For many individuals, entering the world of adult education is a natural next step in their career, leaving the childcare industry to become a Tutor (formerly known as an Assessor). At Showcase, we welcome applications from candidates of all walks of life; as long as you have plenty of early years experience, we welcome applicants with no prior Assessing or Tutoring qualifications or experience.
For those wishing to take the leap into our world, have you considered what you may need to prepare for the journey? The transition is complex and vast but there are some things you could consider doing to help future applications if this is an ambition.
The first is to read up on current Apprenticeship standard delivery models to understand modern assessing techniques and the use of e-Portfolio systems. This will really help to understand the structure of a course, what elements are involved, and the expectations for learners. You can download and read current qualification specifications from Awarding Body websites to understand the main aims, for example Early Years Practitioner (EYP) Level 2 or Early Years Educator (EYE) Level 3.
Another idea is to begin Adult Education courses, such as the Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA), or the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (formerly PTLLS). These are mandatory qualifications for Tutors to hold, so might help you to learn more about the role and methods for delivery.
There are also a number of free courses available, and we recommend the Information, Advice and Guidance Level 2 course through Distance Learning. This course gives an insight into a key aspect of the role and may help you to apply your existing knowledge into what may be required of a Tutor.
Vision2Learn are also great for free online courses, especially their Equality and Diversity; find it here: https://www.vision2learn.net/courses.
Foundation Online have free Prevent Duty courses too – this is a really important aspect of adult education and for Ofsted, so a sound knowledge of this would be expected by any Training Provider at interview.
One last piece of advice is to think about your own transition and keep up to date with industry changes, both within the sector (in our case, Childcare) and Adult Education – this includes the teaching of Maths and English Functional Skills. This is crucial for Tutors as they are expected to update CPD logs continually to ensure they are at the forefront of current standards and industry knowledge/practice – without being in a setting this can be difficult.
Websites like FE Week are great for news within Adult Education, updates, and current performance across providers such as Achievement Rate, which will help your understanding of the mechanisms behind what we do. Alternatively, we have a blog on our own website that issues updates we notice from the industry such as the recent Working Together to Safeguard Children update issued by the DoE (September 2022).
Finally, if you have any questions you can always contact us – we are here to help offer advice and guidance to anyone wishing to know more, so by all means please do drop us a line below if you wanted to speak to someone.
All the best,
Team Showcase