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Early Childhood Studies (with Foundation Year)

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

48

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Early childhood studies

Unlock your potential and be part of a workforce which can truly shape the lives of young children and families. This dynamic and forward-thinking programme is your gateway to a rewarding career dedicated to the holistic development of children from birth to eight years.

Join a Foundation Year focused on personal, study and career development.
Explore the link between study and practice and start to develop transferable skills key to gaining successful employment
Experience an inclusive and flexible learning environment, supported by a friendly and experienced staff team committed to your growth and success.
Following successful completion of your Foundation Year you will:

- Explore a range of contemporary topics relevant to working with children from birth to eight years and key to gaining employment in the early years sector. Early Childhood Studies draws on the domains of psychology, sociology, education and health and wellbeing.

- Gain practical experience through diverse placements in schools, nurseries, local authorities, third sector organisations, and the private sector. Contextualise your learning and build valuable employment relationships.

- Benefit from additional training and qualifications to enhance your CV such as Outdoor Learning, Makaton and Paediatric First Aid.

Modules

Foundation Year
The Foundation Year provides you with the skills and knowledge you need to successfully join your chosen degree route at level 4.

MODULES

Study Skills for Success – In this module you will learn about the study skill needed to be a successful student.

Resilience for HE and Beyond – This module will help you to develop your resilience as a degree level student and focus on your personal development.

A Day In The Life - This module encourages you to explore the potential career options open to you on completion of your chosen degree. You will explore the professions linked to your chosen degree and start preparing a graduate portfolio for employers.

Life and Work In The Welsh Context – This module will help you to explore your subject area and/or desired career in relation to living and working in Wales today.

Optional module – You will be able to choose from a range of modules including numeracy, science, communication and Welsh language (beginners). Your choice of module will made with the support of your personal tutor to best fit your future study/career needs.

Year 1 (Level 4)
Level 4 offers you the opportunity to build strong foundations in the field of education studies. You will learn how to be a degree level student and prepare for and undertake your first 6 week placement.

MODULES

Play and Outdoor Learning (Core) –

This module will introduce you to the importance of play in children’s lives, learning and development. You will explore the value of moving learning outdoors and how this is represented in the early years curriculum. You will make the link between play and being outdoors and examine how practitioners can support the holistic needs of young children.

Contemporary Debates in Childhood and Education (Core) – In this module you will explore the different and varied influences that society and the environment has on childhood and education. Topics could include mental health, technology, sustainability, race, gender and poverty.

Psychology of Childhood (Core) -In this module you will develop a psychological understanding of child development and consider how adults can influence the way children think, feel, and interact with the world around them.

– This module will prepare you for placement by exploring the expectations, conduct and attitudes required in the workplace. You will cover health and safety, safeguarding and the ethics of working with children. You will also start to consider your own future career goals. During this module you will experience a 6 week placement in practice.

Skills for Study and Employability (Core) – This module is all about building study and employability skills. You will be guided to explore your current skills and to develop these further to enhance your learning journey and future career outcomes. This module will also help you to develop digital technology skills to use in your studies and in employment.

Year 2 (Level 5)
Level 5 builds on the skills and knowledge you developed at level 4 by further specialising in the field of education. At level 5 you are introduced to authentic work-based research and you will engage with your extended 8 week placement.

MODULES

Speech and Language Development in Early Childhood (Core)

Social Action – Supporting Children and Families in Society (Core)

Children’s Rights and the Law (Core)

Practice Informed Research (Core)

Year 3 (Level 6)
At level 6 the aim is to successfully complete your degree and move into employment. You will explore the role of leadership in practice and plan for your own professional development whilst out on a three week placement. You will also further develop your independent study skills by completing your final year dissertation.

MODULES

Critical Perspectives of Health and Wellbeing (Core)

Exploring Expressive Arts (Core)

Leadership and Professional Development (Core)

Dissertation (Core)

Assessment methods

As a full-time student you will attend campus for up to 3 days per week which will include a mixture of classroom and online based learning. Classroom sessions provide you with an opportunity to learn alongside your fellow students and are based in activity and discussion. Online materials are used to prepare you for the classroom sessions and to provide follow-on work/research for you to complete in your own time.

A range of assessment methods will be used throughout your Foundation Year to allow you to practice the academic skills required of a degree level student.

On successfully completing your Foundation Year, placements will start in the first year (level 4) of your main degree programme.

Placement in practice forms an important part of your degree studies. During your studies you will undertake 3 placements:

Level 4 - Professional Practice for Childhood and Education (40 credits). You will attend placement for 2 days per week for 6 weeks (84 hrs). At level 4 the purpose of the placement is for you to explore and experience professional competencies in practice.

Level 5 - Practice Informed Research (60 credits). You will attend placement 3 days a week for 8 weeks (168 hrs). At level 5 the purpose of the placement is for you to engage with authentic research ideas and to collect primary research data.

Level 6 - Leadership and Professional Development (40 credits). You will attend placement 3 days a week for 3 weeks (63 hrs). At level 6 the purpose of the placement is for you to observe leadership skills and to consider your own professional development in relation to future employment.

Our placements include (but are not limited to) schools; nursery settings; local authority settings, for example the Child Prevention and Support Service and Flying Start; third sector organisations, for example Home Start, Action for Children and Save the Family; and the private sector, for example Residential Homeless Support for Families and Residential Family Assessment Centres.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£9,000
per year
International
£11,750
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Wrexham (Main Campus)

Department:

School of Social and Life Sciences

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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.

100%
Early childhood studies

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.

Childhood and youth studies

Teaching and learning

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
91%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
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

90%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
100%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

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

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
11%
Male students
89%
Female students
58%
2:1 or above
36%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
A*
E

After graduation


The stats in this section 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.

Childhood and youth studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

100%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

71%
Welfare professionals
11%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
7%
Caring personal services

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Childhood and youth studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£24k

£24k

£27k

£27k

£26k

£26k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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