What is the difference between Level 6 Major, Minor and Component Certificate Awards?

bearamy98

Hi there, I hope this is the right place to put this!

I had been studying ECCE at university but was finding the course hard and hated uni life but so left halfway though First Year at the end of January.

I still want to work with children but the idea of a full-time academic course doesn’t appeal to me so ideally I’d do an apprenticeship but since there aren’t any childcare/early years/teaching assistant apprenticeships in Ireland, I’ve decided that maybe I could do a short Level 6 SNA course, and came across one by the Progressive College that can be either completed across 12 Saturdays or one intensive week and has no formal entry requirements.

So I was just wondering is the Progressive College and its courses reputable and worthwhile and would they help me to get a job as a SNA/ classroom assistant? I’m not complaining but it seems to be a very quick way of getting a Level 6 qualification compared to other places and I had never heard of that college so would want to be sure that I’d be doing a worthwhile and recognised course and that it would help me to get a job.

https://progressivecollege.ie/course/special-needs-assistant-training-qqi-level-6/

And would I have to source my own work placement for it or would that be imbedded into it?

And what is the general duties, day-to-day life and pay for SNAs like?

And just in general, is there any such thing as general classroom/teaching assistants in Ireland that just help out with the day-to-day running of the class and groups of people rather than just working with individual people or small groups of people? The classroom/ teaching assistants in the UK seem to be more general classroom helps so was just wondering was there anything similar here in Ireland?

Sorry for the long enquiry, I just want to make sure that I’m fully informed about everything involved with this and go about it in the best way!

byhookorbycrook

There aren't any classroom assistants such as exist in England.

From the DES circular:
The purpose of the SNA scheme is to provide for the significant additional care needs which
some pupils with special educational needs may have.
It is therefore important to set out what constitutes significant care needs under the terms of this
scheme, and which will normally qualify for SNA support under the scheme.

For a child to require or qualify for access to SNA support, a child must have an assessed disability.
The care needs outlined must be of such significance that they are beyond that which would
normally be expected to be provided to a child by the child’s class teacher, support teacher, or other
school teachers, or beyond the level of assistance which could be offered to the student by his/ or
her fellow pupils in school. The care needs must also be those beyond which could normally be
provided for by alternative supportive approaches or modifications of the classroom environment,
teaching approaches and/or assistive technology or specialist equipment.

The type of significant care needs that pupils may have can be varied, depending on the nature or
level of the disability or sensory impairment that a child may have. Given the variety of medical
conditions that children may suffer from, it is not possible to list all of the care needs that may arise
here.However, examples of the primary care needs which would be considered significant – and
which might require SNA support are:

 Assistance with feeding: where a child with special needs requires adult assistance and
where the extent of assistance required would overly disrupt normal teaching time

 Administration of medicine: where a child requires adult assistance to administer medicine
and where the extent of assistance required would overly disrupt normal teaching time

 Assistance with toileting and general hygiene: (including catheterisation) where a
child with special needs cannot independently self-toilet, and until such time as they are
able to do so

 Assistance with mobility and orientation: on an ongoing basis including assisting a child or children to access the school, the classroom, with accessing school transport (where provided, school Bus Escorts should, in the first instance, assist a child to access school transport), or helping a child to avoid hazards in or surrounding the school. (Every effort must be made by the school to provide opportunities for independence e.g. the
removal of hazards.)

 Assisting teachers to provide supervision in the class, playground and school grounds:
at recreation, assembly, and dispersal times including assistance with arriving and departing
from school for pupils with special needs where the school has made a robust case that existing teaching resources cannot facilitate such supervision

 Non-nursing care needs associated with specific medical conditions: such as frequent epileptic seizures or for pupils who have fragile health.

 Care needs requiring frequent interventions including withdrawal of a pupil from a classroom when essential: This may be for safety or personal care reasons, or where a child may be required to leave the class for medical reasons or due to distress on a frequent basis.

 Assistance with moving and lifting of children, operation of hoists and equipment.

 Assistance with severe communication difficulties including enabling curriculum access for pupils with physical disabilities or sensory needs (See also section 9) and those with significant, and identified social and emotional difficulties. Under the direction of the teacher, this might include assistance with assistive technology equipment, typing or handwriting, supporting transition, assisting with supervision at recreation, dispersal times etc.
The tasks noted above are the primary care support tasks for which access to SNA support will
normally be provided.

The following tasks are the type of secondary care associated tasks which SNAs will often perform, but only once they have been allocated on the basis of the primary care support tasks listed above. The indicative list of secondary associated tasks listed below is not definitive and is
reflective of the tasks detailed in Circulars 08/02 and 71/2011.

The associated support tasks which may be carried out, but which would not in themselves
normally constitute a reason for the allocation of SNA support include:
 Preparation and tidying of workspaces and classrooms or assisting a child who is not
physically able to perform such tasks to prepare and tidy a workspace, to present materials, to
display work, or to transition from one lesson activity to another. To assist with cleaning of
materials.
 Assistance with the development of Personal Pupil Plans for children with special
educational needs, with a particular focus on developing a care plan to meet the care needs of
the pupil concerned and the review of such plans.
 Assist teachers and/or Principal in maintaining a journal or care monitoring system for
pupils including details of attendance and care needs. Assist in preparation of school files and
materials relating to care and assistance required in class by students with special needs.
 Planning for activities and classes where there may be additional care requirements
associated with particular activities, liaising with class teachers and other teachers such as the
resource teacher and school principal, attending meetings with parents, SENO, NEPS
Psychologists, or school staff meetings with the agreement and guidance of class
teacher/principal. Assistance with enabling a pupil to access therapy or psycho-educational programmes
such as anger management or social skills classes, under the direction of qualified personnel
including class teachers or support teachers.
 Assistance to attend or participate in out of school activities: walks, or visits, where
such assistance cannot be provided by teaching staff.

sarahdylan

Although I don’t agree with it you technically only need a junior certificate to become an SNA and any sna I have worked with (who are all fantastic) have no course done. As for a classroom assistant in a preschool which I presume your talking about you a required to have at least a level 5. I just finished my level 8 in ECCE and I didn’t like student life at all so I basically went to college and came home to my family. If you want something bad enough you’ll do whatever it takes so I would strongly suggest returning to college to try get an under grad in something as it opens so many more opportunities for you.

bearamy98 wrote: »

Hi there, I hope this is the right place to put this!

I had been studying ECCE at university but was finding the course hard and hated uni life but so left halfway though First Year at the end of January.

I still want to work with children but the idea of a full-time academic course doesn’t appeal to me so ideally I’d do an apprenticeship but since there aren’t any childcare/early years/teaching assistant apprenticeships in Ireland, I’ve decided that maybe I could do a short Level 6 SNA course, and came across one by the Progressive College that can be either completed across 12 Saturdays or one intensive week and has no formal entry requirements.

So I was just wondering is the Progressive College and its courses reputable and worthwhile and would they help me to get a job as a SNA/ classroom assistant? I’m not complaining but it seems to be a very quick way of getting a Level 6 qualification compared to other places and I had never heard of that college so would want to be sure that I’d be doing a worthwhile and recognised course and that it would help me to get a job.

https://progressivecollege.ie/course/special-needs-assistant-training-qqi-level-6/

And would I have to source my own work placement for it or would that be imbedded into it?

And what is the general duties, day-to-day life and pay for SNAs like?

And just in general, is there any such thing as general classroom/teaching assistants in Ireland that just help out with the day-to-day running of the class and groups of people rather than just working with individual people or small groups of people? The classroom/ teaching assistants in the UK seem to be more general classroom helps so was just wondering was there anything similar here in Ireland?

Sorry for the long enquiry, I just want to make sure that I’m fully informed about everything involved with this and go about it in the best way!

bearamy98

Thanks to both of ye for yer advice!

My preference would be to be more of a general classroom/school help rather than working with specific pupils, so I kinda thought that maybe I could do this course so that at least I’d have a Level 6 qualification to start out with and could maybe do a bit of work in the SNA/early years/school with that and then maybe down the line could branch into being a teaching assistant in England (I probably wouldn’t be ready for that big leap yet) or just being a general classroom help here (if they ever brought that in), and I think that if you work as a teaching assistant for a few years in England, you might be able to go in the backdoor to teaching so I could view that as a potential goal to work towards.

I really didn’t like the academic or social sides of uni life or just uni life in general so don’t see myself going back to that, and I wouldn’t start ECCE there again as I didn’t like the psychology etc in the course and then I didn’t get the points or Irish for teaching so even if i wanted to go back to uni for that, I wouldn’t be able to too easily.

Ideally I’d train to be a teacher, teaching assistant or early years teacher/worker on the job through an apprenticeship but they don’t seem to be bringing them in here anytime soon and I wouldn’t be ready to make the big jump to England just yet, and the early years/teaching assistant qualifications I’d get there would be at a lower level than what I’d get here (although the overall job pay would roughly be the same and I’d prefer to have a lower qualification and perhaps lower pay but be doing the job I’d like and not have to go to uni/college much for it rather than have a higher qualification but have struggled and been miserable in the process of getting it)

Do ye have any idea of what job prospects in the SNA/early years sector are like at the minute?

And have either of ye heard of the Progressive College and/or if it and the courses (especially the SNA and early years ones) are worthwhile and recognised?

Thanks again for yer help and advice!

Lady_North1

As an sna I can try answer any specific quiestions you might have.
Firstly I'd say just be aware that actually getting a full time sna job is very difficult. There's little or no job security....unless you're the first or second sna in a school. My school is due to lose three SNAs this year due to children leaving and none coming in. Not trying to frighten you or put you off but honesty... I would think long and hard about spending money to train as an sna as there are no assurances of getting a job out of it. The college I have heard of, lots of my friends did their courses with them... they are good and are recognised but expensive.

bearamy98

Okay thanks for that!

Just to know, where did your friends do the recognised/good courses?

I’m not sure what I’ll do long-term but I just think it could be a good way to start out and get some sort of qualification and then maybe work from there

bearamy98

Hi there,

I am considering doing an SNA Level 6 course and have found two intensive ones that would suit me.

However, one of them (the one that Portobello Institute offers) is a Level 6 one that awards you a Level 6 Minor Award (link: https://www.portobelloinstitute.ie/booking/specialneeds_l5_intenstive/ ) whereas the other one of them (the one that the Progressive College offers) is a Level 6 one that awards you a Level 6 Component Certificate (link: https://progressivecollege.ie/course/special-needs-assistant-training-qqi-level-6/ )

So I was just wondering would anyone know what the difference is between a Level 6 Minor Award and a Level 6 Component Certificate?
(I know that the Major one would be the best but that doesn’t seem to exist for SNA, does anyone know if it does?)

The Portobello one is dearer but the Minor Award sounds more likely to be worth more than the Progressive Component Certificate one but would just want to be sure before doing it.

And does anyone have any up-to-date opinions/experiences of either of these colleges or any other ones that might offer similar courses?

Thanks in advance!

bearamy98

Hi, I hope this is the right place to ask this!

I completed my Leaving Cert last year (with mostly higher level grades and all passes) and had been studying ECCE at Level 8 at university but was finding the course hard and hated uni life but so left halfway though First Year at the end of January (and have 30 credits from that).

I still want to work with children (ideally primary teaching but I wouldn’t be able for that) but the idea of doing a full-time academic course and being in a college environment doesn’t appeal to me so ideally I’d do an early years/ teaching assistant/ childcare apprenticeship but since they’re aren’t any of them here in Ireland, I’ve decided that maybe I could do a short Level 6 SNA or ECCE course, and came across Level 6 SNA ones by the Progressive College and the Portobello Institute that can be completed in one intensive week and has no formal entry requirements (the Portobello one says you must have done a Level 5 (which I haven’t done) but since I have a Leaving Cert and did a bit of ECCE at uni, I’d be hoping that that would be enough to get in)

Here’s the link to those particular websites and courses;

https://progressivecollege.ie/course/special-needs-assistant-training-qqi-level-6/

https://www.portobelloinstitute.ie/booking/specialneeds_l5_intenstive/

And I was just wondering is the Progressive College, the Portobello Institute, the Dorset College, the Chevron Institute and other places like them and their courses reputable and worthwhile and would they help me to get a job as a SNA/ classroom assistant or as an Early Years worker? I’m not complaining but it seems to be a very quick way of getting a Level 6 qualification compared to other places and I had never heard of most of those colleges so would want to be sure that I’d be doing a worthwhile and recognised course and that it would help me to get a job.

And would I have to source my own work placement for it or would that be imbedded into it?

The Progressive College SNA one is cheaper but only gives you a Level 6 component certificate whereas the Portobello Institute SNA one is dearer but gives you a Level 6 minor award.

So I’m just wondering what is the difference between these two awards and courses and other SNA courses offered by other places and which one would be the better one to do, the Minor Award or the Component Certificate (I know the major one is the best one but I can’t find any major SNA ones)?

And do ye know if I’d be able to get into a Level 6 course without having done a Level 5 one but having completed my Leaving Cert (mostly at higher level) and did one semester at college?

And could I use the credits I’d earn from them (I think each of those courses are only worth 15 credits each?) and the 30 credits I have from my time at uni to put towards a full Level 6 (or higher) major award in ECCE/Special Needs Assisting?

And is there any other intensive Level 6 ECCE/ SNA intensive short courses or apprenticeships (ideally in North Tipp or Limerick but I’d be willing to travel if not) that would lead to the same or better qualifications and recognitions?

I also like the idea of this kind of course but unfortunately I don’t think there’s any part-time/ intensive options, especially near me

Link; http://www.scfe.ie/pre-university-primary-and-post-primary-teacher-training/

And do ye have any idea of good and recognised First Aid and Sign Language courses that I could do along with them?

And what is the general duties, day-to-day life and pay for SNAs and ECCE workers like?

And just in general, is there any such thing as general classroom/teaching assistants in Ireland that just help out with the day-to-day running of the class and groups of people rather than just working with individual people or small groups of people? The classroom/ teaching assistants in the UK seem to be more general classroom helps so was just wondering was there anything similar here in Ireland?

Sorry for all of the questions, I’m just so clueless about the whole process and what each qualification actually means/represents so I want to make sure that I’m fully informed about everything involved with it all and go about it in the best way!

bearamy98

Oh and would I need to have completed a Level 5 course before doing any of these Level 6 ones or would my Leaving Cert (which was all passes at mostly higher level) and my one semester at uni be enough to ‘qualify’ me to do a Level 6 course without having done a relevant Level 5 one first?

bearamy98

Oh and would I need to have completed a Level 5 course before doing any of these Level 6 ones or would my Leaving Cert (which was all passes at mostly higher level) and my one semester at uni be enough to ‘qualify’ me to do a Level 6 course without having done a relevant Level 5 one first?

Sunrise_Sunset

I'm pretty sure you have to pass level 5 first.

bearamy98

Oh I thought having a Leaving Cert would replace the need to have a Level 5 since that is also a Level 5 no?

And some of them don’t say about needing a Level 5 or that you don’t need any previous qualifications so was wondering what the general story was with that

Sunrise_Sunset

A quick email to each of the colleges would clear that up for you.

As far as I'm aware the Leaving cert is not comparable with QQI level 5. Therefore in order to complete level 6, you would need the level 5 qualification. If you have done any other childcare courses at a similar level they do take that into consideration, so that you don't duplicate completion of certain modules. But you need proof of these qualifications and the Leaving cert is not one of them.

Sunrise_Sunset

On the link you posted for Portobello college, scroll down to "Entry Requirements".......

Entry to this course is by direct application to the college. Students must have gained QQI Level 5 Component Certificate Special Needs Assistant or equivalent.

bearamy98

Okay thanks, I had seen that but I didn’t know if it was a general guideline or a mandatory requirement, especially since I already have a Leaving Cert and 30 college credits in a related field

byhookorbycrook

Mod Note Threads merged, as quite similar in scope.

sarahdylan

I would think you would have to pass a level 5 before doing it. You can’t use college credits because you dropped out so all those credits automatically disappear

bearamy98 wrote: »

Oh and would I need to have completed a Level 5 course before doing any of these Level 6 ones or would my Leaving Cert (which was all passes at mostly higher level) and my one semester at uni be enough to ‘qualify’ me to do a Level 6 course without having done a relevant Level 5 one first?

bearamy98

Thanks for that, I only put up multiple ones as I wasn’t sure where I might get the most help/ answers!

Oh coz when I contacted QQI to ask the same kinda thing (just to know from an official point of view), they said that 30 credits would be valuable to put towards another award