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Introduction
This course can be studied at our SA1 Swansea Waterfront campus, our Carmarthen campus or our Cardiff community campus.
Early Years Education and Care: Early Years Practitioner Status (2 Years) is designed for students already working in the childcare and education sector, and allows them to study flexibly around their work commitments.
It is an innovative, condensed full-time, two-year degree programme which is included in the Social Care Wales’ list of required qualifications to work within the early years and childcare sector in Wales. It is also a qualification offering graduate practitioner competencies in England as part of the Early Childhood Studies Degree Network (ECSDN).
Students who successfully complete this programme will graduate with a degree, as well as a licence to practice within a range of early years settings. Lectures are delivered one evening a week and on occasional Saturdays in order to enable students to carry on working while completing their degree.
Why choose this course?
1. A qualification recognised as a licence to practice by Social Care Wales - supporting employability and professional development.
2. Providing graduate practitioner competencies in line with ECSDN in England
3. Accelerated programme - gain a full BA (Hons) degree in only two years.
4. We focus on your development as early year’s professionals and will prepare you for a fulfilling and exciting career across a range of disciplines.
5. Bilingual and Welsh-medium study at the heart of our provision.
6. Small class sizes, innovative assignments that enhance employment skills and no exams.
7. Student experience - widening horizons through visits, guest speakers, and extra training opportunities. We offer a range of additional qualifications to enhance your skills and knowledge.
Overview
The programme has been developed to provide opportunities to learn about all aspects of young children’s education and care.
Students benefit from linking practical activities and experiences in the work environment to theories relating to children’s education and care.
Learning takes place through group discussions, workshops and study visits, as well as lectures, to develop a knowledge and understanding of a range of relevant topics.
There is an emphasis on hands-on learning in order to support understanding of the links between theory and practice within the early years. There are also optional residential visits to other parts of the UK and abroad.
Guest speakers provide opportunities to hear from sector-leading experts and keep students up to date with current policy and developments within the early years’ sector.
Modules
The programme is taught in an innovative block teaching method, allowing students to focus in-depth on one topic at a time.
We have found that this method is successful in supporting students to gain a better understanding of the topic content. Students study six topics on each level of the programme, each based on essential knowledge and understanding of specific aspects of early years education and care.
Students study a wide variety of subjects relating to early years education and care, with a focus on aspects of childhood such as holistic development, well-being, play, literacy, safeguarding, outdoor learning and inclusion. Leadership is also a key focus, developing early years leadership skills.
Level 4 (Cert HE, Dip HE & BA)
• Children’s Play: Theory and Practice (20 credits; compulsory)
• Human Development (20 credits; compulsory)
• Learning in the Digital Era (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Multilingualism, Multi-thinking (20 credits; compulsory)
• The First 1,000 Days (20 credits; compulsory)
• The Professional Practitioner (20 credits; compulsory).
Level 5 (Dip HE & BA)
• Awe and Wonder - Mathematics, Science and the Outdoors (20 credits; compulsory)
• Language and Literacy in the Digital Age (20 credits; compulsory)
• Leadership and Teamwork in the Early Years (20 credits; compulsory)
• Research for Learning (20 credits; compulsory)
• Safeguarding: Practice, Legislation and the Multi-disciplinary Team (20 credits; compulsory)
• Well-being, Care and Healthy Living (20 credits; compulsory).
Level 6 (BA)
• Catalytic Leadership - Rights, Resilience and Social Change (20 credits; compulsory)
• Early Years Curricula (20 credits; compulsory)
• Inclusive Leadership: Working Together to Support Families (20 credits; compulsory)
• Leadership and Management for Systems of Quality (20 credits; compulsory)
• Regaining Paradise? Sustainability in the Early Years (20 credits; compulsory)
• Supporting Children with Additional Learning Needs (20 credits; compulsory).
Entry Criteria
This programme is delivered in the evening and on occasional Saturdays.
• Early Years encourages and values applications from students who are returning to education, as they will have experiences and life skills that could support their entry onto the degree.
• Generally, students will have attained or will be working towards, a relevant level 3 childcare/education qualification such as NNEB, CACHE, BTEC, NVQ, A-levels. However, other experience is also valuable. They will also be working or volunteering regularly in an early years setting or a workplace that provides services for young children and families.
• All applicants will be required to provide a satisfactory enhanced disclosure document from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
• As part of the application process, students will be given an opportunity to attend meetings with the tutors. This provides applicants with the chance to visit the campus, meet the lecturers and ask questions about the degree. During visit days, the course lecturers are always interested in applicants' experiences of volunteering and working with young children.
• To gain graduate practitioner competences a C level GCSE Mathematics and English or other suitable equivalent literacy and numeracy qualifications may also be required.
ENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Home Office Share Code
For EU students only.
IF no Qualification
Please provide CV with at least 2 years of work experience, and employee reference letter.
Assessment
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1. INTERNAL ENGLISH TEST if you don't have an English accredited certificate
2. Academic Interview
Assessment
All our programmes are assessed by 100% course work. There are no exams.
We have found that using a varied range of assessment methods increases employability skills.
Employers seek graduates who are problem-solvers and who have a range of transferable skills. Assessment gives opportunities to develop skills such as the ability to work in a team, have effective oral and written communication while using a range of information sharing methods, including briefing papers, academic posters, group debates and professional discussions.
There are also opportunities for practical work experiences, supporting employability, professional development and careers.
Bilingual and Welsh-medium study is at the heart of our provision; you can choose to enrol on the Welsh-medium or English-medium programme and can present your assignments in either language.
Career Opportunities
Careers in Early Years
Graduates go on to careers in a variety of fields including:
• Additional learning needs support
• Afterschool Leader
• Childminder
• Children’s Charity Roles (e.g. Barnardo’s)
• Community Support Officer
• Family Facilitator
• Family Support Officer
• Parenting Officer
• Pastoral Support
• Play Workers
• Room Leaders
• Setting Managers
• Youth Workers
Further Study
Some of our graduates progress to other further studies. Some students have progressed on to our own MA programmes including our MA Early Literacy and MA Early Years Education and Care.
Postgraduate programmes such as these offer opportunities for students to up-skill and deepen their understanding of young children and their families. Such studies have enabled postgraduate students to progress in their existing field of work and for others to move to new careers.
Route into teaching
As a UWTSD Early Years student, you will be guaranteed an interview for the PGCE Primary programme subject to meeting entry qualification requirements. When applying for the PGCE Primary programme we in conjunction with Initial Teacher Education will support you through a mock application and interview process.
Postgraduate Study and Alternative Routes
Graduates will also be able to progress onto a number of postgraduate courses in their area of interest, a good degree classification in Early Years Education and Care meet the entry requirements for many postgraduate routes.
Below are a few examples of routes previous graduates have taken.
• Family and Communities
• Nursing
• Play Therapy
• Policy and Government
• Research
• Social Work
• Speech and Language Therapy
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