Childcare & Health & Social Care

Child or Adult (Health & Social) Care - What's It Gonna Be?

At East Durham College, we've got the care industry completely covered. We offer a huge range of both childcare and adult health and social care courses, allowing you to choose a field to specialise in.

Courses are available from Level 1 all the way to Foundation Degree level, so if you're serious about making a future career in the care industry, East Durham College is the place to do it!

If you're interested in childcare, we offer a wide range of courses which will allow you to work from children aged 1-5 in a nursery, or support children from aged 5-16 in a school environment. The college even has its own on-site nursery - Positive Steps - where childcare students can gain extremely valuable work experience.

For those more interested in working with adults, consider a course in adult health and social care instead. These courses prepare you for work with adult clients in hospitals or care homes, or other settings where adults need care.

Before we dive in too much, why not take a look at what care at EDC has to offer by watching our video below?

Why Study Childcare at EDC?

Childcare is one of our most popular courses here at EDC, and it's not hard to see why!

It's a fantastic job where you'll really get the chance to make a difference to the lives of young people, and with courses here at East Durham College, you can get your career in childcare started.

There's loads of reasons why you should consider studying childcare with us, including:

• Amazing Facilities - students studying childcare will get to use our on-site nursery - Positive Steps - for real work experience, supported by our new nursery/lecture theatre which features a kitchen and separate nursery observation room for interacting with the children who use our nursery facilities.
• Highly Experienced Lecturers - with years of experience of working in the industry, our lecturers are the best people to teach you all about it!
• We've got a Course for Everyone! - no matter what grades you got at school, we've got a childcare course for you! Our childcare courses start at level 1 up to level 3, and we've also got a T Level in Education & Childcare, which combines traditional vocational learner with an extended work experience placement

Studying Health & Social Care at East Durham College

If you're more interested in caring for adults as your future career, you should be seriously thinking about studying health & social care at EDC!

With a range of courses available all the way up to foundation degree level, we're confident we've got the right course for you to ensure you get the right training to get your start in exciting careers such as being a care assistant, or maybe even nursing if you go on to university afterwards.

The EDC Hospital Ward - An Amazing Space for Health & Social Care Students

At East Durham College, we're all about making next-generation facilities for the next generation of care workers!

That's exactly why we've invested in a state-of-the-art authentic hospital ward at our Peterlee campus, ensuring that health & social care learners can get real practical training in a hospital environment.

This amazing space features loads of incredible equipment, including:

• Real hospital beds, complete with mechanical controls for raising and lowering
• Weighted mannequins, to give students real experience of moving patients
• Toilet and showering facilities
• Seating area with large-size TV for theory sessions
• Mock reception desk 
• Hoists for the movement of patients