Educational Support Workers: Professionalism in Practice (ESW)

Completion of the ESW programme leads to the achievement of an accredited qualification which reflects your skills as a professional Support Worker. It will enable you to extend your knowledge, to share good practice, to access a wealth of BRITE resources and to be part of a practitioners' network.

The focus is on the roles, responsibilities and key tasks relating to the provision of educational support in a range of settings (for example creating accessible materials and formats, note taking, scribing and proof reading).

Level

On successful completion of this course and the assignments, candidates achieve 2 SQA HN units:

• Learner Support: Principles and Practice of the Learning Facilitator/Assistant in Supporting Learners with Diverse Needs (Unit code: DP9C 34)
• Learner Support: Support Strategies - Key Function (Unit code: DP9D 34)

On completion of these 2 units, candidates will have achieved an SQA approved qualification at level 7 (equivalent to HNC): Professionalism in Practise for Educational Support Workers. Candidates who wish to also undertake a third unit in Managing Challenging Behaviour (MCB) will be eligible to achieve a full PDA in Learner Support.

Mode of attendance

ESW is available either face-to-face or online.

Typically, face-to-face training is offered at venues in central Scotland. However, training may be offered outside Scotland at institutions where there are sufficient numbers of participants. Contact us to request training in your area.

When you see a v preceding a course title, this indicates the course is 'virtual' and is delivered entirely online using our interactive virtual classroom and resource centre. If you choose to participate in vESW you will achieve the same qualification as those who study face-to-face. Many people select this option for the convenience and flexibility it offers.

Intake and duration

vESW, the virtual version of this course, runs from October to May the following year and consists of 6 taught online sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, plus 5 x 15 minute online guidance sessions.

ESW, the face-to-face version of this course, typically runs from October to May the following year and consists of 3 full days of teaching. However, if your institution hosts the training and 12 of your staff are interested in undertaking the same accredited course, BRITE can bring the training to you and deliver the programme on any weekday at a time to suit you (including twilight and evening). You have the added flexibility of negotiating the frequency of the training (e.g. weekly, fortnightly. etc.) and the cost per head is almost half that of registering individual candidates for the same programme. Contact us to find out more about this offer.