If you’re trying to decide whether a CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course is suitable for you, it’s natural to have several questions. What will the course entail, what jobs can I expect to secure, and, most importantly, how long will it take me to get the job-ready skills I need to start my new career?
At Sage, we believe that no two applicants are the same. That’s why we design all of our flexible courses to suit the schedules of our applicants. Some of our graduates complete the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course in under six months. Others need up to a year to finish their training because they have other commitments.
Whatever your schedule, we’ll work with you to find a program that meets your needs. In the process, we’ll provide you with the practical skills and expertise you need to kickstart a rewarding career in your chosen industry.
In this blog, we’ll answer some common questions and provide more information about what our Childhood Education and Care Diploma involves. We’ll also explore some of the job outcomes you can expect to achieve once you complete your training and explain how Sage will help you secure the role of your dreams once you’ve graduated.
What is a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course?
The Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course is an accredited training program for those interested in advanced leadership, management or supervisor positions in the early childhood education and care sector.
The course will teach you how to design and implement a holistic early childhood learning curriculum. You’ll learn how to foster children’s learning, build a safe and healthy environment for growth and development, and provide inclusive care for children from all walks of life.
This program builds on the knowledge taught in the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care course.
Compared with the Certificate III course, the Diploma focuses more heavily on educational leadership skills. During your training, you’ll build experience in supervising and empowering a team as they deliver outstanding services to children.
Sage’s course is entirely self-paced online. This means you can work through the course content at your own pace, whenever you like, and wherever you are.
You’ll also be required to complete a vocational placement, providing you with the transferable, real-life experience you need to thrive in your chosen career path.
The Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course is accredited. This means it’s a nationally recognised training program that provides graduates with an approved certificate that employers recognise.
How long will the course take with Sage?
Sage offers a streamlined, intensive version of the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course. We believe in providing you with the practical skills and job-ready expertise you need to move quickly and confidently into advanced positions in the childhood education and care sector.
We teach our program full-time over a period of 30 weeks. You’ll also be required to finish 280 hours of vocational placement to complete the program successfully.
At Sage, we take a customer-first approach to education and are committed to helping all of our students find a course schedule that meets their needs. That’s why we teach our course self-paced and online. This means you can access all essential study materials whenever you like. If you miss a session, you’ll always have the option to catch up later.
In total, you will have one year from your course start date to complete the program.
What will I learn during the course?
Our Diploma of Community Services course consists of several essential modules you must complete to graduate.
Sage also offers a selection of elective units you can take to gain specialised knowledge in a niche area.
Core Units
The Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course contains 12 core modules.
BSBTWK502 – Manage team effectiveness
This unit will provide you with the necessary skills to effectively lead and manage a team in the workplace.
You’ll learn how to monitor workplace performance, assess team effectiveness and facilitate teamwork in an education and care setting.
CHCECE041 – Maintain a safe and healthy environment for children
This unit teaches the essential knowledge needed to maintain and review health and safety, manage risks, ensure hygiene, mitigate disease spread, and handle emergencies.
You’ll learn how to identify and implement health and safety policies, manage risks, and contribute to effective health and safety procedures.
CHCECE042 – Foster holistic early childhood learning, development and wellbeing
This unit offers the skills needed to foster children’s learning from birth to six years of age.
You’ll build an understanding of early childhood development, learn how to facilitate children’s sense of inclusion and gain experience providing opportunities for children to learn.
CHCECE043 – Nurture creativity in children
This unit teaches the skills and knowledge needed to develop and implement experiences that foster children’s creativity.
You’ll learn how to explore digital technologies, music, art, drama and play-based learning to help children express themselves creatively.
CHCECE044 – Facilitate compliance in a children’s education and care service.
This unit provides the core skills to ensure National Quality Framework (NQF) compliance in education and care settings.
During the module, you’ll learn how to interpret the National Quality Framework and National Quality Standard (NQS). You’ll also build an understanding of how to facilitate the self-assessment process and how to develop a quality improvement plan (QIP).
CHCECE045 – Foster positive and respectful interactions and behaviour in children
This unit entails the knowledge needed to foster kind, respectful interactions between children.
You’ll learn how to encourage respectful behaviour, support positive interactions and identify challenging behaviours that must be addressed.
CHCECE046 – Implement strategies for the inclusion of all children
This unit will teach you the skills needed to promote diversity, foster inclusion and plan individual support strategies for children.
You’ll learn how to identify barriers affecting participation and how to develop, monitor and review plans to meet children’s individual needs.
CHCECE047 – Analyse information to inform children’s learning
This unit teaches the core skills and knowledge required to gather, review and analyse information about children’s learning.
You’ll learn how to collect and interpret important information about learning. You’ll also find out how to use that information to inform best practices in the workplace.
CHCECE048 – Plan and implement children’s education and care curriculum
This unit provides the essential knowledge to plan, review and edit an educational curriculum to support children’s development.
You’ll learn how to plan, design, implement and evaluate a holistic curriculum that meets the educational needs of children.
CHCECE049 – Embed environmental responsibility in service operations
This unit offers the practical knowledge needed to support environmental responsibility and develop a sustainability plan for children in an education and care setting.
You’ll learn how to promote and enhance children’s sense of environmental responsibility and implement a plan that encourages children and adults to engage in environmental sustainability.
CHCECE050 – Work in partnership with children’s families
This unit teaches the necessary expertise to establish relationships with children’s families and connect with diverse communities.
You’ll learn how to maintain respectful relationships, collaborate with families to support their children and nurture children’s engagement with their community.
CHCPRP003 – Reflect on and improve own professional practice
This unit provides the skills required to evaluate and adapt your own practice through self-reflection.
During the module, you’ll build an understanding of how to use thorough self-reflection to improve and develop your professional practice.
Elective Units
The Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course contains 3 elective modules.
CHCECE051 – Promote equity in access to the service
This unit teaches the vital knowledge needed to successfully promote a service and encourage the participation of equity or underrepresented groups.
You’ll learn how to identify local demographics and implement strategies to encourage participation.
CHCECE052 – Plan service and supports for children and families
This unit will teach the expertise required to explore, understand and support the needs of children and families experiencing difficult challenges.
You’ll learn how to plan services, discuss issues, facilitate interventions and adapt your service based on feedback from family members.
CHCPOL002 – Develop and implement policy
This unit offers the necessary skills to develop and implement policies.
You’ll learn how to evaluate existing policies, plan and identify new policy opportunities, and implement and review procedures to ensure their effectiveness.
Who is the course suited to?
As the Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care course is an advanced training program, it is suited for people with relevant experience in the childcare sector looking to progress into advanced leadership positions.
However, the course can also be helpful for those looking to change direction, start a new career, or for those who have already completed previous courses such as the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care course.
What are the course entry requirements?
Sage requires that all students enrolling for the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course have already completed a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care course.
All eligible students must also be able to obtain a Working with Children Check (WWCC).
In addition, to get the most out of the course, we recommend that all applicants:
- Are at least 18 years old.
- Have completed year 9 or equivalent.
- Have fundamental language and literacy skills.
- Can access a computer with stable, high-speed internet.
- Have a device that they can use for audio playback.
- Can work confidently both in a group and independently.
- Have a passion for childcare and are interested in leadership roles.
What job outcomes can I expect from the course?
Once you complete your course, Sage will help you to find employment in a rewarding role related to your course.
Many of our graduates get well-paid jobs as early childhood educators, supervisors, or managers. Some of the jobs you can expect to secure include:
- Authorised supervisor (children’s services)
- Director/manager (children’s services)
- Early childhood educator
- Group/team coordinator/leader (children’s services)
- Child development worker
- Program leader (children’s services)
Can my tuition fees be government-subsidised for this course?
Unfortunately, Sage is not authorised to offer government-subsidised training for this course. However, many different payment plans are available to ensure our course is affordable for as many applicants as possible. Whatever your situation, we’ll help you find a fee option that works for you. Sage cannot offer a VET student loan for courses at the current time.
Note that many of our other courses, such as our Certificate III in Individual Support course, Certificate IV in Ageing Support course, and Assist Clients with Medication Skill Set, are eligible for government subsidy.
Why should I study with Sage?
Sage is a nationally recognised training organisation offering outstanding vocational courses in the education, care and community sectors. Since 1998, we’ve helped over 4000 applicants graduate with the hands-on expertise they need to succeed in vocational roles.
As part of our holistic approach to education, we also help all our graduates secure employment after they successfully complete their training.
We partner with several industry-leading employers across Australia that seek out Sage graduates to fill vacancies because of our proven track record of delivering industry-focused education for over 24 years. Our graduate scheme is so powerful that we can proudly announce that our employment outcome is over 80% across all courses we offer.
During your course, you’ll receive holistic support from our expert team of instructors. Whether you’re looking for career guidance or tips to nail an interview, we’ll work with you to give you the confidence you need to start a new role in the children’s sector.
If you’d like to learn more about our incredible Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course, click here.
Still not sure which education path is right for you? Get in touch. A member of our team would love to talk through your options. No matter your goals, we’re committed to helping you find a course you’ll love.
