the 'intro to childcare course'.... IS IT FOR REAL?

[preggerspoppet]

Hi, I have recently started this 6 week evening course, and I am feeling really peeved about it.

It is nothing more than a hoop jumping, bums on seats, time wasting, tick boxing excersise.

there is no informationto teach you anything useful about looking after kids, for example creative ideas for play or activities that don't cost much, it is simply a case of teaching everybody how to impress offstead at their inspection nd what to tell them in order to achieve the highest grading.

anyone else feel the same?

There is not much I can do about it really, I do feel like challenging the lecturer but it's not her fault I guess.

It just feels like an awful waste of time when we could be learning lots.

box-ticking

I Did mine Jan 06 and it was nothing like that but again im in Wales so things are run different - We covered lots of topic including play activities/child protection/emergency issues/tax etc etc including policies and preperation of CSIW.
It wasnt all about how to impress the inspector. Shame its no benifit for you. Have a word with OFSTED. They should want your feedback anyway

oh well I'm glad it's not the same everywhere..
Done 3 weeks no, so far all we have done is

fill in enrollment form,
queue for ages to have it checked
queue for ages again for a college photo id
list garden hazzards in a large group
drink coffee
talk about how to impress offstead

there are primary teachers on this course, and a couple of nurses (including me) most, if not all, the women have their own kids so there is a wealth of info to be shared, but no.

I will be writing a very detailed feedback form!!

that really doesnt sound right at all to me. Mayb some others from England can confirm but we worked solid for 2hrs each session and run over as we had so much to get through.Mayb it is just the tutor! Dont you have an exam at the end? A lot of the exam is common sense but there are a lot of trick questions that need to be covered.

the tutor is lovely, and talks a lot, I don't think it is her fault the content of the course is so lame.

there is an exam at the end she assures us we will sail through!

we did a pre-briefing course for 3 evenings before that which, although dull, covered a lot more info!

each week has a heading, tonight is child protection I think, but the last 3 weeks have had headings too but no content...

might have to say something this week...

the tutr does have a bit of a habbit of spending too long answering 1 persons questions, which happens to be the 1 person who doesn't realise her question bares no relevance to anyone else but her, and all about the inspection.

probably not the best time to bump but hey ho,
anyone think I should challenge the tutor?

I don't think that the course is designed to tell you "how to look after kids" as such.

A lot of it may well be covering information that you need to have because of Ofsted regulations (including child protection, for instance).

Do you get any kind of group discussion? Have you talked to anyone else on the course to see how they are feeling?

yes, the people I had spoken to felt the same but...........

it was so much better tonight, lots of info to take in, well presented, interesting and very worthwhile going.

no idea what happened to previous weeks but will be giving lots of feedback.

thanks for the advice. x

Is this a CACHE course, ESOL or something else?
Expect it is Unit 1 of CACHE Diploma in Home Based Childcare, which is a relatively new course that has replaced the old ICP.
I can find so far only piece of info from CACHE - DHC Questions - which is aimed at tutors, though towards the end of this PDF it gives some example multi-choice questions.

Looks a little simplistic, but as ever some basic knowledge is better than nothing. The course has no formal entry requirements, so candidates will be of varying ability. It is a 12 hour course, so you can not really expect to learn all that much. However, you can extend the course, so that you are awarded the full Diploma.

I work as a nanny and I don't currently have to do this course. I am dreading the day when Ofsted start regulating nannies, as they may insist that nannies do this course, even if we have a higher level qualification already - as I know some childminders who are qualified nursery nurses, who had to the ICP when they became a childminder!

thanks nanny, I have a paediatric nursing degree which covered heaps of well-child stuff and obviously child development, child protection ect but I was still hoping to take something useful away from it other than simply how to pass your inspection.

the main thing that bothers me is the hoop jumping nature iykwim. they charge a fee but they give you a bursery. A bums on seats excersise for statistics other than to really benefit kids in childcare.

(jumps down off soapbox)

In the nicest possible way ... get used to the "hoop-jumping" when it comes to Ofsted. Some of the hoops will probably be on fire as well!!

I do this job because I love working with children - I like playing, singing, mucking around with playdough, and jumping around on the bouncy castle at soft play sessions. I like having the hugs and kisses from small people who like being with me. I like seeing them learn and develop and becoming slightly bigger people.

Unfortunately, the downside is having to be co-operative with Ofsted ... hence the skills required for "hoop-jumping". I'm really good at "hoop-jumping"!!

Thanks prisoner that is some good advice.

I did realise last night that I am so lucky to enjoy this job as much as I do, to be able to spend as much time, real time, with kids (especially my own) is very precious.

So I too will hoop-jump if I have to!