Children’s Care, Learning and Development - Level 3 Diploma
Course Type
Further Education
Study Mode
Part-time
Duration
2 Years
Start & End Date
15 September 2026
31 May 2028
Days
Tue
Time
17:30-21:30
Location
Ballymena
This CACHE Level 3 qualification is designed to build the knowledge and skills needed when working with children and young people from birth to 5 years 11 months of age. It covers a diverse range of job roles and occupational areas in children’s settings, including early years. It is suitable for anyone who works or wants to work at a supervisory level in children's care, learning and development.
To achieve this qualification students are required to successfully complete 70 overall credits, 56 credits from the mandatory units and 14 credits from the optional units.
Mandatory Units include:
There are a range of optional units to choose from to make up the remaining 14 credits. Examples include:
All learners MUST have access to either employment or work experience in a real work setting to support them to develop and practice their skills, and apply their knowledge at an appropriate level. This ensures that learners are able to demonstrate consistent competence at Level 3 to meet the requirements of the Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care Learning and Development (Northern Ireland). This course includes between 600-700 hours mandatory work placement where the applicant is not employed in a registered childcare setting.
This course will follow a blended learning approach. From September until Halloween, classes will be delivered on-campus. After Halloween, classes will move to online delivery to offer greater flexibility. In addition, one face-to-face session will be held on campus each month.
It will be assessed by your lecturer and/or assessor using a range of methods. This will include direct observation in the workplace, an online portfolio of evidence and written assignments, other evidence gathering methods may also be used. Students will be required to undertake work placement in a registered childcare setting – with children aged 0 – 5 years 11 months for 1-2 days per week for the duration of the course and block placement weeks across the year to complete the required number of placement hours (where the student is not employed in a registered childcare setting).
This course will provide students with the qualification and a licence to practice that is recognised for work in the following areas:
Students may also progress onto university or CACHE Level 5 Leadership & Managers Diploma if they are in an appropriate job role and are aged 19 or above.
Over 95% of students obtain a full-time childcare job by the end of the course.
In the event of oversubscription, the College reserves the right to increase the entry criteria for this programme to GCSE Maths and English at Grade C or above in preference to Essential Skills or lower graded GCSEs. Applicants will still be reviewed in date order and by order of preference.
| Year | Fee | Reduced Fee* |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | £574 | £436 |
| Year 2 | £407 | £269 |
| Total |
*For eligibility criteria, visit our fees and funding page.
You must arrange payment of your fees at the beginning of each academic year, regardless of whether your programme of study is one, two, or three years in duration. Please contact any Campus Reception to arrange payment of your course fees or to confirm you have uploaded evidence of your funding application or entitlement to the online admissions portal. Confirmation of your funding entitlement should also be forwarded to studentfinance@nrc.ac.uk.
If your fees are being paid by a sponsor/employer please contact the College to confirm that an approved Employer Consent Form has been completed and uploaded to the online admissions portal.
Direct Debit Payment
You can arrange for fees to paid by instalments if you are enrolling on a course(s) of 16 weeks duration or more and the total cost is greater than £200. Full details are available on our Fees and Funding page.
Funding
If you have applied for funding, you must provide evidence of your application, such as an acknowledgement email or confirmation from the Education Authority or Student Finance NI. This evidence should be uploaded to the online admissions portal and may also be submitted at any reception. Once your funding has been approved, upload confirmation to the online admissions portal and email a copy studentfinance@nrc.ac.uk. Find out more about available funding options.
If application for funding is unsuccessful the student is liable for payment of fees in full. All fees to be collected by 28 February 2027.
Contact Details
Direct Debit or Payment Queries
E: finance@nrc.ac.uk
All tutors are qualified and experienced counsellors. This underpins the authenticity of teaching and learning activities as students engage with practitioners who understand the challenges and opportunities of the counselling role. The following teaching team deliver this course at Northern Regional College:
Staff Team
It will be assessed by your lecturer and/or assessor using a range of methods. This will include direct observation in the workplace, an online portfolio of evidence and written assignments, other evidence gathering methods may also be used. Students will be required to undertake work placement in a registered childcare setting – with children aged 0 – 5 years 11 months for 1-2 days per week for the duration of the course and block placement weeks across the year to complete the required number of placement hours (where the student is not employed in a registered childcare setting).
This CACHE Level 3 qualification is designed to build the knowledge and skills needed when working with children and young people from birth to 5 years 11 months of age. It covers a diverse range of job roles and occupational areas in children’s settings, including early years. It is suitable for anyone who works or wants to work at a supervisory level in children's care, learning and development.
To achieve this qualification students are required to successfully complete 70 overall credits, 56 credits from the mandatory units and 14 credits from the optional units.
Mandatory Units include:
There are a range of optional units to choose from to make up the remaining 14 credits. Examples include:
All learners MUST have access to either employment or work experience in a real work setting to support them to develop and practice their skills, and apply their knowledge at an appropriate level. This ensures that learners are able to demonstrate consistent competence at Level 3 to meet the requirements of the Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care Learning and Development (Northern Ireland). This course includes between 600-700 hours mandatory work placement where the applicant is not employed in a registered childcare setting.
This course will follow a blended learning approach. From September until Halloween, classes will be delivered on-campus. After Halloween, classes will move to online delivery to offer greater flexibility. In addition, one face-to-face session will be held on campus each month.
This course will provide students with the qualification and a licence to practice that is recognised for work in the following areas:
Students may also progress onto university or CACHE Level 5 Leadership & Managers Diploma if they are in an appropriate job role and are aged 19 or above.
Over 95% of students obtain a full-time childcare job by the end of the course.
In the event of oversubscription, the College reserves the right to increase the entry criteria for this programme to GCSE Maths and English at Grade C or above in preference to Essential Skills or lower graded GCSEs. Applicants will still be reviewed in date order and by order of preference.
Course Fees
| Year | Fee | Reduced Fee* |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | £574 | £436 |
| Year 2 | £407 | £269 |
| Total |
*For eligibility criteria, visit our fees and funding page.
You must arrange payment of your fees at the beginning of each academic year, regardless of whether your programme of study is one, two, or three years in duration. Please contact any Campus Reception to arrange payment of your course fees or to confirm you have uploaded evidence of your funding application or entitlement to the online admissions portal. Confirmation of your funding entitlement should also be forwarded to studentfinance@nrc.ac.uk.
If your fees are being paid by a sponsor/employer please contact the College to confirm that an approved Employer Consent Form has been completed and uploaded to the online admissions portal.
Direct Debit Payment
You can arrange for fees to paid by instalments if you are enrolling on a course(s) of 16 weeks duration or more and the total cost is greater than £200. Full details are available on our Fees and Funding page.
Funding
If you have applied for funding, you must provide evidence of your application, such as an acknowledgement email or confirmation from the Education Authority or Student Finance NI. This evidence should be uploaded to the online admissions portal and may also be submitted at any reception. Once your funding has been approved, upload confirmation to the online admissions portal and email a copy studentfinance@nrc.ac.uk. Find out more about available funding options.
If application for funding is unsuccessful the student is liable for payment of fees in full. All fees to be collected by 28 February 2027.
Contact Details
Direct Debit or Payment Queries
E: finance@nrc.ac.uk