Testimonials

2021 the year I turned forty and decided to change my career in the height of a global pandemic. With the undeniable stresses of working from home with my three year old son, I decided I did not want to spend the next 26 years working in the financial industry an industry I fell in to at the young age of nineteen. At this point my research began for what I wanted to do for the rest of my working life. From an early age I had an interest in children, I always enjoyed babysitting, looking after my nieces and nephews and engaging with children. When my own son was born in 2017 I was interested in knowing more about how children learn and develop especially within the first five years of their life’s. The importance of the childcare sector also stood out to me during the pandemic and how so many people were affected by the closure of this industry myself included. These thoughts and interests then lead to me searching through many websites of different colleges. The ECCE with Montessori blend through The Progressive College stood out to me for many reasons. The course content was exactly what I was looking for and all the information was readily available online. It was so clear and transparent for someone like me returning to college after many years. This made it easy for me and I was confident and happy making my decision to enrol with The Progressive College. From the time I completed the online enrolment the process was seamless. From start to finish the course was such an enjoyable experience. Even after a busy day in the office the one thing I would truly look forward to would be the live webinars with my tutor Olive English and the other students as this was something I was doing for myself. I can not speak more highly of my tutor. Olives knowledge of Montessori and early childhood care and education was excellent and the support through out each module and each assignment was endless. Olive made it such an interesting and enjoyable experience. In the duration of my studies with The Progressive College I found myself in a difficult personal situation and the college was very approachable and considerate. The college provided me with options and extra supports and with all modules done and assignments handed in I had successfully completed the QQI level 6 ECCE with Montessori Blend. It was such a rewarding moment for me. Despite juggling a full time job, a family and the pandemic, I can happily say with great appreciation and thanks to the College I will be starting a new career fully equipped with the knowledge, confidences and Qualification to make the move to the early childhood care and education sector all achieved through The Progressive College.   

I have only good words to say about Progressive College and the Healthcare Assistant course. We had brilliant teachers who taught us many practical and useful things which I applied immediately when I started working. They were helpful and had a lot of patience. If I was to do another healthcare course in the future, I would always check if Progressive College offers it. I had no problem finding a job and was offered a job even before I finished my course. Progressive College taught me a lot and equipped me with a knowledge which can never go away, with which I can help people and which makes me a better person.

Thank you, I am eternally grateful

I completed the QQI Childcare course level 6 major award in ECCE with Montessori on a full time basis in 2013/2014. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the course and will remember my time with Progressive College fondly. I was initially worried starting the course as it was a career change and I would be a mature student. I had no reason to worry and I will never look back. The tutors were all a fantastic help from beginning to end and although it was hard work the tutors were there for us every step of the way. I loved learning with them and really felt like they were on the journey with us. The course coordinator, Karen, was a huge help and so welcoming and approachable when it came to queries or anything we needed. I found the work experience element to be a massive advantage as we got to really connect with the children over the year and it gave me the confidence when going into a job as I had learnt so much over the year and couldn’t wait to utilise my new skills.

All in all I would recommend this course to anyone and I would say enjoy every minute because the year flies in.

For several years we at Simbas have been privileged to have some students complete their work experience from the Progressive College. We found each student to have a high standard of knowledge of the Montessori Curriculum and also a willingness to partake in all group activities. We found a number of the students to be so impressive that we offered them a fulltime position. We look forward to the prospect of more students doing their work experience with us and we wish the Progressive College continued success in their training programmes

I have worked at Brightsparks Montessori and Daycare for 12 years as a Montessori and Childcare assistant. Having already achieved my level 6 in Childcare Supervision I decided to get the Montessori qualification. After researching lots of Colleges I found the Progressive College Blended Learning course to be the best for me, as I could work full time and still achieve my qualification.  The course was intensive and challenging but it was also enjoyable and rewarding. There was ample time between each module to study the practical side of Montessori and also the philosophy

An enormous part of the course success was due to my tutor Karen Higgins, she was very supportive and motivating in class and online. Any question no matter how big or small was answered within the hour. She was always willing to give you extra help and encouragement. Karen’s knowledge of not only Montessori but childcare in general was invaluable. I would have no hesitation recommending the Progressive College to anyone interested in working in early childcare education

I returned to studying after 8 years at home with my children. The flexibility of distance learning meant that I could fit the studying and assignments into my family life. I really enjoyed the Level 6 Early Childhood Education with Montessori Course. Our Tutor Lindsey Heppenstall was a huge support. Her Saturday seminars were really interesting and she was encouraging every step of the way. I am now working in a Montessori Preschool and this is down to achieving my qualification and work experience gained through this course

The SNA course one of the best courses I have ever attended and my tutor has been excellent and very supportive throughout. Also I must add that any time I had a question or query, everyone that answered my call in Dublin were so nice to deal with.

I have just completed the SNA course QQI level 5 and I have to say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The course is made so accessible as it is only one evening a week and one Saturday a month. As a working mother I still found between going to college and getting the course work done very achievable. I found the content of the course so interesting and found the tutor held my attention the entire time, the tutor I had was amazing!! I have now gone on to do the SNA QQI level 6 and still enjoying it. I would encourage anyone who is thinking of doing this course to just go for it because you won’t regret it.

I knew very quickly after the course commenced that I had made the right decision to gain qualifications in Special Needs Assisting. Our Tutor was very engaging and the course materials are very comprehensive. It was my first time back in a classroom situation for 20 years+ and it gave me a lot of confidence