The document, An initial guide for those involved in early education and childcare, has been designed to help those working in daycare, out-of-school and playwork settings to identify appropriate education and training under the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
The framework has 12 levels, and most early education and childcare qualifications are at level five and above. The new HNC in Early Education and Childcare, available from 1 August, will be worth 96 credit points, and the learning time is around 960 hours. Learners can achieve qualifications at their own pace and it is possible to work towards some qualifications on a part-time basis, gathering credit points along the way. All SCQF levels and credit points will be shown on Scottish Qualifications Authority certificates from the end of this year.
The SCQF was created by a partnership of national bodies, including the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the SQA and Universities Scotland, with support from the Scottish Executive. It was launched in December 2001 to help learners, employers and providers compare the range of qualifications available in Scotland.
The SCQF also supports credit transfer between related areas such as healthcare, social care and early education and childcare, facilitating the move towards a more integrated service workforce.
For more information about the framework and the guide, see www.scqf.org.uk.
