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Early Years and Primary Studies

University Centre Colchester at Colchester Institute

UCAS Code: LX53 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements


Achievement of 64 UCAS Tariff points from A-level study.

Achievement of a Pass mark from Access to HE Diploma.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MPP

UCAS Tariff

64

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Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Early years education

Early education represents a major area of public investment with the government currently investing £5.2 billion annually.

The first few years of children’s lives are crucial to their development and opportunities in later life – and the adults who work with them are ideally placed to make a difference. It is vitally important that practitioners caring for children are appropriately educated themselves in order to deliver effective provision. The early years stages have critical importance at the beginning of a child’s life journey and encompass more than "just play".

The Early Years and Primary Studies course is for those interested in working with children aged 0 - 11 years and offers a holistic approach to child development, the Early Years curriculum, the National Curriculum, legislation and safeguarding. We aim to provide students with an in-depth holistic view of child development and learning to enable students to work in an informed, sensitive and empowering way with children and families. Our students will be key influences in the lives of many children providing physical, emotional, social and intellectual care. The role requires them to support children’s developmental milestones and observe and assess their progress throughout early childhood ensuring that the individual needs and interests of children in settings and schools are met. Students will need skills to work as part of a team to provide enabling environments in which all children can play, develop and learn; building strong partnerships with parents and carers to enable all children’s needs are met. To do this they will complete modules that are relevant to the theory, knowledge, skills and practice that are required to work in the sector. Initial modules will introduce them to research and study skills required to learn at Higher Education level and core practice-based content regarding the curriculum, planning, assessment and safeguarding. The EYFS and National curriculum are weaved in to every module with a specific focus on Special Educational Needs and inclusive practice delivered in Year 2. Regular research and reading will be encouraged and recommended throughout the course for students to maintain current and up to date professional knowledge with an opportunity for action research to be completed in Year 2 and for their final undergraduate dissertation in Year 3. Key theoretical knowledge, will be embedded in practice through placement experiences linked to the professional practice and development modules throughout the three years of the course.

Students will be expected to complete 720 placement hours in either paid or voluntary roles in early years settings over the 3 year programme in line with Initial Teacher Training government recommendations. The course team will offer assistance to find placements and supported visits to ensure students can graduate with a high level of both practical and theoretical experience in readiness for the job market. Many of our graduates from the current Early Years provision progress to careers in pre-school or primary school teaching, or work as family support workers or play therapists. Others choose to further their studies on Masters programmes that specialise in specific topics, such as social work or children’s rights.

Modules

The course operates on a modular basis that provides flexibility and choice. Most modules count for 20 academic credits, with each credit taken equating to a total study time of around 10 hours, which includes scheduled teaching, independent study and assessment activity.

Full-time students take modules worth 60 credits per semester, with part-time students taking proportionately fewer credits per semester. A total of 120 credits per level and 360 credits are needed for an honours degree as a whole. Overall grades for the course and degree classification are based on the marks obtained for modules taken at levels 5 and 6.
Our teaching is informed by research, professional practice and industry engagement and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline.

Further information on current module content can be found on the University Centre Colchester website.

Assessment methods

Assessment: The course provides you with opportunities to test your understanding of the subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally contains at least one piece of practice or ‘formative’ assessment for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are incorporated into several modules per level to support students theoretical application in the workplace.

There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. Assessment methods include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations and your final year major project. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.

Feedback: You will receive feedback on all practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£8,250
per year
England
£8,250
per year
EU
£8,250
per year
International
£8,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£8,250
per year
Scotland
£8,250
per year
Wales
£8,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Colchester Site

Department:

School of Social Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

79%
Early years education

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Education

Teaching and learning

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
95%
Staff are good at explaining things
95%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
89%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

58%
Library resources
63%
IT resources
72%
Course specific equipment and facilities
53%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

After graduation


Sorry, no information to show

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