This course is designed to equip students with the essential practical skills vital for a nanny’s role when working with young children. The course objectives include mastering fundamental caregiving abilities pertinent to early childhood professionals, whether in external environments or domestic settings. Throughout this course, students will be encouraged to self-assess, identifying their strengths and pinpointing opportunities for future professional development.

This course emphasizes collaborative engagement with families, fostering the ability to work as part of a team dedicated to the child’s best interests. Students will learn to navigate the delicate balance between professional boundaries and nurturing care, embodying the concept of ‘professional love.’ With a focus on understanding both parental concerns and the multifaceted role of a nanny, the curriculum ensures that graduates are empathetic, prepared, and proactive in their approach to health maintenance and child development. By setting personal milestones, reflecting on vocational identity, and mastering employment transition strategies, students will be equipped to tackle professional challenges and build successful careers in childcare.

It is fundamental that early years practitioners are aware of legislative and statutory guidance for safeguarding and know what to do if they suspect a child is at risk of harm, as well as having knowledge of factors that might place children more at risk. While safeguarding principles will occur throughout courses, the core principles will be covered with students before they venture into placement, assessing them on their familiarity with the key policies and processes of safeguarding. 

Practitioners are instrumental in keeping children safe and protecting them from harm. This course will help students to identify the signs and symptoms of child abuse alongside the key factors that might make children more vulnerable. As part of this, policy and procedure will be explored to develop understanding of these principles, with students recognizing their roles both as students and as qualified practitioners in ensuring that children in their care are and feel safe.

The focus of this unit is to develop basic cooking skills, a fundamental knowledge of the nutritional values of the foods used, and the safety and hygiene skills needed to prepare meals. The aim of this course is to give students the basic knowledge, skills, and confidence to prepare simple nutritious meals and develop an awareness of main food groups. In addition, this unit will cover fundamental underpinning knowledge of the kitchen equipment and utensils and safe and hygienic practices when preparing food.

This course includes a special focus is on weaning and meal planning to ensure that children and babies have a balanced diet. As babies can indicate intolerances or allergies when introducing new foods, students will learn allergy awareness. Students will obtain basic knowledge, skills, and confidence to introduce appropriate foods in a safe and timely way to developmentally ready babies.

OSHA compliant Pediatric First Aid/CPR Certification also required to complete level one Mayflower training.