Key Facts
QQI Level 5 Early Learning and Care Course Online
This Level 5 ELC Certificate is designed with Early Years Educators, and the children they will engage with in mind. The aim of the programme is to enable learners to develop the knowledge, skills, and competence to work as an Early Years Educator, promoting and supporting the holistic needs of children from 0 to six years within the Early Learning and Care environment.
This programme leads to a Certificate in Early Learning and Care at NFQ level 5. This programme is designed to meet the QQI professional award standards for Early Learning and Care at NFQ level 5.
The programme comprises of 6 mandatory modules, enabling the learner to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies required to work independently and as part of a team, to provide a quality Early Learning and Care environment.
The focus is on promoting the holistic wellbeing, development and learning of children from 0 to six years across a range of Early Learning and Care settings. The programme offers a balance of theory and practice, and professional practice placement is integral to the teaching and learning. Learners who successfully complete the QQI level 5 Early Learning and Care programme will have opportunities to progress into the workplace or into further and higher education.
How does the online course work
Once enrolled, you will receive an email containing your log in details to your online learning platform to start your course. Before your modules are released, you will need to complete an induction/support module which will prepare you to complete each term of your course. All course materials such as notes, assignment briefs, garda vetting and insurance documents are contained within here. No exams are required as all your course work will be continuous assessment. There are no live classes or pre-recorded webinars during the day, each week you will be provided with course content to study in your own time and pace. Deadlines will be in place to submit your assignments. Scheduled virtual online evening webinars will take place every few weeks. Webinars are also recorded if you cannot attend.
Tutor Support
You can contact your tutor by email, request a call back and for that extra peace of mind, obtain feedback on your assignments. Your tutor is available Monday to Friday 9-5:30pm.
Course Summary
3 x 12 week terms
The QQI level 5 Early Learning and Care course will consist of 3 terms, each term will be 12 weeks in duration, you will need to complete 2 modules during each term. There will be a break of 1 month in between each term.
In house days
- 2 mandatory face to face classroom days are required
- Available in Cork, Dublin or Galway throughout the year
- Will be scheduled on weekends, 3.5 hours in duration
Course content
Work Experience
To successfully complete the programme, you will be required to spend 150 hours, in two early learning and care settings, divided as follows:
- You must spend a minimum of 50 hours working with children between the ages of 0 – 2.8 years.
- You must spend a minimum of 50 hours working with children between the ages of 2.8 – 6 years.
- You can spend the remaining 50 hours working with children across both age groups, however you must spend a minimum of 30 hours in the second service.
Teaching and learning strategy
All students entering this degree programme complete an intensive induction process. This induction prepares the novice learner to transition successfully to study in an online Higher Education environment. Our tailored induction process is comprised of a 1:1 induction meeting and skills session with their personal Studies Advisor. This 1:1 induction session will teach the student how to access our virtual learning environment and how to use zoom. These sessions are tailored to meet the needs of individual students. At Chevron College we are aware that IT skills vary between students. These sessions are therefore designed to meet each student at their own level. By the end of this 1:1 session each student will have learned how to access our VLE and online zoom meetings. All students will therefore have developed the skills to participate in the intensive 4 day class induction sessions.
The four induction sessions for the class group take place during the month prior to course commencement. At these sessions, students will be introduced to their course tutors and their class community. These sessions will teach students the skills required to succeed in an online Higher Education environment where continuous active engagement with resources and formative assessments is required. Students will learn academic writing and presentation skills. They will learn critical reading writing and thinking skills and they will learn how to conduct literature searches. These sessions teach the students the foundational thinking and IT skills required to participate in our blended learning degree programme.
Each semester runs for 12 weeks; students study 2 modules each semester. Students should allocate a minimum of 10 hours per week for each module.The weekly module content is released on the Virtual Learning Environment on a Monday morning at 6am. Each week there is a recorded lecture, a workshop/webinar and an Educational Action to complete for each module.
The lectures function to provide a content overview of the week’s learning and establish the expected aims and learning outcomes as well as the criteria for measuring their achievement. During the lecture key concepts, ideas and theories are introduced and contextualised. This reinforces the relevance of the material for the students with the use of examples
The workshops and webinars function to support students to investigate, question and develop critical thinking skills about the weekly topics. Students are supported to take part in active discovery within their class community. This supports students to develop their Higher Order Thinking Skills and to apply these ways of thinking and practicing to Case Studies, Problem Solving Scenarios and Ethical Dilemmas. The skills required to perform educational actions for example writing skills, analysis, using info-graphics, evaluation of a source etc are also scaffolded during the workshops/webinars.
Each week students are required to complete an educational action. This provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. If they take part students are provided with feedback and feedforward on performance on the Learning Outcomes and expectations are clarified for demonstrating achievement in the final module assessment.
Fees
If you pay in full the cost of the QQI Level 5 Early Learning and Care course is €1295, also easy pay instalments available, see below.
Option 1:
Chevron instalments plan: 8 consecutive monthly instalments of €188 each month
Option 2:
Option 2: Flexi Finance by Humm: 12 consecutive monthly instalments of €110 each month (finance loan agreement)
How to enrol?
Enrolment and payment are completed over the phone. To secure your place, please complete Click Enrol in the following chat: