This degree provides the opportunity to study early childhood from a broad, multi-disciplinary perspective. It is designed to prepare students who wish to work with young children aged from 0 to 8.

The degree opens up opportunities for further specialist study which would facilitate entry into a wide range of careers including Teaching or Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), or progression to a wide range of early years professions such as speech and language therapy assistants, early years workers, local authority development work, area support teams and teaching assistants.

This multidisciplinary course critically explores from many perspectives of childhood and children, including child development, children’s health, the language and literature of childhood, the sociology of children and families, social policy, as well as play and creativity.

This programme with its emphasis on multi-disciplinary approaches to children and childhood is structured around the five outcomes for children specified in the Every Child Matters policy agenda:

• Being healthy
• Staying safe
• Making a positive contribution
• Enjoying and achieving
• Achieving economic well-being

Course Content

• Child development
• Social policy
• Child protection and staying safe
• Health Care for Young Children
• Inclusion and children’s rights
• Early Years practice
• Play and Creativity
• Leadership and Management
• The observation and assessment of children
• Researching the Early Years

Optional Subjects

• The psychological and social child
• Children’s language and literacy
• Improving and sustaining children’s health
• Working with Families

Why this Course?

• Practical vocational focus to the study of Early Years working
• Strong grounding in social science perspectives to inform practice
• Placements enable students to link theory to practice in a multi-professional context
• Emphasis on the development of skills in problem solving, analysis, self-management in addition to inter-personal skills
• Further skills developed on this course include, group dynamics, leadership, facilitation, decision-making, pedagogical skills, health and safety
• Supportive small-group learning
• Individual Tutorial support to assist with the planning and checking of course work
• Embraces multi-professional inter-agency working, and includes numerous visits from professionals in the field.

Individual modules

LEVEL ONE	LEVEL TWO	LEVEL THREE
Child development	CORE:	CORE:
Critical reading and writing	Researching the early years	Independent Project (Triple module)
Sociology	Play and creativity	Contemporary issues
Social policy	The changing curriculum	Special needs and disability
Staying safe	Leadership & management	Practitioner options x 2
Inclusion & children’s rights	Observation & assessment
Children’s health and well-being	Practitioner options x 2
Early years practice	OPTIONS: x 1	OPTIONS: x 1
	The psychological and social child	Improving  and sustaining children’s health
	Children’s language and literacy	Working with Families

Online Prospectus Information

For more information on the Early Childhood Studies with Practitioner Options, go to the Online Prospectus