Please note, these prices are for the current academic year and may be subject to change for our courses starting in future years.
Many of our students are eligible for financial support when studying at college, please see Fees and funding for more information.
Age 16-18
FREE (If meet residency criteria and not enrolled at another educational institution).
If you are aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August in the year you begin your course, not enrolled at another educational institution and have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years, your course will be FREE. Some courses will have other costs associated, such as for materials and trips.
Age 19+
If you are aged 19 or older on 31 August in the year you begin your course, not enrolled at another educational institution and have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years, your course could be free dependant on the level of the course and your eligibility criteria. The rules regarding fee reduction are complicated, we would encourage you to contact our Advice, Support and Careers Team on 0191 375 4400, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or connect on live chat (bottom right of your screen).
Student Finance
If you are aged 19 or over and not eligible to get your course free, you could apply for an Advanced Learner Loan from the Student Loans Company to help towards the cost of some, or all, of your fees. If the amount of Advanced Learner Loan available to you is less than the Advanced Learner Loan Fee for your course, you would need to pay the difference. See our Funding Your Study page for more information or visit the Student Loans Company website to find out more.
This qualification is designed to prepare learners with the knowledge, skills and understanding to enter work in an early years setting and be included in staff to child ratios.
This qualification requires learners to complete a mandatory work/industry placement experience throughout the duration of the qualification. The total number of mandatory work placement hours is a minimum of 350 hours. This will provide you with a 'license to practice'.
Entry Criteria
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: 5 GCSE Graded 4 and above, including Maths OR English Language.
A passion for working with children and supporting children's education.
What are the next steps?
You will be invited in to meet the tutor events where you will be interviewed by a member of the early years teams.
You are required to bring a character reference.
Modules Studied
To be awarded this qualification, learners are required to successfully achieve 10 mandatory units/95 credits.
Teaching and Assessment
Assessment is the process of measuring a learner’s skill, knowledge and understanding against the standards set in a qualification.
This qualification is internally assessed and externally quality assured.
The assessment consists of one component:
an internally assessed contextualised portfolio of evidence, which is assessed by college staff and externally quality assured by NCFE (awarding body).
Learners who achieve this qualification could progress to the following:
Employment:
Educator in day nurseries
Educator in nursery schools
Educator in reception classes in primary schools
Pre-school worker
Further education:
NCFE CACHE Level 5 Diploma for the Early Years Senior Practitioner (610/4163/4)
Higher education – personal statements may be accepted by universities
If you want to ask a question about a specific course or subject area, you can use our course explorer to find the course and use the Ask a Question button.
