Level 2 Early Years learners reflect on their journey

We spoke to three students, Esther, Ruby, and Kayleigh, about their time studying Level 2 Early Years at EKC Dover College.

They are finishing their second year of the Early Years programme and enjoyed reflecting on their experiences in the classroom, interacting with staff, and in their work placement settings. 

Entering Early Years: 

Ruby:  

“You don’t really know what to expect when you’re coming from secondary school. I quite like that it isn’t exam-based, we do mainly physical work or course work. You do it at your own pace and the teachers are very supportive here with that.” 

Kayleigh:  

“I have learned a lot since starting. I’ve learned about different stages of development, different types of abilities, parenting methods, etc. And I’ve learned that I’m high achieving in the class.” 

Lecturers and Staff Support: 

Kayleigh: 

“I feel like I’m treated more like an adult by the tutors. Fiona, our Lecturer, talked to me and encouraged me, saying that I’m good at this course. It felt really positive finding out I’m one of the higher achieving students in the class.” 

Ruby: 

“In the first year, they really help you a lot with everything. In the second year, they let you go on your own and you come to them with questions. When they answer the questions, it’s really helpful. They help you to answer your question yourself.” 

Observations and Work Placements: 

Kayleigh: 

“The work placement has been great because it’s helped me decide what I prefer to do. I had one placement in the baby room and one in reception, and I now know that I prefer to work on reception. If I didn’t do the work placement, I wouldn’t have known that I didn’t like the baby room as much as I thought.” 

Ruby: 

“We sometimes have to plan an activity that we get assessed on for the course. We have to then act that out and our teachers observe us. Waiting for that to happen beforehand feels scary. When you get started, you lose yourself in a good way, and it’s really fine.” 

Esther: 

“It’s amazing to be in a placement to get more experience because I learned more there than what I knew from the classroom.” 

Future Plans: 

Kayleigh: 

“I’m going to do my Level 3 in Early Years.” 

Ruby:  

“It was mid-way through the course that I realised I want to be a midwife and plan to do the Access to HE course. I was working in the baby unit because that’s what I thought I wanted to do, but I looked into the more medical side I thought ‘This is more me.’ There are some ways Early Years will help me as a midwife because we learn about babies and development.” 

Esther: 

“I knew I wanted to be a midwife since I left secondary school. But I also thought I wanted to work with children. It’s been worth doing the Early Years course. I’ve learned a lot. In some ways, it would help me as a midwife too. We learn about safeguarding.” 

Visit our website to learn more about our Education and Early Years courses and apply today.