Knowledge Zone

Natasha Murphy is the Manager at Portobello Montessori School, tutors on our Level 5 and Level 6 Early Childhood Education programmes and is a Masters student at Portobello. 

Natasha explains why she recommends a Level 8 Degree in Early Childhood Studies at Portobello Institute. 

“Studying a Level 8 at Portobello Institute allowed me to progress on to a managerial role in my setting and it allowed me to progress my career further to tutoring on the Level 5 and Level 6 programmes.  

“Completing your Level 8 allows you to choose an area of interest to you and study it in depth. For me I chose a topic that I was interested in and that was also relevant to my setting and that was home visits.  

“It also led me to my tutor role that I am in now and I really feel like completing your Level 8 is the way forward as our sector is becoming more professionalised.  

“Síolta actually states that those in a managerial role should hold a qualification at at least Bachelor level.  

“My advice to any students out there thinking about progressing on to their Level 8 is first of all do it and second of all when you are choosing your studies, choose a topic that is interesting to you because that makes the work a lot easier.  

“Progressing from my Level 7 to Level 8 I didn’t really see any difference, I actually found the Level 8 more enjoyable as I was studying something I had a big interest in and I thought the transition was minimal compared to the transition from Level 6 to Level 7.  

“My favourite part about my Level 8 was definitely undertaking research on a topic that I was interested in and it allowed me to gain the views and opinions of parents and practitioners in my setting.  

“I didn’t just gain my BA Honours Early Childhood Studies Degree I also gained way more confidence than I ever thought I would have in myself.  

“One of my favourite things about my Level 8 was definitely having the printed version of my thesis because this is all of my hard work and it’s just a great sense of achievement,” she said. 

Book a consultation with Jennifer Matteazzi here to secure your place ahead of the deadline this weekend, February 26. Call Jennifer on 01 892 0031. 

Portobello Institute offers a range of qualifications in Early Years and Montessori, check them out here. 

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