Foundation Degree in Early Years (full-time)

This module provides students with an opportunity to explore the concept of quality practice with the content being framed around the standards for the Early Years Educator (DFE, 2024) and the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (DfE, 2024). The module also requires students to work alongside professional practitioners in Early Years settings/schools/organisations to further develop their knowledge, skills and competence of working in practice with children, families and other professionals for a total of 120 hours. Students will be required to identify and attend an appropriate setting/school/organisation/workplace locally which is to be agreed in negotiation with the student, the tutor and the setting, in order to experience, participate in and develop competence in a range of tasks associated with early years’ education and care. Alongside the practical experience, students also attend taught sessions around aspects of Quality Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Since the late 1990’s, Early Childhood has been identified as an area of special interest for successive governments who have identified this period of a child’s life as providing an opportunity to have a significant impact on their progress in education, care and general well-being as well as presenting the opportunity to tackle child poverty, social exclusion and safeguarding issues. In light of this Early Childhood has seen an unprecedented level of social policy reform and developments in the way in which practitioners engage with children. This module will therefore begin to explore the nature of these developments in terms of the underlying philosophies and political ideas which have helped to shape the Early Childhood context in the UK. It will also seek to locate this approach to engaging with children in Early Childhood in a broader international and cultural context in order to encourage students to begin to understand and locate their own position in terms of the underlying philosophical and political values. It will begin to locate the significance of public and private values, and assessment of quality education, and care in terms of services for children and families. This module will provide a foundation for future modules where students will be expected to consider their own position in respect of working with children and families in Early Childhood.

This module supports the transition to study in a Higher Education environment. . The nature and demands of study at a higher level will be studied and explored with reference to an online shared collaborative reflection space. Generic key transferable skills, such as communication, information technology, problem solving, working with others and improving one’s own learning, will be introduced and practiced. The nature and demand of becoming a successful university student will be analysed with reference to the role played by directed and self-directed study on a university course, with care of self being emphasised, using seminal theory to support individual perspectives. The module aims to frame learning as a collaborative endeavour where students draw upon collective experience to better understand their own experience. Students will audit your own skills, identify aspects that need improving and devise plans for self-development in those areas.

This module will develop student’s knowledge and understanding of child development and learning from 0 – 5years and beyond. The module will focus on language, cognition, brain, physical and social and emotional aspects of development, including attachment, transitions and self-regulation. Students explore topics like global development delay and the complex, intersectional needs of children that are not assumptions made about SEN. Consideration will be made to consider the importance of adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) within a child’s lived experience and the influence of this on wider development.

Students are also encouraged to explore issues of health and wellbeing, for example hygiene, handwashing, dental health, immunisations, and childhood diseases. Students will learn how to identify when a child needs urgent medical or dental treatment and the correct procedures to follow. The assessment for the child development portfolio asks student to discuss how good nutrition supports brain development. This module aims to provide students with a range of theoretical perspectives and philosophical approaches to development and learning which can be used to analyse practice.

This module provides an introduction to thinking about play, learning and teaching. Play is a contested concept for which there is no one agreed definition. Many theorists are able to discuss what some of the features of play are or are not. In this module we will look to consider what constitutes play and why it is key to early learning. We will investigate ideas around play environments both indoors and out as well as considering Forest School. We will provide an introduction to some of the key theorists and pioneers, also exploring play within the EYFS. We will also begin to explore learning theory and where play fits into this as a pedagogy. We will also investigate the challenging role of the adult within play, learning and teaching, and ideas around modelling play behaviour. We consider how key areas such as mathematics and synthetic phonics can be developed through a play based approach

Childhood is defined largely through the attitudes, beliefs and values of particular societies at particular times. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this module will promote an understanding of how childhood has changed or is different and continues to be socially constructed. This leads to a number of contested discourses for example: Romantic, Puritan, Utilitarian and Developmental which continue to influence policy and practice in the Early Childhood context. This module will also make reference to the student’s own experiences of childhood and will explore how this, alongside other constructs, are influenced and represented through a variety of means such as media imagery, children’s literature, children’s health and wellbeing, and artefacts from a range of sources. Students will be encouraged to consider the potential implications for their practice in respect of dominant discourses around childhood for example the emphasis on children’s ‘care and protection’ in the dominant romantic discourse.

The issue of safeguarding children has come into sharp focus as a result of high profile public inquiries detailing significant failings and as such recent governments have sought to reassure the public that they have the capacity to address these issues. As a consequence, policy reforms have broadened the responsibility for safeguarding children in terms of both prevention and protection to incorporate the whole children’s workforce with an emphasis on the importance of collaborative working. There have also been on-going debates in respect of the role of state intervention and the privacy of the family.

This module focuses on the care of children and protecting them from harm and the responsibilities of practitioners in safeguarding children’s welfare. It aims to explore some of the complex issues involved in safeguarding children and the interventions designed to drive this agenda. It will provide students with an exploration of the historical and political context that has served to shape current policy and practice. Students will learn the signs of harm and the different types of abuse and what these are, including but not limited to: neglect, physical, emotional, online, domestic and sexual abuse. Specific attention will be given to exploring the social and cultural notions of neglect and abuse, and the impact that abuse can have on the lives of children and their families. Key child abuse inquiries will be examined to analyse common themes and issues in respect of the failure of child protection systems, policies and practices to safeguard children and young people. Students will explore current policy and legislation and its implications for practice for all those working with the children and their families. A clearer understanding will be gained of the different roles and responsibilities of those working in the area of safeguarding children.

This module aims to introduce students to the importance of considering issues surrounding education and social justice, rights and voice with children and young people. The module enables students to undertake a collaborative presentation exploring elements of the module and their implications for practice. It aims to empower students to become agents of change through understanding opportunities for agency within the wider structures in which they work to help ensure that all young people (regardless of their background) can thrive. This module explores how social justice-oriented pedagogy can be embedded from the early years onwards to support fairer more egalitarian educational spaces. This module will move past essentialist approaches to explore how intersectionality compounds issues of privilege and marginalisation in the education system.

Students will explore a range of services and agencies involved in multi-agency working and the legal and regulatory framework in which they operate. They will be encouraged to critically reflect on the opportunities and challenges around supporting families utilising this model of working. This module focuses on the professional practice of those working for agencies in, or related to children and young people’s services, working with parents and will explore relevant policy and practice developments. It will also consider the range of approaches and theoretical models that underpin multi-agency working and the challenges present in professional practice to working in this way to achieve meaningful outcomes for children and their families. Students will be required to reflect on the nature and complexities of multi-agency work via a reflective account that draws on their own practice and their developing understanding of models for multi-agency practice.

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of research methodology and specific research terminology. It critically analyses the importance of research design, focusing on key aspects required for undertaking small scale research studies. It addresses ethical principles, examines the role and responsibilities of the researcher, and identifies issues for management and organisation, including the consideration of the value of and ethical issues around practitioner research. It enables students to access, compare and critically analyse academic research, and ascertain how this impacts on policy and practice. This module will allow students to develop skills and knowledge to support progression into Honour’s level.

This module encourages students to reflect on prior learning and experience in order to prepare them for their next academic and professional progression. Within Professional practice 2 module students explore children’s campaigns around health and wellbeing, such as hand washing, food hygiene, cleanliness etc. We look at national weaning campaigns provided by the NHS and other research based sources and consider process vs cultural norms. Student will learn how to receive, store, record and administer medicines and also their safe disposal.

This module will introduce students to a range of current and historical issues surrounding the inclusion of babies and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Mental Health in the education and care system. Students explore topics like global development delay and the complex, intersectional needs of children that are not assumptions made about SEN. Relevant legislation and policy will be explored with opportunities to consider a range of issues related to inclusion such as attendance, exclusion and disadvantage from a wide range of perspectives. Through the taught sessions, each of the four categories of need, as identified in the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years (2015) will be explored to identify barriers to learning and supportive strategies. Case studies are also used to explore children who manoeuvre with hoists, require medication as part of their daily life and the adaptations that can be made to everyday practice for inclusive practice. They also consider meal times and feeding for all ages, appropriate food size, shape, choking and facial muscles. Feeding children whom have no muscle control, finger food etc. and how to do this whilst showing respect for the unique child including maintaining their dignity.

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of research methodology and specific research terminology. It critically analyses the importance of research design, focusing on key aspects required for undertaking small scale research studies. It addresses ethical principles, examines the role and responsibilities of the researcher, and identifies issues for management and organisation, including the consideration of the value of and ethical issues around practitioner research. It enables students to access, compare and critically analyse academic research, and ascertain how this impacts on policy and practice. This module will allow students to develop skills and knowledge to support progression into Honour’s level.