BA (Hons)

Early Years Education and Practice (with Early Years Practitioner Status)

Become a key part of the early year’s education workforce and graduate with Early Years Practitioner status, which is a stamp of approval in the Education Workforce.

Apply Direct Apply Through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us

Key Course Details

  • UCAS Code

    DYW3

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Newport

  • Campus Code

    C

Fees

  • Home students

    £9,250*

  • International students

    £16,200*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

Designed in line with cutting-edge research and current practice, giving you the knowledge, skill set, and confidence to be employable within the early year’s workforce.

A student teacher interacting with students in a colourful primary school classrom.

DESIGNED FOR

This course is for students who wish to become a key part of the early year’s education workforce.

Accredited by

  • Social Care Wales

Career Paths

  • Primary Teacher   
  • Flying Start Manager 
  • Educational or Clinical Psychologist 
  • Child Psychotherapist 
  • Community Development Worker 

Skills taught

  • Excellent Communication Skills 
  • Effective Time Management 
  • Robust Organisational Skills 
  • Creative Thinking and Problem Solving 
  • Critical Analysis of Pertinent Issues 

Course Highlights

Placement Opportunities

Undertake a two-week placement in a local educational setting.

Outstanding Facilities

Make use of a dedicated teaching room with focused resources to support teaching children from 0-7 years old.

Interactive Learning

Benefit from use of our hydra suite, which supports virtual reality learning.

Expert Teaching

Our teaching team are all research active lecturers and are experts in a range of areas.

Module Overview

Each year of study contains key ‘themes’ woven through the modules. These golden threads enable students to make vital connections between modules and replicates the connections required in real-world practice, which are developed through this challenge-based learning approach.

You’ll be given the building blocks to develop academic skills. This is focused on challenge-based learning, collaborative, and interdisciplinary skills, and includes immersive learning projects working in small groups, a focus on sociological and psychological childhood development, and the opportunity to explore experiential learning opportunities for young children.

Professional Learning and Practice 1

In this module you will explore how you can achieve the Social Care Wales Year 1 Competencies in practice, through planning, placement and reflection. You will also learn about safeguarding in the Early Years. 

Early Years Curricula: Play and Pedagogy

This module introduces students to key theories underpinning early years pedagogy and development. It explores current early years curricula and how play supports teaching and learning in the early years classroom. 

Perspectives of Early Childhood

This module supports students to analyse and discuss current, alternative and emerging development in childhood and education. You will examine the discourse of childhood and how this impacts the way society sees it as well as working to gain an understanding of how to include the sociology of education within their pedagogy and practice. 

Project 1 

This module will enable students to work with their peers to learn why story telling is important in the Early Years and how to story tell effectively and confidently to children. You will also be able to explore and make story sacks for use in practice. 

During year two, you will continue to progress through your professional practice module working towards the next set of competencies in placement over a seven-week period and evidencing them in a portfolio. Key topics during this year include behaviour management, the development of demonstrating creativity, innovation, and project management capabilities, alongside the opportunity to gain additional qualifications in supporting children with dyslexia.

Professional Learning and Practice 2

In this module you will explore how you can achieve the Social Care Wales Year 2 Competencies in practice, through planning, placement and reflection. You will also learn about mental health and young children.

Project 2

This module explores the theory in relation to enabling environments and how the role of the adult is effectively utilised to ensure these through planning. Through a project-based approach, you will learn how to use experiential and play based pedagogy, creative approaches and imagination to extend children’s learning and development.

Behaviour Management

This module seeks to explore, examine and analyse the key influences on learning behaviour in the Early Years.  It investigates key theories linked to behaviourism and social constructivism, while identifying and evaluating intervention strategies used by settings to promote good learning behaviour. 

Inclusive Practice in the Early Years  

This module helps students to explore the importance of inclusive practice in setting by learning about Additional Learning Needs and how they can effectively support children with these.

Introduction to Research

This module supports students to understand the concept of research, what it is and why it should be conducted with children. You will explore a range of research methods and work to understand the importance of an effective research design and upholding ethical guidelines and procedures.

Leadership and management skills will be woven through the modules, building on the experience you have already gained during the previous years of study and your placements. Digital competency will underpin the immersive learning project, and you will work in a team to scope the design, content, and application of a digital vehicle to support children’s learning and development. This will also be the year where research makes up a significant amount of study, improving your ability to work independently whilst engaging with external partners and applying ethical practices through the collection of data. Finally, you will engage in ‘outdoor learning’, which provides the theoretical and practical experience of this important practice.

Professional Learning and Practice 3

This is the Year 3 Professional Practice Module. In this module you will explore how to achieve the Social Care Wales Year 3 Competencies in practice, through planning, placement and reflection.  You will also learn about Leadership and Management in the Early Years.

Project 3

During this project-based module, you will develop and evidence key digital knowledge, skills and behaviours by creating a digital resource to support the early years context. You are also tasked with demonstrating excellent collaborative skills that engender an ethos of positive, values-based cultures

Research in the Early Years

In this module you will devise and research a self-chosen research title in order to create your own primary research project for submission. This involves demonstrating areas of the research process such as reviewing the topic area and associated literature, conducting data collection and analysis, reviewing results and drawing conclusions.

Children Learning Through Landscapes

In this module you will explore learning through play in an outdoor environment and how this supports children’s physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. Compare international approaches to outdoor play and consider topics such as the role of the adult, sustainability and how to plan effectively for outdoor play using appropriate pedagogy.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

UCAS Points: 88 (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

  • A Level: CCD to exclude General Studies
  • Welsh BACC: Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and CD - CC at A Level to exclude General Studies
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Merit 
  • Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 88 UCAS tariff points

Additional Requirements:

GCSEs: The University requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent.  If you are completing an Access to Higher Education Diploma we will accept 12 Level 2 credits from English Units and 12 Level 2 credits from Mathematics Units in lieu of the GCSE C/4 grade requirements.

An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the Child Workforce and Child Barring List and subscription to the DBS Update Service is required. (Overseas equivalent required for non-uk applicants)

International applications welcomed:

We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence please view our dedicated country pages.

English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.

If you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

 

We're here to help

Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch and we'd to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.

 

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Fee

£9,250

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£16,200

per year*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Bursaries Cost of Living Support

Additional Costs

As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.

*Obligatory

Students will be expected to pay for a DBS or certificate of good behaviour from their home country. The DBS fee includes £40 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee

Cost: £55.24

Students will need a small budget for personal stationery and academic resources

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

Alongside taught provision and online support, students are expected to engage with 200 hours of independent research for the Research in the Early Years module. For the remaining modules, as well as taught provision, students are expected to engage in 100 hours of independent study and 60 hours of directed study.

Where appropriate, guest lecturers and specialists will be invited to share their experiences in education. 

The course uses different methods of assessment which are mostly coursework based.

Teaching staff

Our teaching team are all research active lecturers and are experts in a range of areas. Team members have published works on Schema development, children’s use of social media & digital identity, outdoor learning pedagogies, storytelling approaches, transitions in education amongst other topics. The course at USW is predicated on cutting edge research and current practice that informs the learning opportunities provided to our students.

  • Amanda Thomas and Alys Parkins, course leaders
  • Dr. Claire Pescott
  • Philippa Watkins
  • Ceri Brown, placement officer

Placements

In the second semester, students will be given the opportunity to undertake a placement in a local educational setting. This will be for two weeks. This will be arranged by the placement officer and will be within easy travelling distance of the student’s accommodation.

Facilities

The Early Years degree has a dedicated teaching room with focused resources to support teaching children from 0-7 years old. Students can also benefit from use of our hydra suite, which supports virtual reality learning.

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

An Early Years Education degree can lead to a range of interesting careers when you graduate. Career paths typically include those in education, with graduates working in schools, nurseries, children’s charities and integrated children’s centres. A number of graduates also go on to gain their PGCE qualification and become qualified teachers.

 

Possible career paths

Recent graduates have gained employment in a variety of roles in early years settings as well as project officer roles within local community projects and in charities. Plus, many students gain employment as a result of their practice in placement, supporting children one to one and in higher level teaching assistant roles and within flying start settings.

Careers support

The University’s Career Services offers a range of advice and guidance to students, and references to the services available to all listed at southwales.ac.uk/careers will be added to the course website by default. However, if there are other important course or subject specific initiatives run at local a level, there is an opportunity to add further details here. Whether this includes connecting with professionals, industry experts or mentors, or strategies to enhance their competitiveness and aspirations in the job market, further details will provide prospects with the confidence, encouragement, and motivation to commit to applying.