascinating and amazing!

The layout of the course is clear, easy to navigate, and straightforward to follow. I have not had any issues with it so far.

I like that there re no prerequisite for the course either. I have a bachelor of science degree, but it is completely unrelated, so it was nice to know that I didn’t need to do a pre-course-course. I’m interested to see if there is an improvement in what this home study course can have on my personal and professional life.

Even as a parent, I am looking forward to learning more about things that might worry me as a parent as my children grow, and hopefully it will give me some peace of mind as I understand more about children and their development. From safeguarding to furthering the educational development of my children, I am excited to learn more! At the end of the day, though, having more knowledge and experience to help with our childcare business is going to be a big benefit.

The main struggle I have been finding with the course is the time to do it. You get twelve months to complete, so just plugging away with a couple of hours each evening, and I should be done by the end of summer. The timing is good too, so we can start of September and the back to school time with a bang. As I have never had to do any distance learning before, it will take some discipline to keep going. But so far so good, and the content has been interesting, engaging, and varied. I’m looking forward to adding another string to my bow; it has been a while!

Have you ever completed a distance learning or online course before? It would be great to hear what you think and if you have any tips to help!

*I have been gifted the course, normally £432, in exchange for coverage on my blog. All opinions remain my own.