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ICS Learn
by Vidall
I took a web design course with ICS and ran into problem after problem, to begin with the course material was at least 5 years out of date, extremely poorly written, spelling and grammer mistakes, and factually inaccurate.
The software was a mixed bag of awful to dreadful, some of it was a timed trial which had long since ... expired and couldn't be used. Some of it was so old it simply wouldnt load on a modern PC, and when I say modern I mean Windows XP! and the rest simply didnt work.
I received an email address with my course, which was a "hotline" to my tutor, after repeated emails it turned out my tutor was not the talkative type, I heard absolutely nothing from him even though I mailed at least 6 times regarding the failed software.
It was obvious that something was very wrong with the course and ICS as a company, after talking to and emailing their customer support manager it was apparent even in the face of undeniable failings in the course and its materials they were not going to give a refund, I eventually got in touch with trading standards who themselves got the brush off from ICS who wriggled and wormed their way out of their responsibilities time and again. I eventually decided that the stress they were causing me was not worth the £400 they had fleeced me for.
I now work in the web development industry and my advice to anyone wanting to learn is to get a work placement at a studio, use the web to scour for learning resources that are current, buy books and magazines, and avoid paying over the odds for the ICS web design courses that mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to a potential employer, not even worth the paper they are written on.
If your the sort of person who loves throwing money down the drain then ICS is perfect for you, for anyone else PLEASE PLEASE dont use this awful company.
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Homemaker
by catrocks03
My boyfriend has traditional views on certain things- he believes I should stay at home until Tyler is 5. He also wants our 2nd child when Tyler is 5. I'm not so keen on the idea (theres no way I'm going to be out of work for 10 years) I see myself returning to work once Tyler gets his free nursery hours. For now though Tyler is 18 ... months and I'm enjoying it.
Being a stay at home Mother is nice for those who can afford it. It would be a lie to say we didn't struggle at times but we've found if I was to get a job then nursery fees would eat the majority of my wages. Being at home means I get to spend that 1:1 time with tyler, take him to baby groups and if he is ill and I am up half the night it doesnt matter so much because I can nap in the day when he does.
The "Job role" is pretty obvious:
Laundry
Cleaning
Washing up
Tidying
Grocery shopping
Meal making
Childcare- including educating and trips out
Managing recycling and rubbish
You get the gist!
I must admit there are times when I do need adult time. At the moment I'm doing a course which runs once a week called Ways Into Teaching. I do want to eventually become a teaching assistant and its interesting to learn all the other roles into teaching, job interview tips etc. Its just for 2 hours while my son goes to see his Nana, the fact it takes me 40 minutes to walk there shows how much I need it!
When I was pregnant I thought it would be easy the whole homemaker thing. I pictured myself with an immaculate house, pinny on, cakes baking in the oven and a happy smily baby. Ha-ha-ha. Obviously motherhood isn't so easy and there have been days when I've had to do all the chores once baby is in bed.
Also because my boyfriend basically sees me as at home all day he doesnt contribute to chores in the slightest so this can be hard sometimes but I see it as my current job to keep the house running and my toddler happy whereas its his job to provide money for the family.
The hardest bit of being a stay at home Mum for me was the newborn days! I had a colicy baby, an exhausted body and an unkept house. Luckily within a few months my son started to let me have a full 8 hours in bed per night and I got myself into a lovely little routine.
Socially being a stay at home Mum is also lovely. Me and my other half moved during my pregnancy back to his hometown. While he had his family and his friends I had nobody. It was incredibly isolating. His friends were lovely and I got on with them great but they weren't MY friends. Using net mums, facebook and baby groups I gradually built up my own network of friends and not working means I have time to socialise with them and give my child socialising time with their children too.
One of the best bits about not working at the moment for me is the amount that i can visit my family. The majority of my close family and friends all live back in Bournemouth which is where I'm originally from. I go back every 2-3 months for a week or so. Its around 150 miles away so its no easy trip and I'm lucky enough to have a Mother who can drive up to get me and bring me back. If I was working I wouldn't be able to see everyone nearly as much so I really appreciate being able to do this as I do miss them all!
One of the downsides of being a homemaker is some people really do judge you about it. They see you as somebody who is lazy and sits about with the kids all day, watching cbeebies and eating biscuits. They think you cant be bothered to work and live off benefits (which we don't at all, otherwise we'd have plenty more money!). You often get little comments like "So when are you planning on returning to work" or perhaps they'll mention vacancies they've seen. However I can see the otherside of this for working Mothers who are seen as selfish and "palming their children off to somebody else".
Being a homemaker is not for everyone. Many mums need to work for the sake of their sanity. I refer more to Mums because that is what most homemakers seem to be although I'm sure there are many stay at home Dads and also homemakers who are not parents so I apologise but am just drawing from my own experience! I dont think I'd be happy as a homemaker if my son was in nursery a good chunk of the day, nor if he was in school, I'm sure I'd run out of things to do!
Overall I love being a homemaker and having all these precious moments with my favourite person in the world. Its sad to some that my most fulfilling days are where I've got all my chores done, taken Tyler to the park AND made cakes but if it makes me happy then what is the problem?
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ICS Learn
by kirsty hardwick
I am currently doing A Level Biology through ICS.
I made the payment in full for the course and received my study pack. This consisted of a folder with photocopied pages in. The content is nowhere near enough to get through the course. I also bought a separate study book that they recomended on the website, fortunatley this is ... alot more concise.
The folder has alot of errors in, spelling mainly but i found it far too basic to get a half decent grade. The forum takes at least 24 hours to show your new thread, or posts so if you want a quick answer think again.
The tutor service is practically non existant, you submit an online query and the tutor gets back to you within 7days. You never get direct access to the tutor which for the price you pay for the course i feel is a scam.
The exams for Biology are crazy! Almost any school/college will take you as an external candidate to do the written papers, however barely anywhere offers the practical units. You cannot gain the qualification without sitting the practicals of which there are two. I phoned every, and i mean EVERY! school in Yorkshire (north, east, south and west) and not one is taking students for the practical examination.
I'm now going to have to travel to Birmingham as that is the closest center i can find, however its going to cost me £250 per practical not including travel expenses! This is apparently cheap, one place in Oxford has quoted another student friend of mine doing the course up to £900 for one practical exam.
ICS do not state that there is a very limited amount of places that offer practicals when you pay for it.
The support period is 18months which if like me you want to do the exams like a normal A Level student as not to rush the learning process and exams is not enough time. Particularly as there is only one chance a year to sit practical examinations.
To anyone thinking of doing an A Level in Science go to a college that will do part time study if you can't do it full time. This has been more stress than it is worth, i now wish i had downloaded the sylabus from AQA bought a couple of books and paid for a private tutor on the odd occasion as i bet that would have worked out alot cheaper than £350 i paid for some poxy ring binders! As that is essentially what you are paying for
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