During your Foundation Year, you will undertake modules to enable you to enhance your academic skills and equip you with the tools you’ll need to study with confidence. You’ll carry out a personal project so you can study an area of interest related to your chosen future subject specialisation.
You’ll develop your understanding of the disciplines, issues and academic theories of working with children, young people and families and will be introduced to learning and teaching in an educational context, considering current trends and academic theories.
Following successful completion of the Foundation Year, you’ll progress onto the first year of our Early Childhood Studies BA (Hons) degree.
You’ll develop an understanding of what shapes children’s personalities and behaviour, gathering theoretical knowledge of progress through the early years of a child’s life and exploring what opportunities should be available for them to reach their full potential.
This degree offers the chance to explore a wide range of issues and theoretical perspectives relating to young children, from safeguarding and wellbeing to effective learning and development. You will explore how play is a vital component for young children’s holistic development. You’ll also examine the difficulties and problems children may face, from child protection issues to disability and specific needs.
In your first year you will learn how to support the wellbeing, learning and development of children through an introduction to play and its relationship to learning; safeguarding and child protection; child development; and health, safety and care routines.
Your second year will build on this learning to extend your knowledge, skills and abilities and to explore your own ideas and thoughts on the topics studied. The focus of your final year of study is pulling together all of your knowledge and skills about society, diversity, children, families and education.
Throughout your course, you’ll have the opportunity to visit professional practitioners in a range of early childhood settings to support your knowledge and understanding of concepts.
Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner
Our BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies offers the opportunity to be recognised as an Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner through completion of Graduate Practitioner Competencies at Level 6.
Developed by the national Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network (ECSDN) and endorsed by the Department for Education, the Graduate Practitioner Competencies aim to strengthen the early childhood workforce and professional practice aspect of a degree.
The assessed practitioner competencies are embedded into all levels of the Early Childhood Studies degree, leading to a Level 6 award that evidences a holistic understanding of Early Childhood development and the ability to apply, critically evaluate and communicate theoretical knowledge into practice.
Achieving practitioner status can help enhance your employability in the childhood studies sector or support you to progress to postgraduate study or higher-level professional roles.
During your studies, you will work towards meeting nine competencies through assessed placement tasks, observations of practice and academic assignments. By the end of the competencies you must also hold Level 2 English and maths qualifications at grade C or 4 or higher (or equivalent). Each year, clear goals will be agreed and monitored to achieve positive outcomes.
Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies:
- Advocating for young children’s rights and participation
- Promoting holistic development
- Working directly with young children, families and colleagues to promote health, wellbeing, safety and nurturing care
- Observing, listening and planning for young children to support their wellbeing, early learning, progression and transitions
- Safeguarding and child protection
- Inclusive practice
- Partnerships with parents and caregivers
- Collaborating with others
- Professional development
Successful completion of the competencies alongside your degree will result in an award of BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies degree with an Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Certificate (ECGPC).