FdA Early Years Practice

Foundation degree

In St Helens

£ 200 VAT inc.

Description

  • Type

    Foundation degree

  • Location

    St helens

  • Duration

    2 Years

  • Start date

    Different dates available

Our Foundation Degree in Early Years Practice is ideal for practitioners (employed or voluntary) working in early years services.

You will gain a solid academic grounding that will improve your current knowledge and understanding of being an effective early years practitioner. The course includes holistic development within the early years, early years curriculum, partnership working, safeguarding and reflective, inclusive and leadership and management practice, whilst enhancing your personal, professional and academic skills. This will provide opportunities for you to develop further as an early years professional following graduation.

Facilities

Location

Start date

St Helens (Merseyside)
St Helens College Water Street St Helens, WA10 1PP

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

About this course


Upon completion graduates have a number of options available to them. Career prospects include moving into higher positions such as Senior Practitioner within the early years setting or management within an early years setting.

For 2017 entry you must have a UCAS Tariff Score of 96
You should hold a level 3 qualification in childcare such as NVQ3, DCE, NND, NNEB, EYE or equivalent. (Post 2014 students must hold the early years educator qualification).

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Subjects

  • Early Years
  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Education
  • Leadership Styles
  • Literature
  • Wellbeing
  • Practitioners
  • Developing Child
  • EYFS

Course programme

What will I study?

Year 1

The first year will link to various professional and academic issues common to the early years sector. Modules at this level, support a greater understanding of holistic child development, working in partnership and developing a greater knowledge and understanding of the developing sector. This year will also support you to enhance your study skills to enable progression.

Year 2

The second year will support your developing academic ability. Reflection in the early years at level 5 aims to enhance employability and transferable skills as learners reflect and action their progress. The additional modules provide an insight to good practice and contemporary issues. Skills such as team work, independence, communication, leadership and reflection are developed whilst the course also highlights the importance of staying up to date with key issues within the early years sector. Students develop ideas about good practice from one another during seminar discussions.

Year 1 (Level 4)

4501EYSTH Personal Progression and Development (PPD) (20 credits)

This module provides the studentand, new to higher educationand, with an opportunity to reflect upon and develop their personaland, academic and professional skills. The PDP will include diagnostic tools such as learning styles questionnaireand, ICT skills audit and skill developmentand, action planning related to assignment feedbackand, practice reports from mentors and reflective statements related to module learning. PPD provides a firm foundation upon which the Year 2 Reflective in the Early Years module will build.

4502EYSTH The Developing Child (20 credits)

This module focuses upon established theories of children's learning and development within the early year's age range (0-8). Whilst recognising that the current Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework covers the 0-5 age rangeand, students need to be aware of developmental stages up to the age of 8 years for assessment purposes. This module is not going to focus upon specific curricular aspects of planning in the EYFS; as this will be studied in the Early Years Curriculum module.

Throughout this moduleand, emphasis will be on observation and monitoring of an individual child's progress as part of work based learning.

4503EYSTH Technology in the Early Years (20 credits)

Learners will be able to evaluate and use appropriate ICT tools to support children's learning and assessment. Students will have the opportunity to sample and use a variety of ICT equipment and software. Students will also be encouraged to consider ICT resources in relation to children's age and ability.

4504EYSTH The History of Childhood (20 credits)

The main basis of this module is to provide students with an awareness of childhood as a theoretical conceptand, where key lectures act as catalysts for further independent study and application in the student's work based setting. Seminar discussion and tutorials will offer the students the opportunity to share and discuss their work based findings in the light of their theoretical understanding of the 'childhood' concept.

This module is placed at the start of the programme in order to allow students to contextualise the influences and factors affecting the childhood experience that will follow throughout the rest of the programme via module learning outcomes.

4505EYSTH Working in Partnership (20 credits)

This module provides the student with the opportunity to examine the concepts of working in partnership with childrenand, young people and families. Students will examine the role of the multi-agency team to support and improve outcomes for childrenand, young people and families.

4506EYSTH Early Years Education (20 credits)

Theories of curriculum development are examined in relation to current practice. This activity based module will result in the presentation of a resource file which will be effective in supporting future practice. The balance and interconnection between playand, creativity and academic learning will be explored. There are close links between this module and the Learning and Development in the Early Years module.

Year 2 (Level 5)

5501EYSTH Reflection in the Early Years (20 credits)

This module focuses on the student at the centre of his/her learning. It entails a thoughtful and analytical reflection on his/her current role and responsibilitiesand, professional development and learning to date. Strengthsand, weaknessesand, challenges and opportunities are identifiedand, and personal motivations and aspirations considered. As a resultand, an action plan is designed in order to increase his/her professional capability. This might involve further readingand, training or other professional activity. The evaluation is an opportunity to reflect upon the outcomes of the activity outlined on the action plan. The use of social learning networks will be encouraged in

order to facilitate sharedand, sustained thinking.

5502EYSTH Inclusion (20 credits)

The module allows students to reflect critically and sensitively on workplace practice and ethos as well as their own personal attitudes and professional practice surrounding inclusion. The module is designed to recognise the evolving nature of the concept of inclusion and how it relates to inclusive

practice. Current practitioners (e.g. SENCOs) are used to support the delivery of this moduleand, thus ensuring currency.

5503EYSTH Leading and Managing in the Early Years (20 credits)

This module is concerned with enhancing the student's ability to understand and evaluate processes and techniques for managing the setting. It will analyse management and leadership styles and examine the effectiveness of teams and individuals.

5504EYSTH Research Enquiry (20credits)

The main basis of this module is to provide students with an enhanced awareness of academic research.

The advantages and limitations of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies will be examined and evaluated. Students will be expected to search the literatureand, including the use of electronic databasesand, to investigate an area of their professional practice in more depth.

They will then be expected to produce a small scale research proposal in this area; then test and evaluate one of the methodological tools proposed.

5505EYSTH Safeguarding Practice within the Early Years (20 credits)

Students will explore their own role and responsibilities in safeguarding and protecting children.

Students will also be encouraged to explore a range of local and national initiatives to support them when safeguarding issues arise. Students will also examine effective strategies for empowering children and young people in their own safe keeping.

5506EYSTH Health and Wellbeing within the Early Years (20 credits)

Students will be required to in depth at the Health and Wellbeing in the Early Years exploring both national and local initiatives to promote Health and Wellbeing. Students will Identify and implement an appropriate strategy for promoting health and wellbeing in an Early Years settingand, whilst evaluating the impact of the strategy. The role of the adult will be looked at and discussed in detail throughout this module.

Additional information

Assessment is continuous throughout the duration of the course through both formative and summative assessments including written coursework assignments, essays, extended pieces of work, examinations, presentations, portfolios, case studies and reports.

FdA Early Years Practice

£ 200 VAT inc.