MA Early Childhood Education (Taught)

The early years are the most important period in a child's education. The people who know how young children learn, and build their practice around it, change the course of a child's life.

Walbrook's MA Early Childhood Education is for education professionals who want to understand why the best approaches to teaching young children work, while building the knowledge to lead a team, shape how their own setting operates, and use research to argue confidently for what children in their earliest years need most.

You'll look at child development as something shaped by culture, context, and community. You'll explore what the research says about how young children learn – through play, relationships, and experience – and what that means for how early years settings should be run. You'll also take a hard look at early years policy: what it asks of practitioners, where it's backed by evidence, and where it falls short.

Combined with your professional experience, this qualification supports your progression into leadership and specialist roles in early years settings, schools, and wider children's services.

Start any month from September 2026. Study full-time and graduate in 1 year, or choose part-time and progress module by module, 100% online. Flex between full-time and part-time learning, with support when you need it.