Early Childhood Studies (including foundation year)

Why study this course?

Our Early Childhood Studies (including foundation year) BA (Hons) will open doors for you to enter a career in early childhood care, educational or advisory settings. It has a built-in foundation year that will prepare you for undergraduate study and is the ideal choice if you don’t meet the necessary requirements to enter the standard three-year course.

On our course you’ll benefit from extra time to work on your study and transferable skills, but you’ll also graduate with the same award and title as students on the three-year degree.

More about this course

On our Early Childhood Studies (including foundation year) bachelor’s degree you’ll study the play, development and learning of children from birth to six years old. This will be taught in relation to practice in early childhood settings and within a socio-cultural context.

Your foundation year will be shared with students from other degrees with a foundation year, which will give you an opportunity to discuss the subjects you study with students that have different academic perspectives. It will also allow you to meet students outside of your course and expand your network, which you might find useful when job hunting after graduation.

The foundation year is designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for undergraduate study, such as essay writing, time management, research and critical thinking. During the foundation year you’ll also take a taster module in early childhood studies, which will allow you to prepare for more rigorous study of the subject in the subsequent three years of your degree.

You’ll receive exceptional academic and pastoral support from your tutors and a range of services at the University. This will be in the form of one-to-one sessions with your tutor or via small group workshops, during which you’ll be able to work further on your academic and transferable skills. The University also offers a careers service, which can help you to find work experience opportunities, improve your interview technique and learn best practice for writing job applications.

In the three years following your foundation year you’ll study the same content and modules as students on our Early Childhood Studies BA (Hons).

If you find that you’d like to specialise in a different discipline in our School of Social Professions, there will be flexibility to allow you to do this.

Course Modules

Example Year 0 modules include:

Critical Thinking
Interventions for Change
Media, Crime and 'Race'
Reflecting on Self and Society
Researching Discrimination
Researching Inequality
Social Issues in Context: Text to Essay

Example Year 1 modules include:

Perspectives on Children's Development
Safeguarding Young Children's Health and Well-being
Understanding Play
Academic Skills and Professional Placement
Adults and Children as Learners: An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies

Example Year 2 modules include:

Approaches to Pedagogy and Curriculum in the Early Years
Challenging Inequalities
Children's Rights in Today's World
Communicating in Multilingual Contexts
Enquiry-based Learning
Personal, Social and Emotional Development Matters
Promoting Early Learning Through the EYFS and Keys Stage 1
Reflective Practice and Professional Development
Creative Thinking and Representation from Birth to Six
Professional Studies and Practitioner Placement: Part 2

Example Year 3 modules include:

Early Childhood Studies Project
Leading Practice with Children, Families and Professionals
Reading Research and Research Methods in Early Childhood
The Project (Early Childhood Studies)
Debating Children and Childhood
Professional Practice in Key Stage 1

Methods of assessment in your foundation year are varied and designed to help you flourish and gain confidence in your studies.

Assessments after the foundation year will be based on coursework with no formal examinations.