The Cambridge National level 1 / 2 qualification in Child Development is designed specifically for 14- to 16-year-olds to equip students with the knowledge and skills to nurture and care for children in their early years. Students will examine Child Development from the point of conception through to 5 years of age, developing a thorough understanding of the importance of effective early years childcare. The intent is to equip students with knowledge of how children are expected to grow, develop, and learn, and factors which may affect this.
It seeks to motivate students to be passionate about child development through the broadness of the curriculum, analysis and evaluation of a wide range of real-life scenarios that they will face, and the practical application of key skills. A major aim is to develop students’ self-directed learning capability, as well as provide awareness of future learning and career paths in a variety of roles (e.g., midwifery, health visitor, childcare provision).
Implementation
The curriculum implementation seeks to achieve its aims through a variety of pedagogic approaches, including undertaking research tasks, examining case studies, exploring public campaigns, liaising with childcare establishments, visiting speakers, and engaging in local work experience.
The course comprises 3 units of subject content and are assessed both by coursework (60%) and 40% external examination.
Course is delivered through 3 hours weekly, following a sequential structure as formulated by Oxford, Cambridge and RSA this course in Cambridge national
The content is delivered whereby theoretical topics and supported by practical demonstrations and other reinforcement activities.
Active learning methods, direction instruction, videos
Impact
The impact of the curriculum is ascertained through a range of quantitative and qualitative data. These include:
Questionnaires allowing us to understand opinion and collect observations.
Moderation of work
End of unit and topic assessments. Evidence at KS3 and 4 to show progression of key knowledge, skills and understanding.
GCSE option selections at the end of KS3 continue to be at a high number in the school and generate at one to two groups.
End of Key Stage 4 GCSE Results. Evidence shows positive value-added scores and in 2022. Grade 4-9 % 86.21% Avg Summer 2022 Grade vs MEG 0.91
