Early Childhood Studies with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

This module is designed to enable you to gain an understanding of how Education and Early years provision in the UK have developed since the 19th Century. 

You will explore philosophical questions about the role of education and consider the aims/purpose of education. 

You will be introduced to key concepts such as ‘marketisation’, ‘social mobility’ and ‘meritocracy’ and explore ways in which inequalities related to ‘race’, ‘class’, gender and ‘disability’ are reproduced within the education system.

Understanding inclusion and equality is integral to a successful study of education and professional practice. 

This module looks at key ideas and debates in inclusion and equality, examining factors contributing to inequalities in educational outcomes, including the areas of social class, special educational needs and disability (SEND). 

You will develop your understanding of barriers to equality in education and explore best practices in education settings through engaging with practically oriented research and evidence.

This module will enable you to critically reflect upon your own education values and how these serve as a reference point for your own practice. 

A sound knowledge and understanding of key learning theories and how they can be applied to practice in ‘real-world’ settings is essential for professionals working in education and this module will give you the foundation blocks on which to build a broader theoretical knowledge.

This module will introduce you to issues concerning young children’s rights both in the United Kingdom and from a global perspective. It will explore the rights of the child from the perspective of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and how this has impacted upon the rights of young children growing up in the 21st Century. This module sits alongside other modules, specifically developed for this course, that collectively meet the standard for the early years educator requirements as set out by the Department for Education.

Child development is multifaceted. This module will provide you with knowledge of physical, cognitive, social, emotional and language development, and you will learn how these domains of development are interrelated. You will also learn about key milestones from early childhood to the end of adolescence. 

Crucially, you will develop an understanding of how to support children with different aspects of development and how to recognise when a child’s development is not as expected. 

These are key skills for any education practitioner working with children and will stand you in good stead for the placement at Level 5 and beyond in the workplace.

This module focuses on the experience of the classroom from both teacher and pupil perspectives. Drawing upon the more theoretical approach of the other L4 core modules, this module extends your thinking to specific examples of the impact of learning theory and educational policy in a real-world context. 

An important part of this module will be your development of impactful learning practices not least because the classroom plays a key role in developing innovation and creativity, but also because it is key when fostering belonging and community.

This module is designed to provide you with an understanding of how play can be used to support children's learning and development in the early years, with a specific focus on observation, assessment, and planning. It will also cover the use of statutory early years documents in planning for play-based learning experiences.

This module will introduce you to the issues related to communication and literacy in the early years. You will explore different theoretical approaches to language and communication development and learn about the importance of listening to and communicating verbally and non-verbally with children. 

You will consider the development of speech, auditory processing abilities and early reading and writing skills as well as demonstrate a deeper understanding of the skills required to support children with English as an additional language and/or with special education needs.

The aim of this module is to develop your awareness of the social construction of childhood from past to contemporary understandings drawing on different conceptual frameworks and looking at different national and international social contexts. 

You will examine the development of legislative framework and social policy in relation to children and their families. You will explore how current theories approach the concept of childhood in the context of late modernity (19th century and onwards), and consider it in relation to social problems and policy.

The aim of this module is to develop your knowledge and understanding of research methods in education. This module is intended to expose you to primary research and the conceptual frameworks in which knowledge is created. The knowledge and skills about research practice and processes you acquire in this module are intended to help you develop a research proposal for your final project and assist you in becoming a reflective professional.

This module aims to provide you with a secure understanding of the early years workforce including the statutory requirements, key policies, procedures, and practice. You will have the opportunity to gain essential practical experience, knowledge, and skills in delivering early years education and caregiving through the support of an early years placement setting. 

This module aims to afford you the opportunity to examine and critically evaluate the relationship between educational concepts and theories, and their application in early years settings. You will apply, within an early years workplace setting, the theoretical knowledge and skills gained over the course of your studies.

This module aims to provide you with a secure understanding of the early years workforce including the statutory requirements, key policies, procedures, and practice. You will have the opportunity to gain essential practical experience, knowledge, and skills in delivering early years education and caregiving through the support of an early years placement setting. 

This module gives you the opportunity to examine and critically evaluate the relationship between educational concepts and theories, and their application in early years settings. You will apply, within an early years workplace setting, the theoretical knowledge and skills gained over the course of your studies.

Early years education and care is guided by policy at local, national, and, increasingly, global levels. This module will help you to understand how and why policy is made, the impact upon practice and their role in policy as an educator, and the role that politics, ideology, society, and the economy play in early years policy.

Leadership has a significant impact upon the teaching and learning outcomes, and overall ethos and culture, in any educational setting. 

In this module, you will begin by examining the difference between leadership and management, terms that are often used interchangeably yet have differing definitions. You will then explore different theories of leadership, before examining the impact that different leadership styles have upon teaching and learning in schools and how leadership differs in early years settings. 

The module then introduces some of the challenges that leaders face, including managing conflict, leading through change and dealing with gender stereotypes in leadership. Finally, you will learn the theories and skills to help you become a reflective leader, to build an effective team, to support new leaders and to coach, mentor and supervise other practitioners.

This module is about examining perspectives and challenging our thinking around Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The module will critically engage with both SEND theory and practice, so that you can inform it, challenge it, implement it and re-shape it.

This module will provide the opportunity for you to examine and explore the personal, social, psycho-motor, and emotional needs of children with special needs.

The module aims to address the importance of food and sustainability and nutrition within the early years setting with the aim to connect children, staff and families to more environmentally friendly habits and to nurture a sustainable food culture. This fits within the context of a programme that endeavours to work with families and communities to ensure young people thrive. 

The module considers the sociocultural and environmental context of early education and the challenges in addressing the diverse needs to young people. It will consider current debates related to food, children and education such as food poverty, educational achievement, health behaviours and decision-making.

This module builds on from Level 5 research methodology module and enables you to undertake an individual enquiry-based study related to a relevant topic of your choice within the area of Early Childhood Studies. This may be an empirically based investigation, a thematic literature review or a library-based piece of research.