Ashton Warner Nanny Certificate

By JANINE OGIER

The course

People wishing to work as nannies or early childhood educators can gain a NZQA level three qualification at the Ashton Warner Academy in Stanmore Bay, Whangaparaoa.

Graduates find work as professional nannies in New Zealand and overseas and the certificate is also a beginning qualification for work as a childcare centre teaching assistant.

The course is 32 weeks long and incorporates the National Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Students learn child development, infant and child care, early childhood education, communication, home management, child safety, nutrition, health, first aid and professional development.

They spend two-thirds of the course in the classroom and one-third working with children in a variety of situations.

Students gain work experience with families, in schools and in early childhood centres.

Assessment is generally through practical methods such as observing students interacting with children or observing tasks such as making up bottles to assess babycare skills. There are also some short answer tests for knowledge-based areas such as human development.

Applicants are interviewed for the 24 places available and there are no entry qualifications for the course. All applicants undergo a police record check.

Applications for the next intake on February 7 close when the course is full. Another course begins in May.

Applicants need to be intelligent, warm and patient and be able to establish empathy with children and their parents.

Early childhood workers also need heaps of initiative and the work can be physically demanding.

Fees for the course are $3295, including GST. Students also need to allow $200 for textbooks, a "nanny kit", stationery and travel to placements.

Further study can be pursued via the NZQA level five National Nanny Certificate, which can cut the time required to gain a Diploma in Teaching. The two courses can be studied concurrently.

What graduates think

Elizabeth Bellchambers, 20

Nanny, Auckland

Graduated 2003


"If I hadn't done the course I wouldn't have had the confidence to be with children all day, every day. We learned everything from meal ideas to forms of discipline. It wasn't like school, which is focused on the academic side.

"The course had a combination of the practical side and the academic side. We had placements into the real world for three weeks - one at a centre, one with a baby and one with a multiple birth family or a disabled child or in a rural setting.

"A lot of the assignments were on practical things so there was a good balance. The way they do the course, it does not feel as if you are writing and copying the work from the blackboard.

"We were asked to interpret things and to suggest how we would deal with a situation. They give you a lot of confidence and reassurance.

"When you leave, you feel like you know everything you need to know about children, even though they are full of surprises, of course."

What employers think

Lisa Nelson

Director, Tinies Childcare, Auckland


"In terms of people who apply to join our childcare recruitment agency, if they are under 25 we insist on them having a qualification.

"The fact that they have gone to the trouble of getting a qualification means they are dedicated to being a nanny, particularly the private courses like Ashton Warner because they have to pay to do it.

"It is well thought of and we know they screen them really well, which makes our job easier. For a lot of families, experience counts for a lot more in some cases than qualifications.

"Having said that, with Ashton Warner they do 10-12 weeks of practical placements with families.

"It is a practical-based course. It is not like they are sitting in a classroom learning what they are supposed to do when they are working for a family.

"They are putting it into practice on a regular basis which is very important.

"They come out of it knowing exactly what is going to be expected of them once they are in the role. They can hit the ground running as it were."

The qualification

Ashton Warner Nanny Certificate

Ashton Warner Academy

Phone: 09 424 3055

Email

Indicative salary: Between $480-$720 for a 40-hour week