Certificate in Early Learning and Care – QQI Level 5 Major Award

Our new Early Learning and Care Level 5 program is designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to care for and educate children from birth to six years old.

Whether working independently or as part of a team, you’ll learn to provide holistic care and enriching learning experiences across a variety of early learning and care settings. This program also supports your development as a professional in the early learning and care community.

Formerly known as the ECCE course, this program offers a pathway for those looking to advance into further and higher education in the field.

At Progressive College, we prioritise flexible and accessible learning. As a student, you’ll have 24/7 access to our Progressive eLearning platform, Moodle, throughout your course.

Moodle offers a wide range of resources, including detailed course manuals, live webinars, instructional videos, quizzes, and personalised tutor support. The course is designed to be user-friendly, ensuring that you can easily navigate through the material.

Additionally, students can submit their assessments online and receive feedback from their tutor through Moodle or via their secure assessment submission link which is accessible from any computer with an internet connection.

Now is a great time to get into this industry. Find out more about the changes in the 2025 Budget, and its impact on ELC providers.

Course Modules

• Introduction to ELC and Child Safeguarding
• Holistic Care of Children in ELC
• Professional Practice
• Inclusive Education for Children in ELC
• Early Learning & Play
• Child Development

Entry Requirements

To enrol in the Early Learning and Care program, you should have at least an Ordinary Level Leaving Certificate or an equivalent level of education or experience.

If English is not your first language, or if you have not been primarily educated in English, you will need to demonstrate a suitable level of English proficiency before starting the program.

This means achieving an English level equivalent to an IELTS score of 5.5 or another recognised international English language test. You will be required to provide evidence of your English proficiency as part of the application process.

Work Placement

Work Placement is an integral part of the programme and specifically required as part of the Professional Award Standards.  For Level 5 programme, learner’s will be required to spend 150 hours, in two early learning and care settings, divided as follows:

• Learner’s must spend a minimum of 50 hours working with children between the ages of 0 – 2.8 years
• Learner’s must spend a minimum of 50 hours working with children between the ages of 2.8 – 6 years
• Learners can spend the remaining 50 hours working with children across both age groups, however you must spend a minimum of 30 hours in the second service.

We also offer this course in Level 6. Find out more about this course.

The fees for this course are €1200.

Enrolments can be completed directly through our website here: https://progressivecollege.ie/courses/early-learning-and-care-qqi-level-5/