Cache Level 3 DCE - Grade D&E - any good?

[Dadstu]

Hi. This might seem a bit of a silly question ....

We are currently interviewing nannies and one has the Cache Level 3 DCE but at Grade DD for theory and Grade E in professional practice. I assume that the grading works the same as any other qualification i.e. Grade DD and E not great - the grade E in professional practice is a particular concern. Does anyone know if professional practice is that practical placement based element of the course?

I am not so fussed that the theory component was Grade DD if the professional practice was grade A.

Any thoughts/advice?

Best wishes,

Stu.

Erm I would be wary. What do her placement reports say?

Oh and to answer your question the professional practice is based on the placements and associated work.

UCAS: CACHE (pdf) - See 2.8 about Grading.

Also see Handbook (pdf) try page 233 (pdf page 50).

Having had a quick glance at those, A is the high grade and E is the lowest.

The handbook says:

Practical training
Throughout the qualifications you will be expected to participate in professional practice in a variety of settings in order to apply what you have learnt in a practical environment. This will take an additional 750 recommended practical training hours and will be assessed when you reach Unit 9.

You will need to evidence your practical training through Practice Evidence Records (PERs), Practice Evidence Record Diary (PERD) and Professional Development Profiles (PDPs).
PERS are used to show the practical application of your learning from Units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
The PERD allows you to evaluate and reflect on your practice from Units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and your optional unit. PDPs are a reflection of your performance on each placement.

~~~ End Quote ~~~

So to me that says that the practical element is assessed via evidence diary type things, so I would wonder how much that relies on the candidates ability to complete a written diary (though I would have thought it might be via various methods, including photos / video and reports from managers of the settings in which the student helped).


Are they just one of several candidates you are seeing?  If so, keep seeing others and then take a look back on how this particular interview went in general.

She came across very well from a personal perspective, but was a little vague when answering questions on potty training, supporting milestones, what her course had actually involved etc. We would have expected someone with the DCE to be a bit 'hotter' on these things - difficult to know if just badly prepared for interview.

She is looking for her first nanny post (aged 20) having worked in nurseries for 4 years (completed DCE 2009) - currently team leader in a baby room at a nursery.

Grade E for practical placements just fill me with confidence though ...

I got grade D, went to university, did a degree in Education (1st class honours), went to another university and did a PGCE. Now a teacher.

The grading, if I remember was very odd for the DCE. You have to tick the exact boxes they wish, and the practical isn't actually the practical, its the modules you do (observations and planning) that happen in the setting, as opposed to the modules that happen in the college.

HTH.

If she can give placement reports which show she was good at the job and bad at writing it up in the way the examiners wanted it wouldn't necessarily be an issue. But if her placement reports were lukewarm and she's just not very clued up overall then it would.

Academics don't make a nanny, particularly for very young children (more relevant if you need help with homework), but they should be able to answer practical questions about situations they are likely to find themselves in and how they would deal with them. If they haven't thought before an interview then when are they going to? Not a sign of pro activity IMO but then that may not be what you're looking for. It's difficult to say - objectively it's not a great grade, subjectively she may be a lovely person who's great with your kids.

Did you get Grade D in the professional practice element too HTH? Can you remember any more about if it was based on work place assessments e.g. from placement supervisors.

We did like her but are a bit worried by such a low grade. I'm not the most academic myself so could understand a low grade on theory, but professional practice seems to be the nuts and bolts of what the job is about.

I am a nanny i did the DCE in 2002. I was so annoyed with the way it was graded. At the end i got this a4 certificate that said i got an E, but this grade was actually done on the observations that we had to do over the 2 years (we had to do 20 in total) . This was not explained properly to us at college had it been i would have worked really hard on my observations. On the back of the sheet it does say each unit and which grade i got which were B's, C's, a D and an E (for the observations) and then it says exam grade which i actually got a B on which would have been nice to have a certificate to say that as now when i show my portfolio to potential employers they straight away see this certificate with a great big E on. (At the time i had to do observations we had to choose which area of learning we were observing, write down everything the child did in the 5 mins and then basically evaluate it all it alot of detail.)

Has the grading system changed recently?

I did the Cache level 2 CCE and received a D but it's marked pass, merit or distinction so D is the highest you can get.

The level 3 DCE may not work the same way but I would have assumed it did as it is the next step from the CCE.

I got a D in both parts. The "practical" part is how well you do the written work needed for the practical - the observations and the lesson/session plans, rather than actually how well you perform.

HTH is hope this helps, rather than my name!!

Jen