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Education

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

CHC50121

Ready to take the next step in your childhood education career? Step up into a Centre Coordinator or Director role and make an immediate impact on the health, development, and well-being of the children in your care. Transform yourself into a confident leader ready to lead your team to success.
  • Flexible payment options
  • Study to fit into your routine
  • Nationally recognised accreditation
  • Start studying as soon as you enrol
  • No exams, ever.
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Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

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    Upfront Cost

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Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Start studying today

Intro to Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Promote the Growth and Development of Young People

The nationally recognised CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care is designed to prepare you for a successful career in Childhood education. You will learn how to develop the knowledge and skills to work across a range of early childhood settings, lead a team to success and ignite children's imaginations.

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Job Outcomes

Explore More Careers

Job Skills

  • Communication skills
  • Management skills
  • Education practices
  • Team management
  • Team work

Spend your time studying and let Open Colleges organise your work placement for you. In partnership with leading provider SkilTrak, we have introduced Guaranteed Work Placement to provide you with real-world experience in your dream career that's close to home.

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Course breakdown

What you’ll learn in this course

In this qualification, you will learn how to plan, implement and manage programs in early childhood services and be responsible for supervising a team of staff. Become a valued part of the early childhood education sector, and make an impact on children’s lives today.

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

BSBSUS511
Develop workplace policies and procedures for sustainability
  • Prepare workplace sustainability policies. 
  • Implement workplace sustainability policies.
  • Review implementation of workplace sustainability policies.
CHCPRP003
Reflect on and improve own professional practice
  • Reflect on own practice
  • Enhance own practice
  • Facilitate ongoing professional development
BSBTWK502
Manage team effectiveness
  • Establish team performance plan. 
  • Develop and facilitate team cohesion. 
  • Facilitate teamwork.
  • Liaise with stakeholders.
BSBHRM413
Support the learning and development of teams and individuals
  • Contribute to needs development. 
  • Support implementation of learning and development.
  • Monitor and evaluate workplace learning. 
CHCDIV003
Manage and promote diversity
  • Research diversity in the workplace.
  • Foster diversity.
  • Adapt communication strategies.
  • Contribute to workplace diversity policies and procedures.
5/ modules
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Let’s match you with the right career

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Open Colleges is an easy, supportive, and prompt platform that helped me gain my certificate online. Help was always there when needed, a...
Open Colleges is an easy, supportive, and prompt platform that helped me gain my certificate online. Help was always there when needed, and the educators were lovely all the way through. ...
Jessica M.
Education Graduate, June 2022
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It was a very amazing experience, and after completing, I was promoted. Now I am already a manager in a center. I'm so grateful to OC for...
It was a very amazing experience, and after completing, I was promoted. Now I am already a manager in a center. I'm so grateful to OC for doing a very good job in training me. I was equip...
Pamela T.
Education Graduate, July 2021
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Studying with Open Colleges

Study designed to
fit into your routine

What ever your reason for study, our courses are
designed to fit into your routine. 

  • No exams, ever.

    We mean it. Instead, assessments range from open book multiple choice quizzes, portfolios, videos & written assessments

  • Flexible study to fit into your routine

    Study anywhere at any time with 24/7 access to your units.

  • A learning platform optimized for online study

    Our courses are curated to maintain engagement across video, written content, assignments & audio.

When can you start? Anytime you like!

There are no start and finish dates, no semesters, so no need to wait. Just enrol and start the path to your new life whenever you’re ready!

Envision your routine while studying with Open Colleges

How quickly do you want to finish your course?

  • 24 months
  • 18 months
  • 12 months
Learn more about online study
  • Daily routine
  • 07:00 am - 08:00 am

    Coffee + Study
  • 08:00 am - 09:00 am

    Morning routine + commute
  • 09:00 am - 01:00 pm

    Work
  • 01:00 pm - 02:00 pm

    Lunch + Study
  • 02:00 pm - 05:00 pm

    Work
  • 05:00 pm - 06:30 pm

    Evening routine
  • 06:30 pm - 07:30 pm

    Study session
  • 07:30 pm - 08:30 pm

    Break
  • 08:30 pm - 09:30 pm

    Study session
  • 09:30 pm - onwards

    Relax

Study for a minimum 28 hours per week to complete modules in 12 months

  • Daily routine
  • 07:00 am - 08:00 am

    Coffee + Study
  • 08:00 am - 09:00 am

    Morning routine + commute
  • 09:00 am - 05:00 pm

    Work
  • 05:00 pm - 06:30 pm

    Evening routine
  • 06:30 pm - 07:30 pm

    Study session
  • 07:30 pm - 08:00 pm

    Break
  • 08:00 pm - 09:00 pm

    Study session
  • 09:00 pm - onwards

    Relax

Study for a minimum 18.7 hours per week to complete modules in 18 months

  • Daily routine
  • 07:00 am - 08:00 am

    Coffee + Study
  • 08:00 am - 09:00 am

    Morning routine + commute
  • 09:00 am - 05:00 pm

    Work
  • 05:00 pm - 06:30 pm

    Evening routine
  • 06:30 pm - 07:30 pm

    Study session
  • 07:30 pm - onwards

    Relax

Study for a minimum 14 hours per week to complete modules in 24 months

Your course may include work placement which will be completed in addition to weekly study blocks.

We'll help you study smarter! 

Get in touch for tailored study advice
Our passionate team

Your trainer

Debra Hine
Debra has been involved in Early Childhood Education and Care in various forms for more than 50 years. She initially completed her Mothercraft Nurse training, and began her career caring for babies, toddlers and young children. She then completed a Nursing Diploma and worked in this field, along with providing private care in the homes of families who required support with babies.
Charmaine Debono
Charmaine has worked in early childhood education and care settings for 10 years with children aged 0-5 years. Whilst working as an Early Childhood Educator, she completed a Certificate III and Diploma in Children’s Services, and went on to complete a Bachelor of Education (Birth to 5 years). During her time as an educator, she worked as an assistant educator, room leader and 2nd-in-charge.
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Debra Hine

Education
Debra has been involved in Early Childhood Education and Care in various forms for more than 50 years. She initially completed her Mothercraft Nurse training, and began her career caring for babies, toddlers and young children. She then completed a Nursing Diploma and worked in this field, along with providing private care in the homes of families who required support with babies.
Debra has also completed a Diploma of Children’s Services, a Bachelor of Children’s Services, a Graduate Diploma of Education (Adult and Workplace Learning) and various forms of the Certificate IV/Diploma in Training and Assessment.

Debra worked in a position as a School Services Officer, before she moved on to working as a Fieldworker for Family Day Care for 4 years. 
An opportunity arose to work as an Early Childhood Education and Care Lecturer with TAFESA where she remained until December 2019, having been with them for almost 20 years. Debra is a passionate trainer and assessor and has worked across Certificate III and the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, as well as the Advanced Diploma of Children’s Services, Workplace Assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning.

Debra has now worked as a Trainer and Assessor for over 25 years, with the last 5 years at Open Colleges.

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Charmaine Debono

Education
Charmaine has worked in early childhood education and care settings for 10 years with children aged 0-5 years. Whilst working as an Early Childhood Educator, she completed a Certificate III and Diploma in Children’s Services, and went on to complete a Bachelor of Education (Birth to 5 years). During her time as an educator, she worked as an assistant educator, room leader and 2nd-in-charge.
Charmaine then went on to complete a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment to allow her to share her passion for early childhood education and care with others, where she has now worked as a Trainer and Assessor for Open Colleges for over 10 years.



Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours of work placement do I need to do for Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

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The course contains a minimum of 320 hours of work placement. Work placement hours can be done part time or as a block, depending on the host organisation's requirements and availability. To find out what the suitable workplaces are for this course, download the course guide.

Do I need to complete the Certificate III Early Childhood Education and Care first

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Yes. In order to enrol in the Diploma, you must hold a CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care or the CHC30113 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Will I be able to run my own Family Day Care Centre after this Diploma

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From 1 July 2023, new family day care educators must hold an approved certificate III level (or higher) qualification prior to commencing their role in a family day care service and they cannot be 'actively working towards' a qualification. FDC requirements vary, so please check the regulations are requirements for your state.

Study and pay, your way

Payment Options

Week to week
Pay as you go
Save 4%
Pay in $200.00 today & then over 104 instalments
$49.03 Weekly
Total course cost: $5,299.00
Save $200.00
was $5,499.00
Fortnightly
From Payright
Save 18%
Pay in 65 instalments over the length of your course.
$69.38 Weekly
Total course cost: $4,510.00
Save $989.00
was $5,499.00
Pay Upfront
Save 35%
$3,575.00 Save $1,924.00
was $5,499.00
Full course breakdown
TBD