Foundation Degree in Childhood Studies, Care and Education

This course will equip you with the specialist knowledge and skills needed to support your continued development in the Childhood Sector. It is suitable for those working with children under 11yrs and their families, including in Early Years, Primary School, or Family Support provision to further develop skills to Level 5. Level 4 (Year 1 for full-time students and Year 1 + first semester in Year 2 for part-time students) develops skills to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of well-established theories, concepts and historical origins of theory. Students will develop understanding in taking responsibility for personal and professional development using reflection and feedback to analyse their own capabilities and be able to implement actions for improvement. Level 5 (Year 2 for full-time students and Year 2 second semester and Year 3 for part-time students) begins the process of being able to work appropriately with a variety of interdisciplinary groups and teams, showing a critical insight in leadership and management skills. Further, students will be able to consistently employ appropriate pedagogical and andragogical approaches to achieve the best outcomes when working with children, professionals, colleagues, parents and carers. The course operates on a fixed modular basis, most modules count for 15 academic credits although some are double weighted and count for 30 credits. Each credit taken equates to a total study time of around 10 hours. Total study time includes scheduled teaching, independent study, and assessment activity. Full-time students take modules worth 60 credits per semester, with part-time students taking proportionately fewer credits per semester. All students take a total of 120 credits per level and 240 credits for the Foundation Degree as a whole. Your overall grade for the course and your degree classification are based on the marks obtained for modules taken at Level 5; these are Pass, Merit and Distinction awards. The full-time and part-time course has one start point in September and each year finishes in June.

A current role within an Early Years, Education or Family Support setting of 15hrs per week is strongly recommended.

Foundation Degree in Childhood Studies, Care and Education awarded by the University of Gloucestershire.

This programme alone does not provide Licence to Practice in Early Years Settings and would need either a suitable L3 qualification or to progress to the BA (Hons) and on to Early Years Initial Teacher Training to enable full counting into ratio. On successful completion of the course, you will be able to progress onto the BA (Hons) Childhood Studies, Care and Education Level 6 programme.

This module map provides a list of modules that make up your course.

Each module is worth a specified number of credits.

Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. You can always find the most up-to-date information about your modules and who is teaching them in our module handbook and in our module guides.
The modules available on the course are as follows:

Module Titles
Credits

Level 4

Semester 1

Theories of Thinking and Learning (Full time and Part-time Yr1) - 15 Credits
Documenting Children’s Learning (Full time and Part-time Yr1) - 15 Credits
The Promotion of Personal, Social and Emotional Development through Positive Interactions (Full time Yr 1 Part time Yr2) - 15 Credits  

Understanding Curriculum Development (Full time Yr 1 and Part time Yr2) - 30 Credits

Semester 2

Child Development and the Life Course (Full time and Part-time Yr1) - 15 Credits
Personal Academic Development (Full time and Part-time Yr1) - 30 Credits

Level 5

Semester 1

Safeguarding (Full time Yr2 and Part time Yr3) - 15 Credits

Introduction to Research (Full time Yr2 and Part time Yr3) - 15 Credits 

SEND (Full time Yr 2) -  30 Credits

Semester 2

Curriculum in Practice (Full time Yr 2 and Part time Yr3) - 30 Credits 

Leadership and Management (Full time Yr 2 and Part time Yr3) - 15 Credits

Working with Parents (Full time Yr2 and Part time Yr2) - 15 Credits

 SEND (Part time Yr2) - 30 Credits

Grade 4 (C) in GCSE English (or equivalent) is required. Grade 4 (C) in GCSE Maths (or equivalent) is highly desirable.

You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team lecturers both have industry experience alongside guest speakers providing an added layer of expertise.

You are taught through a variety of teaching methods including lectures, visiting speakers and more practical activities. In addition, you have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor. The modules will be taught one day a week FT or one evening a week PT.

You will receive feedback on all practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor. We aim to provide you with feedback within 20 working days of hand-in (formal coursework assessment).

For full information about tuition fees please see the 'YCUC Fees' and 'YCUC HE Fees Policy', both available in the 'Policies and Reports' area of our website. It is not mandatory to buy resources as the LRC is very well stocked, however, many students choose to buy their own copies of a small number of core texts to aid their studies.

The course provides you with opportunities to test your understanding of the subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that each module requires. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. Each module has its own assignment brief and assessment method, this maybe set as an essay, report, seminar, presentation or academic poster and counts as your mark for that module. Assessment for this FdA is 100% coursework; your Level 5 grades will determine your final grade. You will receive feedback on all practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor. We aim to provide you with feedback within 20 working days of hand-in (formal coursework assessment). Note: You must achieve a pass mark of 40 and above in all modules (Level 4 and 5), all Level 4 modules must be passed as a prerequisite, before progression to Level 5 modules.

Typical entry requirements are 48 UCAS tariff points from two A levels or equivalent, BTEC Level 3 Diplomas, Access to HE Diploma, International Baccalaureate (with at least 24 points achieved), UCAS tariff points from Scottish Highers or Advanced Highers, UCAS tariff points from the Irish Leaving Certificate and Welsh Baccalaureate are generally accepted. GCSE Maths and GCSE English at grade 4 or above (or equivalent) are highly desirable. We advise students to consider holding GCSE Science (or equivalent) if they intend on pursuing a teaching career, however, applicants should always research entry requirements for future training or careers themselves. All applicants will be invited to an admission interview and will be advised of the criteria in advance. We welcome applications from mature students (aged 21 and over as of 1st September in the academic year of admission) and do not necessarily require the same academic qualifications as school leaving applicants. Please email university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk to find out more. If you have achieved a qualification such as a Foundation Degree or HND, or have gained credit at another higher education institution, you may be able to enter the course at level 5 - contact university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk for more information. International applicants will be required to evidence English language skills - this could be an IELTS score of 6.0, with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component, a grade 4 in GCSE English (or equivalent), or having recently completed a Level 3 qualification taught and assessed in the English language. For more information, please email university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk.

To study full-time, please apply through UCAS (Institute name: YEOV, Institute code: Y25, Course code: 51LK). For the part-time route, please apply direct to the Yeovil College University Centre by calling 01935 845454 or emailing university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk