Taking an NVQ may seem daunting but will be rewarding if you know what you're in for, says assessor Meg Jones
Promotional material for NVQs can be quite seductive. You can gain a qualification in the workplace by putting together a portfolio; you are assessed actually doing the work; you don't have to attend college; and there is no set time limit for gaining the qualification. Sounds good?
It is - if it is done properly. But it is certainly not the easy option, and it will not suit everyone. Clearly, however, it works for many people; more than 6,000 have so far been awarded certificates in Early Years Care and Education NVQ at levels two and three.
If you are considering an NVQ, just make sure you are well prepared and understand what will be involved.
NVQ assessment centres can operate and approach the qualifications quite differently, which may affect, for example, the level of supervision you can expect or the order in which you undertake course units. Talk to former or current students and work-based assessors to find out exactly what will be expected of you and, equally, what you can expect from your own assessor.
Motivation
- Don't underestimate the level of commitment required and the extent to which you will have to work on your own.
- In theory, NVQs are candidate-led, with the students setting their own targets and taking whatever they need to complete them. In reality, the training agency will probably expect you to complete yours within two years.
- Find out from other students and work-based assessors how much course work you will be expected to do on your own, the time you will have to devote to the course and the level of support that you can expect.
- If you are unable to complete the course in two years for particular reasons, your registration will be valid with the awarding body for five years, but you can expect to pay additional assessment fees.
A different language
- Understanding the language - 'performance criteria' and the like - is perhaps the biggest barrier to getting started on an NVQ, and students embarking on a course would do well to devote time to getting to grips with understanding the format of the course and the language used.
- NVQs 'standards' are broken down into 'units' and 'elements'. For Early Years Care and Education there are 14 units to complete at NVQ level 3, and ten at level 2. Each of the two qualifications is a combination of mandatory and optional units.
- A unit covers a certain aspect, with titles like 'C2 Provide for children's physical needs', or 'P2 Establish and maintain relationships with parents'.
- The 'codes' refer broadly to areas of work: C = care, P = parents, E = environment, M = management.
- Each unit is broken into 'elements'. So for C2 these are: C2.1 Plan, prepare and provide food and drink for children; C2.2 Contribute to children's personal hygiene; C2.3 Respond to illness in children; and C2.4 Plan and provide quiet periods for children.
- Each element is then broken down into 'performance criteria', a list which identifies all the aspects to be covered. For example, in C2.1 the first of eight performance criteria reads: 'Food and drinks planned and provided meet nutritional requirements and the cultural and religious practices of children's families, are safe for consumption and are presented in ways that are attractive and appetising to all of the children'. Quite a mouthful!
- There is then a 'range' which in C2.1 covers main meals, snacks, drinks, and, children with no feeding difficulties, with special needs which make eating difficult, and with special dietary requirements.
- The expectations are practice-based, but at first it is daunting to have to work your way through them. Students don't have to gather evidence for each performance criteria. Instead, they should concentrate on the 'range' and tackle evidence-gathering holistically.
The paperwork
The paperwork generally refers to the standards and the recording of planning to achieve the 'evidence', and 'cross-referencing'. This also takes time to understand. What it means is that while you may collect evidence of your understanding and practical experience of, say, C2.1 on nutrition, you are likely to have simultaneously collected evidence of other relevant subjects such as language development or managed behaviour, which are units C11 and C7.
Done properly, NVQs are holistic and your portfolio of evidence will show all the links. Many students start off totally confused, but work through it until the fog eventually clears.
The real experience
'I've tried both CACHE and City and Guilds NVQs in the past, and although it's supposed to be the same, the approaches are very different.' says Helen Hockley, who is taking an NVQ in Early Years Care and Education with CACHE.
Helen, a special needs welfare assistant and a playworker, started in Nov- ember 1999 and has completed one unit. She thinks NVQs are worthwhile but would welcome a more consistent approach. 'I've been given confusing advice about gaining evidence,' she says. 'First of all I was told it had to be in my main workplace, but now I'm told it can be in the play sessions too.'
Her advice to prospective students is to find out how the assessment is carried out, talk to current candidates, and 'go in with your eyes open'.
June Grundy has just completed her City and Guilds NVQ in Early Years Care and Education level 3 after two years work. She has diverse experience as a childminder, playleader, special needs playleader, and welfare assistant in mainstream education. 'To start with it was horrible. Being completely new to it, I felt it was not explained enough,' she says.
Once she had completed one unit and knew it had been done properly, she felt confident to go on. Now she undertakes more than one unit at a time. 'This is the best method for me,' says June. 'If I'm finding one unit very difficult I can move on to another, do that, and then go back again.'
Her advice? 'Concentrate on one unit to begin with, complete it, and this will build up your confidence so you can move on to the next.'
Study days
Qualification:
Advanced Diploma in Childcare and Education (ADCE)
Candidates:
Primarily practitioners with both a childcare qualification and practical experience.
Outcomes:
Helps prepare candidates for higher education (equivalent to first year of undergraduate courses); aids personal and career development; prepares candidates for managerial role (a requirement for manager posts in some local authorities) and running own nursery.
Content:
23 units of which students have to complete six and one must be a dissertation. Units range from language and literacy to anti-discriminatory practice. Units offered by colleges vary. Some distance learning courses available.
Duration:
360 taught hours plus additional private study; done full time over one year or part time over two years.
Revisions:
The course is being brought in line with NVQ4. Much of the course material will remain the same. Timetable for changes is uncertain.
Information:
For more information and updates on course changes, contact CACHE (www.cache.org.uk), Early Years National Training Organisation (www.early-years-nto.org.uk), or the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (www.qca.org.uk).
Dyan Hunt is now manager of the Haig Day Nursery, Ward Barracks, Bulford, Wiltshire
I studied for the ADCE at Reading College of Arts and Technology in September 1996. The college ran a course on a Wednesday from 4pm to 8.30pm, so I was able to attend lectures with little disruption to my job as a nursery manager.
The ADCE appealed to me because it offered opportunities to broaden my experiences, to back up the management skills I had acquired practically, and to share ideas with other specialists of a similar level.
As a manager you are aware that everyone looks to you for leadership and follows your lead in providing good practice. I wanted to make sure I could fill this role. During the ADCE I was able to discuss the latest childcare practices and bring fresh ideas back to my own staff team. The ADCE also enabled me to focus on my own personal development and career.
Modules
Reading College offered a choice between two modules each term. I completed Early Years Curriculum, Establishing Early Years, Management in Childcare and Education Settings, Working with Children Under Three, and Social and Legal Context of Service. The sixth module was the elective dissertation.
Each of the modules were in depth. For example, in Establishing Early Years, I learned about business planning and legislation involved in setting up your own nursery. The management module helped me to develop my personnel and team- building skills.
In some modules, I sometimes felt I knew more than the lecturer! However, most of the course work was thought-provoking and relevant and entailed researching new areas.
Dissertation
My elective dissertation aimed to determine 'Has media attention over the questioned safety of the MMR vaccine produced a moral panic in parents, in the West Buckinghamshire area, when considering their own child to be immunised?' I chose this because it was something that was causing parents concern in my area as well as nationally. It was very time-consuming and sometimes I wished I hadn't picked such an unusual subject because it was very difficult to find accurate information. Yet for me the dissertation was the most time rewarding part of the ADCE.
About two terms away from completing the course, my employers asked me to help set up and manage a second nursery. This was a great opportunity but it made it harder to meet deadlines for college work. I was delighted to gain three distinctions, two merits and a pass when I finally finished all six modules.
Turning point
Looking back I can see that the ADCE was a turning point in my career. It gave me great confidence in myself and my decisions. I was able to question and improve practices and share good practice. Four years later I still refer back to college hand-outs or notes. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to take the next step in their childcare career.
Further information
- For further information look at the QCA website on: www.qca.org.uk/nvq/nvq-portfolio.htm
