PGCE Early Years Birth to 5 (with EYTS) Employment Pathway PGCE

University of Bedfordshire

About the course

The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Early Years Birth to 5) offers a unique route into achieving Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). The course promotes flexibility in your own career pathway and provides opportunities to achieve a recognised birth to 5 teaching qualification.

It enhances the professional requirements for EYTS by giving you extensive experience in a variety of work based settings including children centres, pre-school, and nursery.

This offers a holistic experience of the developing and learning child from birth to aged 5. The course focuses on the importance of teaching and learning at this critical stage of a child progressing through the Early Years Foundation Stage to their primary school provision.

In addition, the PGCE provides you with skills, knowledge and understanding in developing yourself as a leader in high quality early years settings.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed through a range of formative and summative tasks, including presentations, portfolios, development of resources, research proposals, written tasks and a research project in an area of particular interest to you. As part of your Early Years placement, you will be observed teaching and working with young children by your mentor and University tutor. This will support your development as an Early Years teacher and allow you to focus on ensuring that you meet the necessary Early Years Teacher Standards. The passing of all three units will mean that you can be recommended you to the Department for Education for EYTS. In exceptional circumstances, approved by the Head of School, it may be possible for recommendation for EYTS to be made without completion of the academic units. This option is not an automatic entitlement. In all your assessments, you will be encouraged and supported to make links between your developing practice in the workplace and your unit assessments.