Residential and Fee-paying Nursery Nurse Training Colleges

The best-known fee-paying colleges are the Norland Training College and the Chiltern College.

• The colleges offer intensive; two-year courses and students are trained in the CACHE Diploma in Childcare and Education.
  
• Fees are high and graduates are in hot demand as pupils from the courses are highly trained and have made a considerable investment into their childcare careers so are thought to be particularly dedicated.
  
• Colleges take applications from students after their GCSE's.
  
• Perhaps the biggest advantage of these residential colleges is that they have on-site
  nurseries for under-fives so students gain invaluable hands on experience and the college can regulate the quality of that experience.
  
• Students wear a uniform and college employment registries deal with many of their placements, you can find the relevant numbers by each college.
  
• There are also a couple of other smaller, private colleges, which you might come across. We have included them below.

Norland College

The Chiltern College

Montessori Centre International

Surrey College School of Child Care

Norland College

• Norland is one of the most famous of the colleges, Norland Nannies and their traditional brown uniforms are legendary.
• The college is situated in Bath.
  
• Norland makes great efforts to give students an up to date and rounded education that mirrors the needs of today's childcare market. Students are taught child psychology, employer and employee relationships and there is a high tec IT centre. This doesn't mean that the tradition childcare staples are passed by - students are still taught to sew and cook nutritious food for children.
  
• Norland also runs the Diploma of Higher Education in Early Childhood Studies, which started in 1999. It is a more academic course than the CACHE diploma and students must have two 'A' levels or GNVQ at an advanced level to apply.
  
• The Norland Hotel where parents could drop children overnight has now closed but Norland students still experience 24-hour, hands on, residential childcare as they are placed with local families for short periods of time. Other practical experience is gained in placements around Bath.
  
• Students who pass the exams, including the final Norland Assessment, become probationers. The Norland Diploma and badge are not awarded until a student has successfully completed a year in a probationary post.
  
• Parents can find out about employing a probationer, which is cheaper than the fully qualified Norlander, through the college, which also deals with placements on all other Norland Nurses.

For more information contact The Norland employment agency College, York Place, London Road, Bath, BA1 6AE. Tel: 01225 466 202. Email: mail@norland.co.uk. Website:www.norland.co.uk

The Chiltern College

• The Chiltern College is situated in Caversham, Reading and has been educating professional childcarers since 1931
  
• Students at Chiltern study the two-year Cache diploma in childcare and education which dovetails with the NVQ level 3 childcare and education.
  
• Girls also study for the Chiltern certificate, which includes more theory and practice and spends more time on vocational skills such as cooking, woodwork and craft.
  
• Chiltern students are only awarded their badges after they have proved that they can apply their skills to the workplace and need to produce good references form a six-month employment period to qualify.
  
• Chiltern has 200 children in the college's daily care, aged from 12 weeks to 11 years - they have their own primary school.
  
• Chiltern students gain practical experience in the on-campus childcare facilities and the school has also forged links with local nurseries, primary schools and hospitals so that the students can make comparisons with the state and private sectors.
  
• Chiltern also has links with health visitors and students spend four weeks on special placements in local homes where there are multiple births to gain newborn experience
  
• Chiltern runs a graduate support scheme, which provides advice and support for graduates and for the rest of their careers.
  
• You can call Chiltern directly to apply for a Chiltern nanny - you need to call the main number and ask for a nanny pack. Be warned however, Chiltern nannies are in hot demand and there are currently 200 unfilled positions on the books.

Chiltern College, Peppard Road Caversham, Reading, Berks RG4 8JZ.Tel: 0118 947 1847. Website: www.chilterncollege.com

Montessori Centre International

• Montessori Centre International is a fee-paying college located in London's West End.
  
• They cover a broad range of full, part-time and distance learning courses.
  
• Students are admitted from 17 years upwards and over the years they have trained more than 20,000 students who have gone on to work as Montessori teachers, many establishing their own schools. Others work as nannies in a variety of childcare settings.
  
• The Montessori Centre International is unique in that it offers students a full Montessori training combined with a state recognised diploma in nursery nursing.
  
• It is an expensive course, however students to leave with two qualifications which make them extremely versatile.
  
• Dr Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was a pioneer in early years education and the inventor of the Montessori teaching method. She believed that all children want to learn and can absorb knowledge with effort if they are given the right kind of activities at the right time of their development by teachers who are trained to observe carefully and respond to their individual needs. (Montessori Centre brochure)
  
• In the Montessori method the child is encouraged to explore and learn through play in a carefully planned classroom. In Montessori schools children develop at their own pace, nothing is forced, and children are made to feel capable and self-reliant.

Montessori Centre International, 18 Balderton Street, London W1YITG Tel: 0207493 0165  Website: www.montessori.ac.uk

Surrey College School of Child Care

• Surrey College was established in Guildford in 1994 and is a sort of childcare crammer.
• Courses are extremely intensive and much shorter as there are no holidays.
  
• Groups are small and pupils receive a lot of individual attention.
  
• Students can either attend daily or on a residential basis.
  
• There are courses available to suit all kind of needs from babysitters wishing to improve their knowledge of childcare to people wanting to pursue a career in childcare.
  
• Among the range of courses are a seven-month intensive Montessori diploma and nursery nurse courses lasting twelve weeks or six months.
  
• Students who successfully complete their nursery nurse diploma studies achieve the nationally recognised BTEC NVQ level 3 in Early Years Care and Education,
  
• Groups are small and students are expected to work hard, they pack a lot in during the courses.
  
• There are other courses on offer for childcare students wishing to supplement their skills: IT, secretarial training, business administration and Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
  
• A parent looking for college graduates and graduates looking for work can use The School of Childcare Job shop. Contact details below.

Surrey College School of Childcare, Admin Centre, Abbot House, Sydenham Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3RL. Tel: 01483-565-887