This course is designed for learners who are currently working in childcare and wish to gain a professional qualification or learners who have a strong interest in working with children. Course material is a step up from introductory level. The specialist teachers on this course take a student-centered approach to learning and use a variety of teaching methods.
The course is offered on a part-time basis over two years. Students attend one day per week (Fridays, 9.30am – 4.00pm). Work experience, which is an important part of the course, should be obtained in crèches, pre-schools, after-school clubs, nurseries, Montessori schools, naíonraí or primary schools.
Course Director: Miriam Dunne
The Back to Education Initiative (BTEI)
The Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) provides part-time further education courses for young people and adults. Those in receipt of unemployment payments or means-tested social welfare benefits, holders of medical cards and their dependants are entitled to free tuition. Others will be required to pay the appropriate college fees.
Level 5: Year 1
Level 5: Year 2
Course content may be revised for educational or organisational reasons.
QQI Level 5
QQI Early Childhood Care and Education 5M2009 (Major Award)
Minimum Entry Requirements
No formal educational qualifications are required for entry on to Level 4 or 5 courses. Admittance on the course will depend on a satisfactory interview. These courses are designed for people who are currently working with children or who have a strong interest in working with children in the future.
Successful graduates may gain entry to the Level 6 Advanced Certificates offered in Inchicore College both full-time or part time. Graduates may also use their Major Award at Level 5 to apply for Degree courses in Early Childhood Studies and Early Childhood Education both full-time and part-time.
Graduates with a Major Award Level 5 may apply to primary schools as Special Needs and Classroom Assistants.
They may also apply for employment in crèches, pre-schools, after-school, nurseries, Montessori schools and Naíonraí.
“Once I walked through the door I realised the hardest part was walking through that door. I grew more confident from the time I started. The course has done so much for me. It has improved me so much. I now work with children in a different way.”
The course has done so much for me. It has improved me so much. I now look at and work with children in a different way.
