In our Cambridge National in Child Development students develop applied knowledge and practical skills in a range of child development topics. It is designed with both practical and theoretical elements, which will prepare students for further qualifications in Child Care, Health and Social Care, Psychology, Sociology and Biology. In the UK about 3 million people work in the Health and Social Care sector with a large proportion of those working directly with children. The child care industry is growing in the UK and this course will provide a stimulating and rewarding career for anyone who chooses it.

All students will study three mandatory units as follows:

1. Health and well-being for child development
This unit underpins all of the other learning in this qualification. Students will develop the essential knowledge and understanding in child development, covering reproduction, parental responsibility, antenatal care, birth, postnatal checks, postnatal provision, conditions for development, childhood illnesses and child safety.

2. Understand the equipment and nutritional needs of children from birth to five years
In this unit, students will gain knowledge of the equipment needs of babies and young children and an understanding of the factors to be considered when choosing appropriate equipment to meet all of these needs. This topic will also cover nutrition and hygiene practices and students will be given the opportunity to investigate feeding solutions, comparing these to nutritional requirements and evaluating the outcomes.

3. Understand the development norms of a child from birth to five years
In this unit, students will gain an understanding of the development norms from birth to five years and the stages and benefits of play. Students will gain knowledge of, and skills in, developing activities to observe development norms in children up to the age of five. This topic will include researching, planning and carrying out activities with a child and observing and evaluating these activities, as well as comparing the child to the expected development norms.

Assessment
Unit 1 is assessed through an externally set exam at the end of year 1. Both units 2 and 3 are assessed through coursework which is completed throughout the two years of study and is assessed externally by the OCR exam board.

Next Steps
Knowledge gained in this qualification would be of use for further studies in Health and Social Care, Psychology, Sociology, PHSE, Biology and other child development qualifications. Evaluation skills are also developed, which would be of use in further studies in many future areas of study. Researching, planning, observing and evaluating skills would be useful in further studies as these are transferable skills and could be applied to many subject areas and career paths.

For further details about this course please see Mr Batch – Leader of Vocational Education