Early Years Studies FdA

University of Bedfordshire

About the course

If you work with young children, (eg pre-school, child-minding, day nursery or children’s centre), this course is designed to suit your work commitments, combining academic study with knowledge of your work, and preparing you for the top-up degree and professions in Early Years.

Develop your skills in teaching and learning support, reflecting on work-based practice in educating and supporting young children’s early learning and development.

This course offers you a strong foundation in Early Years Education from a variety of professional perspectives, providing opportunities for you to develop your own individual academic and professional interests linking your current work practice to your developing theoretical knowledge.

The course is designed specifically to suit existing work commitments. You will have the opportunity to continue your studies at degree level through the University of Bedfordshire's BA Applied Early Years Studies course and all successful Foundation Degree students have the right of direct entry to the BA at the end of their study.

You could then choose to follow a Primary PGCE / Schools Direct programme to gain Qualified Teacher Status, or the Early Years Teacher Status (GSCE grades A*-C in Maths, English and Science or equivalent will be required). For those who do not wish to progress on to the top up degree you have various options in employment including leadership and management roles within an Early Years setting.

How will I be assessed?

The purpose of the assessment strategy is to maximise the outcomes of summative assessment through effective, personalised formative assessment. This is made possible by a variety of assessment types to engage a number of approaches to learning. In the feedback to each unit of work students are marked against a level specific marking grid and are given advice on their strengths and areas for improvement. Such advice should then be fed into their subsequent assignments to form a gradual building of knowledge, rigor and application. It is expected that the student's workplace setting will give context to their individual assessment and will also be used in many of the assessments to provide secondary or primary materials to inform the assessment criteria.