FdA Early Years and Primary Practice

Program Overview

The Foundation Degree Early Years and Primary Practice (FdA EYPP) is a two-year program designed for individuals working with children ages 0-12. It combines theoretical study with practical skills to enhance knowledge in child development, early years education, and relevant legislation. The program emphasizes values and beliefs necessary in the Early and Primary Years, preparing graduates for careers in childcare and education. Graduates have various employment opportunities and can progress to further studies in teaching.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Foundation Degree Early Years and Primary Practice (FdA EYPP) is an employment-related higher education qualification designed for individuals working with children between the ages of 0-12. It offers a blend of work-related specialist skills and academic study, providing an opportunity to enhance knowledge and understanding of theoretical ideas associated with the care, learning, and development of young children.

Objectives:

• Enhance knowledge and understanding of theoretical ideas associated with the care, learning, and development of young children between 0-12 years of age.
• Develop the values and beliefs necessary for those working in the Early and Primary Years.
• Gain essential knowledge and understanding of regulatory and legislative frameworks in supporting children's development.

Outline:

The FdA EYPP course spans 2 years (2 levels) and focuses on key areas relating to children's holistic development, the care and support of all children, continued professional development, policy, and legislation, and how research informs practice/provision.

Year 1 Modules:

• Introduction to Reflective Practice: Develops personal, professional, and academic skills to support studies and enhance future personal, professional, and career development.
• Children, Childhoods, and Society: Explores key ideas and debates surrounding childhood from sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives, emphasizing the ways in which children are positioned in different contexts.
• Supporting Children’s Holistic Development: Considers teaching and learning approaches to support children's holistic development from the earliest years to age 12, focusing on the role of observation in practice.
• Inclusive Practice: Investigates the value and belief systems that underpin the children's workforce, focusing on inclusivity in its broadest terms.
• Introduction to Research Methods: Introduces students to both the theoretical and applied aspects of educational and social research, covering different methodologies and research strategies.
• Social Policy in Education: Introduces political ideology and charts key social policy development post World War II, encouraging critical thinking skills in engaging with key policy debates.
• Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing: Explores the significance of young children's health and well-being within the formative years of 0-12, taking a holistic and multi-dimensional approach.

Year 2 Modules:

• Global Perspectives of Play: Explores the role of play in children's learning, examining historical and cultural perspectives of play and different play theorists and pioneers.
• Educational Research Methods: Builds on the Level 4 Introduction to Research Methods module, enabling students to develop a critical understanding of formal methods of enquiry and select and justify appropriate methods of investigation.

Teaching:

• The course is delivered using a 'block and blend' approach, combining online learning with face-to-face sessions.
• Students will benefit from a close working relationship with a highly qualified teaching team who will support them academically through collaboration with peers and individual learning experiences.
• The course acknowledges the importance of engaging with practice throughout learning and development, making it a key element of the course and academic success.
• Students will be allocated a personal academic coach who will offer pastoral support and guidance throughout their studies.
• Learners will also need to identify a workplace mentor who will provide professional support, guidance, and advice.

Careers:

• Graduates of the Foundation degree have enhanced employability in the childcare sector.
• Future employment opportunities exist in schools, children's centers, playgroups, nurseries, social care, and voluntary organizations.
• Graduates may also go on to management opportunities within the early years sector.
• The course curriculum fully supports the development of continued professional development through a very structured provision.
• The course has been providing enhanced knowledge of the holistic development of children and associated professional practice for a range of practitioners for the past 20 years.
• As a practice-based learning course, students will require the support of their employer (paid or voluntary) to successfully complete the qualification.

2024/25 UK Full-time Tuition Fee £8,220 per year UK Part-time Tuition Fee £1,370 per 20 credit module International Full-time Tuition Fee £14,610 per year UK Fees and Finance UK Bursaries and Scholarships Fees and Funding 2025/26 UK Full-time Tuition Fee £8,220 per year UK Part-time Tuition Fee £1,370 per 20 credit module

• Maximum tuition fees chargeable to Home-fee students are set by the UK Government normally in the autumn or early winter in the year prior to the year of entry (e.g.
autumn 2024 for entry in 2025/26). International tuition fees for 2025/26 will be confirmed and updated here in May 2024. UK Fees and Finance UK Bursaries and Scholarships