Our warmest congratulations to Rosemary Goodger from Waikato who has just completed the Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education (Course 6). Rose becomes the 3rd person to graduate with this level 6, 190 credit Playcentre Diploma this year and joins a very small group of Playcentre students who have been awarded this qualification in the last 18 years.
Old courses coming to a close
It is also heartening to see the number of Course 2, and especially Course 3 and 4 completions coming through as the time to finish the old programme draws to a close. Well done those who have finished. There is less than a month now to get work in to be marked to be awarded these ‘old programme’ certificates. These certificates in the Playcentre Diploma programme cannot be awarded past the NZQA expiration deadline for the qualification and this deadline cannot be extended beyond 2019.
Positive response to online study
There has been a wonderful response to the introduction of the 1st online units of the C405 module. There have been over 120 registrations and the first group/s have started. Those who are eligible simply register with the online ‘workshop’ booking system on the Playcentre Website. We will set up access to the online learning platform each time there are 40 eligible registrations or with a smaller group if necessary to avoid you having to wait more than a relatively short time. We will be able to offer new opportunities to join often. Please note to be eligible to start the C-series you must have completed the PEA and the Safety check. You will be contacted with information on when and how to access the online module and for how long your access will last. We cover the cost calculated per month per student for the use of the platform and must define a cut off point – you will find there is plenty of time, you work at your own pace with automatic feedback. Perhaps choose to do the online units at a time when you know you will be able to focus on this study. There are also 3 face to face workshops for C405 – these will be scheduled in the new year.
Other ECE qualifications used for licensing in Playcentre
People coming into Playcentre who already have early childhood qualifications at level 4, 5, 6 or 7 which are recognised for “the person responsible” in Playcentre cannot enrol in our level 4 NZ Certificate in ECE and Care programme. In January 2019 the Ministry of Education published (in what is called a gazette notice) over 20 early childhood qualifications that are recognised. Not all level 4 ECE qualifications prior to the NZ Certificate are recognised. Some of the recognised qualifications were delivered under sub-contract arrangements between tertiary providers so it is not always immediately obvious whether or not a particular certificate is covered by the MOE notice – this is why they must be assessed. To use one of these qualifications for licensing it has to be assessed by the Training Co-ordinator who will issue a notice of verification that it is indeed one of the recognised qualifications – simply send Gillian Croad a copy of your certificate and transcript of learning, with a change of name document (eg marriage certificate) if your evidence is in a previous name.
If it is not a qualification recognised for licensing in Playcentre you will be able to enrol in the new L4 programme. Gillian will be able to advise on the RPL you will receive. If you are unsure if your ECE qualification is able to be used in Playcentre please check before you enrol in the Playcentre Education programme.
The Gazette notice is found at
https://gazette.govt.nz/assets/pdf-cache/2019/2019-go352.pdf?2019-01-28%2009:01:02