BA (Hons)Early Childhood Studies
| Study location | United Kingdom, City North Campus |
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| Type | Bachelor courses, full-time |
| Nominal duration | 3 years |
| Study language | English |
| Awards | BA (Hons) |
| Course code | X320 |
| Entry qualification | High school / secondary education (or higher) |
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| Language requirements | English IELTS: 6.0 (with a minimum of 5.5 in each band) |
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| Other requirements | At least 1 reference(s) must be provided. A motivation letter must be added to your application. |
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| More information |
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Overview
Interested? To learn more about this study programme, entry requirements and application process, please contact one of our consultants in a country nearest to you.
Programme structure
On the BA Hons Early Childhood Studies progamme you will experience a wide variety of learning and teaching approaches that are designed to develop your confidence, knowledge and skills as you progress through the programme. We will support you as you make the transition to university through carefully planned induction processes. This will include social and group work activities, confidence building activities and a scaffolded approach so you can understand the thinking behind how your modules and assessments are planned. Managing your transition to Higher Education is more than just a week of activities so we have generated a core module that goes through the whole of the first year to support your developing personal, professional and academic skills.
Some modules are shared with students on other programmes in the department. For example when thinking about safeguarding and child protection there are common themes and common professional skills required, regardless of the age range you are focussing on. This is one modules that would be shared with students studying Working with Children, Young People and Families. We believe that whilst it is good to have a focus on your particular field of study, sometimes your learning experience can be enhanced by working with others who are exploring different, but similar contexts. For this reason there are 40 credits of shared modules between your BA Hons Early Childhood Studies and the BA Hons Working with Children, Young People and Families in each year.
Placement is an integral part of the programme, there will be chances in your first year to explore and find out information about a range of Early Childhood settings and to visit and shadow professionals working there – this is so you can not only develop professional skills but can also find out about the wide range of professional careers open to you within the field. It also about developing transferable skills so that after you have completed your degree you already have a strong CV that makes you really employable. These experiences are an integral part of the module ‘Working as a Professional’. Later in the first year you will have a block period of time in an Early Childhood setting so you can develop your observation skills and experience how an early years curriculum is planned, delivered and assessed. In the second year of the programme you will again have a period of placement to build on your previous skills about how babies and young children develop and learn.
We link into our Graduate+ scheme throughout the programme; you will be able to get credit from positive placement outcomes that will contribute to the Graduate+ award scheme. Some modules relate specifically to placement and in order to complete the assignments set you will need to take a proactive approach to placements and actively engage with the work based learning aspect of the programme. This will be the case for ‘Observing and Assessing Babies and Young Children’, completed in your first year. Actively engaging with placement and successful completion of a second year module ‘Reflecting on Play, Learning and Pedagogy’ will also help you to meet the criteria for Early Years Educator. This is the level 3 qualification that means you can be employed in an Early Years Setting as a qualified member of staff.
In the third year there is no scheduled placement, although depending on the topic you choose to examine as part of ‘Researching Professional Practice in Early Childhood’, you may choose to conduct your enquiry in an early years setting.
As well as learning through practice a variety of approaches to teaching are used. These include:
Workshops Virtual Learning Environment – Shareville Lectures Seminars Group projects Guest speakers –often professionals Visits to settings and services Field work – visits to art galleries and museumsCareer opportunities
Your degree will give you a great foundation on which to build a career in a wide range of different professions and organisations, where you have the chance to make a real difference to the lives of babies, the under-fives and their families. After graduation, you might choose to become a speech therapist, social worker, child psychologist, health or educational professional.