Advanced Apprenticeship for the Children and Young Peoples Workforce

The Advanced Apprenticeship for Children and Young Peoples Workforce is designed for people who want to work in the childcare sector and have some level of responsibility or be able to work unsupervised. It is the only Level 3 QCF qualification conferring occupational competence for the Children and Young Peoples Workforce. Specific job roles may include, playgroups workers, assistants in childrens centres, assistants in day nurseries, nursery schools and classes, registered childminders, and nannies.

Course Content

Candidates must complete units to a minimum of 65 credits comprising of Shared Mandatory Core Units (all 4 units must be taken by all candidates).

Promote Communication in Health and Social or Childrens and Young Peoples Settings

This unit is aimed at those who work in health or social care settings or with children or young people in a wide range of settings. The unit explores the central importance of communication in such settings, and ways to meet individual needs and preferences in communication. It also considers issues of confidentiality.

Engage in Personal Development in Health, Social Care or Childrens and Young Peoples Settings

This unit is aimed at those who work in health or social care settings or with children or young people in a wide range of settings. The unit considers personal development and reflective practice, which are both fundamental to such roles.

Promote Equality and Inclusion in Health and Social Care or Childrens and Young Peoples Settings

This unit is aimed at those who work in health or social care settings or with children or young people in a wide range of settings. The unit covers the topics of equality, diversity and inclusion, and how to promote these in the work setting.

Principles for Implementing Duty of Care in Health and Social Care or Childrens and Young Peoples Settings

This unit is aimed at those who work in health or social care settings or with children or young people in a wide range of settings. It considers how duty of care contributes to safe practice, and how to address dilemmas or complaints that may arise where there is a duty of care.

Early Years Mandatory Core Units (all 7 units must be taken by all candidates).

Understand Child and Young Person Development

This unit provides knowledge and understanding of how children and young people from birth to 19 years develop, including underpinning theoretical perspectives. It also includes actions taken when differences in development are identified and the potential effects of transitions on children and young people’s development.

Promote Child and Young Person Development

This unit provides a sound basis of knowledge, understanding and the competence required to promote children and young peoples development and positive behaviour. It also includes how to support children and young people going through transitions in their lives.

Understand how to Safeguard the Well Being of Children and Young People

This unit provides the knowledge and understanding required to support the safeguarding of children and young people. The unit contains material on e-safety.

Support Children and Young Peoples Health and Safety

This unit provides the knowledge, understanding and skills required to support children and young peoples health and safety. It requires a demonstration of competence in recognising hazards and undertaking risk assessments in the work setting.

Develop Positive Relationships with Chi;dren, Young People and Others Involved in their Care

This unit is designed to enable the learner to understand and practice the skills required to develop positive relationships with children, young people and carers.

Working Together for the Benefit of Children and Young People

The unit is designed to enable the learner to understand the importance of multi-agency and integrated working and to develop the skills of effective communication for professional purposes. It includes and assesses competence in information sharing between those involved in work with children and young people.

Understand how to Support Positive Outcomes for Children and Young People

This unit aims to provide members of the children and young peoples workforce with an understanding of the factors that can impact, both negatively and positively, on the outcomes and life chances of children and young people. It includes approaches to supporting positive outcomes including disability and specific requirements (additional needs).

Early Years Pathway Units (all 5 units must be taken by all candidates).

Context and Principles for Early Years Provision

To familiarise learners with the requirements and principles of the early years framework within which they work. The unit also requires skills and knowledge relating to the implementation of the relevant framework.

Promote Learning and Development in the Early Years

To prepare the learner to work with children in supporting their learning and development within the relevant early years frameworks within the UK Home Nations. The unit assesses competence in planning to meet childrens needs and providing and supporting learning and development activities.

Promote Childrens Welfare and Well Being in the Early Years

This is a unit that is focused on children’s welfare and well being. It assesses the learners ability to provide basic care in a hygienic environment It includes understanding nutritional needs and the promotion of health and well being.

Professional Practise in Early Years Settings

This unit introduces the competence required for the application of principles and values in day-to-day practice. The unit includes the importance of evidence-based practice. It revisits the issues of professional practice, reflection and review and requires a focused approach to the development of strategies to address professional development in areas identified as challenging.

Support Childrens Speech, Language and Communication

The unit aims to provide a basis for understanding the importance of speech, language and communication for a childs overall development and explores the ways in which those working with children can support the development of speech, language and communication skills.

Optional Units (candidates to choose units to make a total of at least 16 credits).

Work with Babies and Young Children to Promote their Development and Learning

The unit is designed to assess competence to work with babies and young children to support their learning and development. This would normally cover children from birth to their 3rd birthday. Credit Value: 6.

Care for the Physical and Nutritional Needs of Babies and Young Children

The unit is designed to assess competence in caring for the physical and nutritional needs of babies and young children. This would normally cover children from birth to their 3rd birthday. Credit Value: 6.

Lead and Manage a Community Based Early Years Setting

This unit is about providing leadership and management in a community based setting that promotes the engagement, involvement and participation of parents. Credit Value: 6.

Promote Young Childrens Physical Activity and Movement Skills

The unit is designed to introduce learners working with children in their early years to the importance of physical activity with an emphasis on gross motor and movement skills. It assesses the learners competence in planning and implementing physical activities and routines and encourages evaluation of the effectiveness of practice. Credit Value: 3.

Understand How to Set Up a Home Based Child Care Service

To prepare learners to work as home based child carers and childminders. As well as learning relevant aspects of childcare, this knowledge based unit supports the development of policies and procedures relevant to registration and the basic business skills to set up a home based child care service. Credit Value: 4.

Support Disabled Children and Young People and Those with Specific Requirements

The unit is designed to assess competence in supporting disabled children or young people and those with specific needs in partnership with their carers. It also includes partnership working with other agencies and professionals. Credit Value: 6.

Promote Creativity and Creative Learning in Young People

The unit is designed to deepen knowledge and understanding of the importance of creativity and creative learning for young children and competence in promoting this in early years settings. The unit also encourages the learner to support change and improvement in practice. Cannot be taken with CYPOP 30. Credit Value: 5.

Support Young People to Develop, Implement and Review a Plan of Action

The purpose of this unit is to provide learners with the skills and knowledge to enable them to work with individual young people to help them develop an action plan. Credit Value: 3.

Provide Information and Advice to Children and Young People

The aim of this unit is to provide the learner with the skills and knowledge to enable them to provide accurate, up to date and impartial information and advice to children and young people, to enable them to make an informed choice about their future. Credit Value: 3.

Develop Interviewing Skills for Work with Children and Young People

The aim of this unit is to provide the learner with the skills and knowledge to enable them to conduct effective interviews with children and young people in the context of supporting their learning and development. Credit Value: 3.

Caseload Management

This unit aims to provide the learner with the skills and knowledge to enable them to manage their case load effectively and efficiently, making best use of their own time and promoting improved outcomes for children, young people, their families and carers. Credit Value: 3.

Support Young People to Move Towards Independence and Manage their Lives

This unit provides understanding and competence to support young people to move towards independence. This should ideally be undertaken over a period of time so that young people are well prepared as they grow older and are ready to be independent adults. This unit is equally important whether young people are leaving care, foster care or family home. Credit Value: 3.

Support Children and Young People to Achieve their Learning Potential

This unit provides basic knowledge and competence to work with children and young people to ensure that they take every possible opportunity to make the most of learning. Credit Value: 3.

Support Children and Young People to Have Positive Relationships

This unit provides a basic knowledge and competence to support children and young people in the relationships they have with family, friends or professionals. Credit Value: 3.

Support Positive Practice with Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs

The unit aims to ensure that practitioners work with children and young people at the centre of their practice and base their work on the strengths of the children and young people rather than their difficulties. Credit Value: 4.

Coordinate Special Educational Needs Provision

The aim of this unit is to provide the learner with the competence required to work as a special educational needs coordinator in early years settings. The unit also assesses ability to support and advise colleagues. Credit Value: 5.

Understand the Needs of Children and Young People who are Vulnerable and Experiencing Poverty and Disadvantage

The aim of this unit is to provide the learner with an in depth understanding of the effects of poverty and disadvantage on children and young people. Credit Value: 5.

Work with Parents, Families and Carers to Support their Childrens Speech, Language and Communication Development

This unit is designed to develop the ability of those working with children and young people to work in partnership with parents to support their child’s speech, language and communication development. Credit Value: 3.

Understand the Speech, Language and Communication Needs of Children and Young People with Behavioural, Social and Emotional Difficulties

This unit explores the way in which behaviour, social and emotional difficulties are linked with speech, language and communication and provides effective ways to support the speech, language and communication development of children and young people with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties. Credit Value: 3.

Support the Speech, Language and Communication Development of Children who are Learning more than one Language

This unit is designed to explore the ways in which speech, language and communication skills are influenced when children and young people are learning more than one language. The unit addresses the cultural issues around the assessment and approaches to speech, language and communication development for children and young people learning more than one language. Credit Value: 3.

Enable Parents to Develop Ways of Handling Relationships and Behaviour that Contribute to Everyday Life with Children

This unit aims to help parents to better understand the range of needs of their children and to help them identify ways of meeting these needs. Credit Value: 3.

Work with Parents to Meet their Childrens Needs

This unit aims to provide the knowledge and skills to support parents to understand the changes necessary as their children develop and as they themselves develop as parents. Credit Value: 3.

Support the Creativity of Children and Young People

This unit provides competence in working with children and young people to develop their creativity and innovative thinking. The unit explores day to day creativity for living and participation in organised creative activities. Cannot be taken with CYPOP 7. Credit Value: 3.

Support Children or Young People in their Own Home

This unit is aimed at support workers who work with children or young people and their carers in the community. It provides the understanding and competence about working in someone else’s home in order to support the achievement of positive outcomes. Credit Value: 4.

Engage Young Parents in Supporting their Childrens Development

This unit is designed to enable the learner to gain the understanding and ability to work with young parents to support them to engage in their childrens development. Credit Value: 3.

Engage Fathers in their Childrens Early Learning

This unit is designed to enable the learner to gain the understanding and ability to work with fathers to engage them in their childrens early learning. Credit Value: 3.

Engage Parents in their Childrens Early Learning

To enable the learner to gain the understanding and ability to engage parents in their childrens early learning. Credit Value: 3.

Candidates require a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade C or above, including English, and experience of working in the childcare sector. In addition, candidates should be in a relevant placement for a minimum of 16 hours per week. Applicants must be aged between 16 to 18.

Candidates are required to attend college 1 day per week during term time. These sessions provide taught input on the knowledge evidence required for each mandatory unit and therefore provide candidates with a good understanding of how to perform their job role effectively. This is then assessed via written assignment tasks undertaken throughout the academic year in college.

The performance and competence element of the Advanced Apprenticeship is assessed via a portfolio of evidence which is built by the candidate to demonstrate knowledge, performance and understanding of their job role. A variety of assessment methods are used which can include, direct observation, professional discussion, examination of work products, witness statements, accreditation of prior learning and experience and reflective accounts.

The Key Skills element of the qualification comprises written and verbal communications together with numeracy skills. These are assessed via a portfolio and on line tests. Candidates also complete a booklet on Employer Rights and Responsibilities to ensure they understand what is expected from them in the workplace and what they can expect from their employer plus a paediatric first aid course.

Fees for the 2013/14 academic year are currently under review. Figures given below are indicative only and subject to change. Fees will be posted here as soon as they become available.

The minimum wage for new Apprentices is £2.50 per hour for those who are under 19 or aged 19+ in the first year of their Apprenticeship. However, employers are encouraged to pay a higher salary where possible. The college receives government funding to pay for the training and assessment costs. The apprentice must receive a wage slip and have a written contract of employment. Further advice can be obtained from the minimum wage help line 0845 6000678 or go to www.direct.gov.uk/nmw and www.apprenticeships.org.uk.