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University of Bedfordshire

UCAS Code: X413 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

C-B

Successfully completed Access Diploma course

32 - 48 UCAS Tariff Points

UCAS Tariff

32-48

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Early years education

If your dream is to work with young children, this course gives you a deep understanding of early years education, preparing you for a wide range of careers or for further study to become a teacher. You will develop an inter-disciplinary knowledge of how children develop in learning and thinking in their early years (0-7 years).

**Foundation Year**
In the Foundation year you will study three days per week. The focus will be on academic writing skills and numeracy, plus subject-specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree. It provides a balance between content related to your chosen subject and the range of wider skills required for undergraduate study. This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will be required to pass the foundation year in order to progress to the first year of your degree. This course is ideal for those who do not meet our standard entry requirements or those with a non-standard educational background. It will allow you to graduate with a full undergraduate degree in your chosen subject in four years.

**Course Accreditation/Industry Endorsement**
- The course gives you a DfE-recognised (Department for Education) Graduate Practitioner qualification alongside your degree.

**Facilities and Specialist Equipment**
- Forest School where you can deepen your understanding of the long-term educational benefits of outdoor learning.

- Specialist sensory centre for practise in teaching SEND and early years pupils.

- Multi-media space for webinars and podcasting.

- 80-seat black-box theatre and 260-seat professional theatre.

- A wide range of sports facilities including the Polhill Sports Arena, an international PE venue.

**Patrneships and Collaborations**
- We have well-established partnerships with more than 500 schools and other associated organisations

**Your Student Experience**
- Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well.

- You learn the latest innovative practices in early childhood education and care, with the support of a highly experienced academic team, actively involved in research in their fields.

- You participate in practical workshops on campus and in early years settings, and benefit from university-organised placements (80 days over three years) in a variety of early childhood settings.

- Support from your own personal tutor, a subject and/or placement mentor, a unit and course coordinator, and the additional support of our experienced library staff, all of whom will help you throughout your student journey and with balancing study with work and personal commitments.

- You have the opportunity to go on relevant field trips to places you would be likely to take your pupils, such as theatres; museums; art galleries; and attend relevant educational conferences.

- We have regular visits by professionals from schools and academy chains including both primary and secondary head teachers; SEN schools; local education authorities; and other agencies involved in broadening students understanding such as the NHS (neurodiversity), museums, local faith leaders and sports representatives.

The Uni

Course location:

Bedford Campus

Department:

School of Education and English Language

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What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

93%
Early years education

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Education

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
91%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
89%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

84%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
89%
Course specific equipment and facilities
84%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
2%
Male students
98%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Education

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

Top job areas of graduates

31%
Childcare and related personal services
30%
Teaching and educational professionals
9%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Education

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£25k

£25k

£27k

£27k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here