Our Courses

Childcare

The College offers the FETAC Level 5 Childcare DCHSC award as a full time course over an academic year, and the individual component certificates are available via part time or distance learning. The full award is also available part time over two years, learners cover four modules each year.
The College offers the full FETAC Level 6 Childcare award as a part time course and the individual component certificates via part time or distance learning. Montessori (see below) and a number of other externally accredited childcare courses are also available.
For those  wishing to enter the area of  management, the College runs a Crèche Management course certified by ILM. (Level 3 Certificate in first line management). ILM are currently in the process of mapping their awards to the National Framework of Qualifications.

Special Needs Assistant

The College is the leading provider of Special Needs Assistant Training in the country. It is the only course in Ireland which is certified by both FETAC and Froebel College of Education (Primary School Teacher Training College). Many of our learners have successfully secured posts in the primary school network throughout the country and in other settings where there are children who have special needs. Parents who are caring for a special needs child in the home have also found this course very useful. The College continually updates this course to ensure it remains relevant to the role of the Special Needs Assistant. Learners are awarded a Froebel diploma when they complete both the Froebel certificate and diploma courses. Learners who complete the certificate course also receive two FETAC Level 5 component certificates - Special Needs Assisting and Understanding Special Needs and learners who complete the diploma course receive a FETAC Level 6 component certificate.

Montessori

The College of Progressive Education and the Montessori Education Centre have joined their expertise to offer one of the best Montessori (0-6) training courses on the Irish market. Together we have 45 years of experience of delivering training in Ireland and abroad. The Montessori course which includes six FETAC Level 6 component certificates is suitable for those learners who wish to work in a Montessori facility working with children from 0-6 years. The course will run for a year commencing in September and finishing in late June in five locations throughout Ireland Cork, Dundalk, Kerry, Longford and Waterford.

Healthcare

The College of Progressive Education recognise the value of residential and day care workers as vital to the provision of quality care and support of older people.
Care workers have increasing contact with their clients, often much more than their professional colleagues and because they know and understand their clients to a much deeper level than those professionals who may only interact with the client for an hour at a time. We believe that these workers who are a crucial part of the care provision service for the elderly and should themselves be supported with a thorough and in depth training. The College of Progressive Education has been developing and delivering flexible training courses to suit the needs of the learner and nursing home managers/owners.
Most of the College’s healthcare courses qualify for FAS CDP funding of up to 75% particularly the full FETAC Healthcare support certificate Level 5 and the Care of the Older Person FETAC level 5 component certificate. The College also offers a range of other FETAC Healthcare Level 5 Component Certificates via part time or distance learning. The College also has a qualified moving and handling trainer for the provision of this specialist training.

General

Courses are offered through the following methods:

Part-time Courses

These are typically either day-release, evening, morning or Saturday courses normally held once a week. The College holds courses in many major towns and locations within the Republic of Ireland. Venues for the courses vary year to year but we endeavor to ensure learners in all locations have easy access to us. Alternatively, others may prefer to avail of our distance-learning/On-Line programme.
The College has a venue coordinator dedicated to ensuring the comfort of all classroom environments. We aim to provide an environment conducive to learning and aim to source the best venues possible. Hence, venues may vary from term to term.

Distance Learning/On-Line

The administrative and support functions for our distance learning programme are based in our main office in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Materials dispatched are also generated from this location. The tutor support network is distributed nationwide to provide greater access for learners. At present all workshops are centralised in Dublin City but start and end times for workshops are arranged in order to accommodate learner travel.

Outreach

We provide on-site/group training upon request to groups or organisations nationwide. We also provide our courses in partnership with other providers.