Early Years Educator – Mentor Standardisation
We are required by the Awarding Organisation for workplace mentors to attend standardisation training. Due to the nature of distance learning and time commitments of mentors, this standardisation will be completed remotely and at a time suitable for the mentor. We will arrange periodic standardisation sessions for mentors and at least 1 must be attended by each of the learner’s mentors prior to the learner’s completion of the course. Learners cannot be certificated without this being completed.
Please take the time to review the standardisation updates below which will be updated periodically with relevant updates to the course or mentor guidance. There is an opportunity on the mentor upload form to ask questions and answers to these questions will be shared on this website page or sent directly to the mentor via email depending on the type of question asked.
Thank you for agreeing to support the learner within your workplace.
11.12.24 - Mentor Standardisation
Once we approve you as a mentor, we will send out a standardisation presentation relating to completing Observations of Practice.
Please view the presentation and complete this link to confirm you have completed the training.
30.11.24 - Course guidance – Observational Evidence of Practice
The Observational Evidence of Practice documents need to be filled in periodically with observations of the learner’s completion of the Practical Placement Assessment Criteria. A suitably qualified witness in the setting must complete the observations and should be listed on the Setting Agreement Form.
Observational Evidence of Practice must be:
- Dated for each activity e.g. on the 03/03/2019 I observed Joanne…….The following day 04/03/2019 I observed Joanne……
- Written at the time of observation and submitted within 3 months of being completed
- Written in the third person (I observed Joanne working with…..)
- Written as a narrative (explaining exactly what Joanne was seen doing or saying to show the skills and abilities were in place in her practices, not simply what she knows)
- Typed or handwritten by the mentor (it cannot be in the learner’s handwriting and, if typed, the mentor should handwrite a short confirmation at the end of the document confirming it is a true and correct record)
- Include a signature and date of both the mentor and learner
- All signatures on the Observations documents must be included on the Setting Agreement Form
- Sufficient evidence of each assessment criteria must be provided (one or two lines is not enough)
Please see the exemplar document for how this should be completed. This will be sent by the support team once we approve you as a suitable mentor for the learner.
01.10.24 – Overview of Observations on the new NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years Sector 610/4164/6 qualification
The main role of the mentor is to observe the learner’s practice over 8 observations and to provide a written record of each observation which is assessed by NCC.
For observations 1-6, the learner must produce a written plan of their planned session and this should be provided to you before the observation takes place. A written plan is not required for observations 7 and 8.
The observations required during the period of the course are as follows;
Observation 1: Observation of learner leading a reading session with a young child.
Observation 2: Observation of learner leading a reading session with a small group of children (up to 4 children).
Observation 3: Observation of learner leading a session with a large group of children (5 children or more) which includes participation in songs and rhymes and reading a story.
Observation 4: Observation of learner leading a play experience within an indoor environment which includes an element of early mathematics.
Observation 5: Observation of learner leading a play experience within an outdoor environment which includes an element of supporting early mathematics.
Observation 6: This observation should focus on leading an experience which includes an element of food preparation.
Observation 7: This observation could include an element of communication with parents and carers or visitors to the setting, communication with other staff members (for example in a team meeting or during a handover) and record keeping.
Observation 8: Observing a learner leading a reading session and participating in songs and rhymes with an individual baby (if a learner does not have access to babies within the setting, they are required to contact the support team to discuss this observation).
Upon approving you as a mentor, we will email you this information in addition to the following:
- Direct Observations Standardisation for Mentors (please read and follow the link at the end to confirm it has been viewed and understood)
- Observation guidance and exemplar document
- Observations 1-8 recording documents.
Other course documents:
In addition to the observations, the learner will produce several work products (independently) e.g. a risk assessment, reflective journal or professional development plan as indicated in the course contents, and mentors are required to sign these to confirm that they have been discussed.
Professional discussions are completed periodically with the learner and their NCC tutor and the mentor is not required to be involved with these.
Assignments are submitted directly to the tutor and mentors are not required to have any involvement with these.