BSc (Hons) Childhood Development - University of South Wales

BSc (Hons) How to apply Apply Through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us

UCAS Code

L239
Start Date

September
Location

Pontypridd
Campus Code

A

Fees

Home students

£9,535*
International students

£16,200*
Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

UCAS Code

L238
Start Date

September
Location

Pontypridd
Campus Code

A

Fees

Home students

£9,535*
International students

£16,200*
Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

Overview
Module Overview
Course Highlights
Entry Requirements
Fees and Funding
How to Apply

You’ll have the unique opportunity to explore the current psychological understandings of both childhood and adolescence, exploring how these help to explain both typical and atypical development.

Career paths

Teaching
Nursery/Early Years
Social Work
Third Sector Organisations
Youth and Community Work

Skills taught

Critical Thinking
Communication
Creative Problem Solving
Research

We make a difference in practice, not just on paper. Our courses are designed by people who offer jobs - and taught by people who have real work experience.

A woman plays with toddlers using educational toys at a small blue table in a classroom

teacher looking at young pupil as she interacts with a digital whiteboard with stylus pen

A student on a teaching placement in a classroom, smiling at the camera

Course Highlights

Additional Qualifications

As well as on-campus clinical experience, work placements and short courses through Psychology Plus, you’ll also be able to complete additional qualifications such as Safeguarding Children (Level 1).

External Partnerships

We work closely with our external partners to create meaningful learning experiences that give you the opportunity to inspire change in the real world and create valuable networking opportunities.

Outstanding Facilities

Take advantage of the industry-standard equipment in our purpose-built psychology laboratories and gain valuable hands-on experience at our on-campus Early Intervention Clinic.

Behaviour Analysis Clinic

Our campus-based Behaviour Analysis Clinic gives you the opportunity to undertake voluntary placements to apply your studies to real-life contexts.

Module Overview

This Childhood Development degree explores a variety of psychological factors and understandings of child and adolescent development. You will have the opportunity to develop an established understanding of the key legislations and policies that influence and shape the practice of working with children and adolescents, such as the Safeguarding Legislation.

Your first year will introduce the key theories and approaches of studying child and adolescent development, including historical and contemporary perspectives.

The Development of Children and Young People
You will be introduced to the key theoretical approaches to studying development in childhood and adolescence.

Historical and Conceptual Issues of Children and Young People
We will explore how childhood and adolescence are viewed by different academic disciplines. It also introduces the scientific approach to studying childhood and adolescence.

Working Therapeutically with Children and Young People
You will explore the principles of numerous specific types of therapeutic interventions that can be employed when working with children and young people.

We will continue to expand your understanding of the field and critically explore research and policies and how these influence work with children and adolescents. We will also take a closer look at therapeutic interventions and examine the issues that surround these. You will also be supported in applying for work experience in the Professional Practice and Employability module.

Critical Perspectives on Child and Adolescent Development
We will explore how research informs practice in working with children and young people with an in-depth focus on the typical and atypical aspects of childhood and adolescent development.

Researching Children and Young People
You will develop your understanding and experience in methods used when researching children and young people.

Therapeutic Interventions with Children and Young People
We will evaluate and explore the issues related to working therapeutically with children and young people. You will also develop a critical assessment of psychopathology in children and young people.

Professional Practice and Employability
You will have the opportunity to obtain sector specific work-related experience and / or transferable employability skills linked to theory and research and to reflect upon these.

Children and Young People: Policy and Contemporary Practices
We will explore how current policies influence the lives of children and young people.

You will undertake an independent practical project, identifying a research topic of interest and conducting a research study around it from start to finish. We will also continue to expand your knowledge of child and adolescent development and psychopathology and optional modules will allow you to tailor your learning to suit your career aspirations.

Independent Practical Project
You will have the opportunity to identify a research topic, design a research study to investigate the topic, carry out the study, analyse the data, and report the findings.

Development in Childhood and Adolescence
You will develop an in-depth coverage of selected topics in the area of child and adolescent development with an emphasis on current research issues and practical applications of research.

Critical Reflections on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
We will carry out an advanced examination of different therapeutic approaches and fosters critical evaluation of these approaches.

Health Psychology across the Lifespan (Optional)
You will develop your systematic knowledge and critical understanding of a range of topics and issues in Health Psychology in the context of lifespan development.

The Psychology of Education and Work (Optional)
You will be encouraged to critically reflect on theoretical and research perspectives underpinning educational and occupational Psychology.

Practical Skills in Behaviour Analysis (Optional)
We will help to prepare you to work as a Registered Behaviour Technician (RBT) by acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills.

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

We deliver your modules through an engaging and immersive learning environment through means such as lectures, workshops, tutorials, projects, group activities, and placements. You’ll also work with our external partners and stakeholders to deliver reports on current issues they are facing, giving you the opportunity to deliver real impact to current practice, such as ongoing work with the Welsh Government’s initiative on child poverty.

You will complete a range of assessments including essays, practical reports, oral presentations, story bags and case studies. These will also be some examination assessments (seen and unseen) and in-class tests.

Teaching staff

Our Childhood Development teaching staff are actively involved in current research and come from a range of specialist fields, giving you access to a wide variety of expertise.

Klara Price, course leader
Aimee Giles
Victoria Markham
Shakiela Davies
Alexis Jones
Gareth Miles
Janet Pitman

Placements

A key element of the Childhood Development course is the opportunity to gain a short period of hands-on experience working with children and adolescents in a range of settings where available, including schools, child and family welfare charities, and youth justice. You can also apply for clinical experience at our on-campus Early Intervention Clinic and will have the opportunity to undertake short courses and work placements, as well as completing additional qualifications such as Safeguarding Children (Level 1).

You can apply for further placement and work experience activity through our Psychology Plus scheme

Facilities

Our purpose-built psychology lab is filled with industry standard equipment to use throughout your studies, including eye-tracking equipment, Electroencephalography (EEG) machines, and BIOPAC systems, as well as interview and observation rooms. You will also be able to book a space for quiet study and access the dedicated social learning space with computers and psychology textbooks.

USW was the first institution in the UK to oﬀer a wide range of psychological services to the public at out on-site Behaviour Analysis Clinic specialises in treating the behavioural challenges associated with a wide range of disorders, including autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, and conduct disorder.

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

The BSc (Hons) Childhood Development degree will help you develop a range of practical skills and engage you in placement-based activities, giving you both the knowledge and tools to work with children and young people in a variety of settings. This course opens doors to a range of exciting career opportunities across many settings, including youth work, nurseries and early years settings, schools and third sector organisations. There are a range of professional qualifications that this course will help prepare you for, such as Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Youth and Community Work and teaching qualifications.

Possible career paths

This Childhood Development degree opens the doors to many different career paths, but many of our graduates use their qualification and experience to go onto further professional PGCE and teaching qualifications to gain a career path in an educational setting. Using the knowledge of child and adolescent development that you gain in this degree can help create empathetic teaching practices that create a safe learning environment for children and adolescents with a variety of learning needs. Your understanding of the psychological development of children would allow you to make informed decisions, develop appropriate interventions and strategies, and may help you to influence positive changes to educational systems.

Careers support

Our external partnerships are leveraged throughout your studies, giving you the opportunity to work with real world clients and make contacts that can be really helpful with your career. You will be able to showcase your skills to our partners at multiple points throughout your degree and will be encouraged to interact with partners directly.

On top of the amazing support from the University’s Careers and Employability Service offered to all students at USW, we work closely with the University’s Careers and Employability Service to support you with placement opportunities, ensuring that you find tailored experience that suits your aspirations.

Learn more about sandwich years

Sandwich years

A sandwich year enables you to apply the knowledge gained during your degree to real-world work situations. You’ll equip yourself with a transferable skillset and gain invaluable work experience that will help you to stand out to potential employers in future job applications. A sandwich year also provides a fantastic opportunity to network and, if you impress your employer, you may even find you have a job waiting for you when you graduate. Many employers like to take on dedicated employees as showcased via a sandwich year placement scheme.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

UCAS points: 96 (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

A Level: CCC to exclude General Studies
Welsh BACC: Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales Grade C and 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 96 UCAS tariff points
T Level: Pass (C and above)

Additional requirements include:

The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances

How to apply

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.

Contextual Admissions Policy

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Fee

£9,535

per year*

International Full-time Fee

£16,200

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 £49.50 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee

Cost: £64.74

Subscription required for each year of the course for a yearly fee of £16. Please note the service has to be joined within 30 days of receipt of your enhanced DBS certificate

Cost: £16

All years of study. Cost is dependent on location

Cost: Up to £500

Years 2 and 3

Cost: £50

At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.

If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.

How to apply

All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)

Advanced entry

If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.

International admissions

International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.

Life at USW

Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.