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Childhood Studies

Entry requirements


Scottish HNC

Pass

Entry to Year 2 with a HNC in one of the following: Childhood Practice; Early Education & Childcare; Childcare & Education; Additional Support Needs; Social Care; Social Sciences; Social Services

Scottish HND

Pass

Entry to Year 3 with a HND in one of the following: Childhood Practice; Early Education & Childcare; Childcare & Education; Additional Support Needs; Social Care; Social Sciences

T Level

M

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Child care

**OVERVIEW**
The BA (Hons) Childhood Studies is a top-up degree designed for holders of HNCs (or equivalent) and enables you to build a career in childhood services.

Throughout this course you will gain an understanding of the issues related to early childhood and services for children and families. You will learn about the values underpinning children’s services, and the importance of working in partnership with professionals from a range of disciplines. You will consider issues relating to management and leadership of early learning and childcare services.

To develop your practical knowledge, you’ll have the chance to complete two three-week blocks of work-based experience each year. In Year 3 you will have the option to complete placement in an international setting (currently available in Italy, Spain and Germany).

**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
This course is very practially-focused. Throughout the course, you will have the chance to apply your knowledge in a professional setting with blocks of work-based experience each year. In Year 2, you will complete one three-week block placement in Term 2; in years 3 and 4, you will complete two three-week placements, one each in Terms 1 and 2. Recent student placements were located in local authority establishments and private providers.

In addition, throughout your studies, we incorporate guest lectures from multi-agency professionals. These increase your understanding of broader aspects relating to work within the early years sector and enhance your academic studies.

**CAREER PROSPECTS**
**Jobs**
BA (Hons) Childhood Studies graduates have gained employment in integrated childcare services with children under five years, out-of-school care, and in project work offering support for children and their families in roles such as family support workers, early years practitioners, and NHS community nursery nurses.

**Further Study**
Further study towards Graduate Diploma in Childhood Practice qualifications, depending on experience, is possible. This enables registration with Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) as Lead Practitioner/Manager.

Depending on additional qualifications that graduates from this course may have, you may also be eligible to apply for a range of postgraduate programmes, including Initial Teacher Education (Primary), Social Work and Psychology. Note that for Iniitial Teacher Training (PGDE) courses, and other courses, graduates at postgraduate level may need to demonstrate that they possess the equivalent of a pass in SQA Higher English snd Internmediate 2 Maths in addition to a degree in order to apply as this is a requirement from respective professional recognition bodies/institutes.

Modules

As this is a top-up degree, your studies start at Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework at Level 8, or what is second year of degree studies.

In Year 2, through your studies and work-based learning opportunities, you will learn about health and well-being, social justice and equality, holistic child development and develop your self-reflection skills. Leadership and teamwork skills are developed in a variety of early learning and childcare settings. You will also reflect on how to effectively support children’s communication and early literacy skills.

In Year 3, you will learn more about management and leadership skills in an early years setting. You will explore multi-agency working and the importance of providing effective integrated services. You will have opportunities to promote creativity across the curriculum. International policies and practices of early education and childcare are studied. You will be introduced to qualitative research methods and undertake a research project. There are opportunities to undertake an international placement.

In the the final, Honours year of study, you will develop specialist knowledge and practice in an area of your own interest. You will also deepen your knowledge of the core themes of theory, research and practice through undertaking a research study and dissertation. You will have opportunities to explore inter-professional working through asset based approaches to supporting families. You will explore a range of pedagogical approaches to facilitating children’s play, learning and development.

Assessment methods

The course will be delivered using a blend of learning and teaching strategies. These include use of the UWS virtual learning environment (Moodle), Interactive Whiteboards, online tutor/student led discussions. Lectures, tutorials, student-led seminars, group-work, role-play, presentations, workshops, problem-based learning and work-related learning will be used to develop student learning. In the final year of study, (SCQF Level 10), the course will be delivered partially online utilising a blended learning format of class sessions, tutorials and online activities. Throughout the programme learning and assessment will have a work based focus.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£15,250
per year
International
£15,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Visit www.uws.ac.uk/scholarships

The Uni


Course locations:

Dumfries Campus

Ayr Campus

Lanarkshire Campus

Department:

Education and 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.

67%
Child care

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

70%
Staff make the subject interesting
77%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
83%
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

74%
Library resources
72%
IT resources
67%
Course specific equipment and facilities
45%
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?

100%
UK students
0%
International students
0%
Male students
100%
Female students
2%
2:1 or above
41%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

£24,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

48%
Welfare professionals
31%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
11%
Teaching and educational professionals

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.

£28k

£28k

£26k

£26k

£30k

£30k

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 is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here