ADVANCED SHORT COURSE · PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Taught in person by Shel Banks IBCLC · London
OCN Level 3 & 4, independently regulated. In-person training in London, combined with online learning. For practitioners who want to support newborn families with genuine depth and confidence.
London · South Kensington
Self-paced · Lifetime access
Prefer fully online?
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Why Practitioners Choose Babyem
OCN Level 3 & 4, independently regulated. Blended London and online. For practitioners who want to support newborn families with genuine depth and confidence.
Shel Banks is an IBCLC Lactation Consultant who has contributed to Cochrane reviews, written national clinical guidelines for NICE, and shaped policy for Bliss. You are not learning from a trainer. You are learning from someone who helped write what practitioners are trained on.
IBCLC
Eligible England-based graduates can apply for Babyem’s optional newborn placement pathway. Where suitable family opportunities are available, Babyem may help with introductions and preparation.
Placements are not guaranteed and depend on family availability, location, graduate suitability and Babyem’s approval process. Babyem does not guarantee paid work or employment.
After you qualify, you’ll continue to have access to CPD workshops, our practitioner community, masterclass vault and placement pathway eligibility for eligible graduates. Most training ends when you close your laptop. This one is built for the long term.
Quarterly CPD included
Before London
~6 hours of structured modules, at your own pace, before the London weekend.
Self-paced · Lifetime access
London Weekend
Saturday and Sunday at The Strathmore Hotel, South Kensington. Taught by Shel Banks. Max 18 per cohort.
In-person · London · Max 18
~6 hours of structured modules, at your own pace, before the London weekend.
Self-paced · Lifetime access
OCN accredited · Agency recognised
Why This Course Exists
This training prepares you to be genuinely present for families, not just technically capable.
"We don't just tell you what to do. We tell you why, based on evidence, and how to apply it to the individual in front of you."
Taught to OCN Level 4 standard. Independently regulated by Open College Network. Assessment is written and verified, because genuine understanding matters.
Quarterly CPD, a practitioner community and ongoing expert Q&A, because professional development doesn't stop when training ends.
Inside the London Training Days
Inside the Training
A small cohort. A clinical expert at the front of the room. Evidence-based teaching that goes well beyond a manual, and a room full of practitioners who take their work seriously.
Who This Is For
A minimum of one year's hands-on experience with babies is recommended. Practitioners from clinical and childcare backgrounds are equally welcome.
How Graduates Practise
Graduates come from different backgrounds and go on to practise in different ways. Here are the most common.
Ready to take the next step in your practice?
Feeding, sleep, colic, reflux, allergies, development, across the areas families need most, grounded in current evidence.
Understand the why behind every recommendation. Apply evidence responsively to the individual family, not as a formula.
Recognise the limits of your role. Hold your knowledge with confidence, and connect families with the right support when needed.
OCN Level 3 or 4, independently regulated, verified by written assessment. A credential that reflects genuine professional depth.
Monthly live workshops and expert Q&A included with your enrolment. Professional development continues long after training ends.
The knowledge, the credential and the community to support you, from your first family to your fiftieth.
Optional Placement Pathway · Eligible England-Based Graduates
Eligible England-based graduates can apply for Babyem’s optional placement pathway after completing the course.
Where suitable family opportunities are available, Babyem may help with introductions and preparation.
This pathway is designed to help graduates build confidence and take their next steps into maternity nurse work.
Placement opportunities are not guaranteed and depend on family availability, location, graduate suitability and Babyem’s approval process. Babyem does not guarantee paid work, employment or agency representation after completion.
What makes this pathway valuable
Babyem’s placement pathway may include families referred through our work with organisations such as NCT, Twins Trust and family support organisations, where suitable opportunities are available.
Where suitable family opportunities are available, Babyem may help with introductions and preparation so graduates feel clearer about the placement process.
of graduates who participated in the Placement Scheme said it directly helped them gain paid work as a maternity nurse.
Build the knowledge and confidence needed before applying for the placement pathway.
Share your experience, goals and availability with the Babyem team.
Where family opportunities are available, eligible graduates may be introduced to families looking for newborn support.
Babyem provides guidance around the placement process so graduates feel clearer and more prepared.
The Placement Scheme is optional and available to England-based graduates only. Placements are unpaid; families cover travel and food expenses.
Your Lead Trainer
Lead Trainer & Director
Shel Banks is an IBCLC Lactation Consultant with two decades of clinical practice working directly with newborns and families. She has contributed to Cochrane systematic reviews, written national clinical guidelines for NICE, and shaped policy for Bliss, the UK's leading premature baby charity.
She leads every London blended training day in person. The situations and families she teaches from are the same ones you will encounter the moment you graduate.
"We don't just tell you what to do. We tell you why, based on evidence, and how to apply it to the individual in front of you."
Contributed to the gold standard of evidence-based medicine, the systematic reviews that guidelines are built on
Most trainers teach from a manual. Shel helped write what the manuals are based on.
Programme Structure
L3 & L4
OCN Accreditation
2 Days
LOndon In-Person
7 Weeks
To Complete Assessment
Lifetime
Access to Online Content
This is where you stop being someone who looks after babies and become the professional families trust with their most precious thing, with the judgment, the boundaries, the business foundations and the reputation to match.
Gentle, responsive and grounded in developmental science, including the neuroscience of infant brain development, stress regulation and early emotional safety. You'll understand infant sleep at a biological level, which means you can support families with real confidence, not guesswork.
From the first bath to the first steps, the clinical care skills and developmental knowledge that underpin everything you do in a family home.
Breastfeeding. Formula. Expressing. Paced feeding. Tongue-tie. The clinical depth to know what's happening, and the professional scope to know your limits.
The hardest nights families face, and the knowledge that makes you indispensable when they happen. Clinical depth, evidence-based practice and the judgment to know when to escalate.
You are often the most qualified person in the room, for the baby and for the mother. This module gives you the clinical knowledge to spot what matters, act with confidence and support the whole family.
Four additional modules that take your knowledge into territory most maternity nurses, and many healthcare professionals, never reach.
Culture, Birth & Postnatal Recovery
Baby Temperament & Advanced Development
Flat Head Syndrome & the Osteopathic Perspective
2026 Training Dates
41 Queen's Gate Gardens, London SW7 5NB · 3 minutes from Gloucester Road Tube
Recognised By Leading Agencies
"We are continuously impressed by their level of maternity and nanny training."
"Those with a background in childcare wishing to train as a maternity nurse should enrol."
"We are really impressed with the content, the teaching style and the flow of the day."
"Our nanny candidates have consistently given us great feedback about Babyem."
Live-in or daily support for newborn families in the weeks after birth, working privately or through a specialist agency. Known internationally as a Newborn Care Specialist.
Instant access to all previous Babyem masterclasses, caring for multiples, tongue-tie, birth trauma, and more. An ever-growing resource library, available on demand.
Monthly live workshops and expert Q&A sessions, counted towards your Continued Professional Development. Most training ends on the day. Ours doesn't.
Eligible England-based graduates can apply for Babyem’s optional placement pathway after completing the course. Where suitable opportunities are available, Babyem may help with introductions and placement preparation.
Optional pathway
Choosing Your Level
All students are taught together in the same room, to the same standard. You choose your assessment level after the course, not before.
OCN Level 3
Essay-based assessment completed at home within 7 weeks. You demonstrate clear understanding and applied knowledge, explaining your thinking, not writing literature reviews.
2-day London training, identical to Level 4
All 11 online learning modules
OCN Level 3 accredited certificate
Placement Scheme access (optional · England)
Upgrade to Level 4 at any time, pay the difference only
OCN Level 4
Accreditation
Critical analysis and greater academic depth. Includes four additional specialist modules not available at Level 3, and carries more weight with agencies and in professional contexts.
Everything included at Level 3, plus:
4 additional modules: Culture & Diversity · Child Temperament · Flat Head Syndrome L4 only
Higher-level critical analysis and written coursework
OCN Level 4 accredited certificate
Not sure which level? Contact us — we're happy to help you decide. See pricing below ↓
ENROLMENT
A minimum of one year's hands-on experience with babies is recommended. Both levels are independently accredited by Open College Network.
Pay in full · Payment plans available
Best for: Practitioners entering the field or refreshing their knowledge, full accreditation with complete practical and community access.
Pay in full · Payment plans available
Accreditation
Best for: Practitioners who want the highest level of formal accreditation, with four advanced modules at foundation degree standard.
14-day money-back guarantee · Secure payment · Split pay available on Level 3 & 4 at checkout
Valid on all levels. Full refund within 14 days of enrolment, provided written assessment has not been submitted.
Upgrade from Level 3 to Level 4 at any time, paying only the difference.
How Graduates Practise
Graduates come from different backgrounds and go on to practise in different ways. Here are the most common.
The core career this training leads to. You support families at home in the first weeks after birth, feeding, sleep, settling and newborn care. Work through agencies, privately or internationally.
Already working as a nanny? This credential adds specialist newborn expertise that agencies actively look for, and justifies higher rates.
Overnight support only, night feeds, settling and gentle sleep routines. Flexible hours, well suited to practitioners who prefer to work evenings and nights.
Daytime practical and emotional support. A growing role, particularly for practitioners with doula, health visiting or nursery nursing backgrounds.
Ready to take the next step in your practice?
Frequently Asked Questions
We teach a responsive, evidence-based approach to newborn care.
This means understanding infant physiology, feeding science, development and maternal wellbeing, and applying that knowledge thoughtfully to the individual family in front of you.
You will not be taught rigid scripts. You will be taught how to assess, think critically, and know when to refer.
The course does not guarantee a job. Eligible England-based graduates may apply for Babyem’s optional placement pathway after completing the course. Placement opportunities are not guaranteed and depend on family availability, location, graduate suitability and Babyem’s approval process. Babyem does not guarantee paid work, employment or agency representation.
The course does not guarantee a job. Eligible England-based graduates may apply for Babyem’s optional placement pathway after completing the course. Placement opportunities are not guaranteed and depend on family availability, location, graduate suitability and Babyem’s approval process. Babyem does not guarantee paid work, employment or agency representation.
Evidence-led education for real-world professional practice.
The Babyem YouTube channel offers evidence-based professional education for practitioners supporting babies and families, covering infant health, newborn care, and the clinical knowledge that makes the real difference in practice.
Evidence grounded. Practically taught. Free to access.
The newborn period is fleeting. The practitioners who support it well, with knowledge, warmth and genuine confidence, leave a mark that lasts. This training develops exactly those practitioners.
14-day money-back guarantee
Thinking about becoming a maternity nurse?
