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Early Years Studies

Entry requirements


A level

C,E-C,D

48 - 56 UCAS Tariff points

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

PPP-MPP

48 - 56 UCAS Tariff points

UCAS Tariff

48-56

About this course


Course option

2years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Early years education

If you work with young children, (eg pre-school, child-minding, day nursery or children’s centre), this course is designed to suit your work commitments, combining academic study with knowledge of your work, and preparing you for the top-up degree and professions in Early Years.

Develop your skills in teaching and learning support, reflecting on work-based practice in educating and supporting young children’s early learning and development.

This course offers you a strong foundation in Early Years Education from a variety of professional perspectives, providing opportunities for you to develop your own individual academic and professional interests linking your current work practice to your developing theoretical knowledge.

The course is designed specifically to suit existing work commitments. You will have the opportunity to continue your studies at degree level through the University of Bedfordshire's BA Applied Early Years Studies course and all successful Foundation Degree students have the right of a direct entry to the BA at the end of their study.

You could then choose to follow a Primary PGCE / Schools Direct programme to gain Qualified Teacher Status, or the Early Years Teacher Status (GSCE grades A*-C in Maths, English and Science or equivalent will be required). For those who do not wish to progress on to the top-up degree, you have various options in employment including leadership and management roles within an Early Years setting.

**Why choose this course?**

- Learn full-time or part-time, to suit your work commitments

- Study different approaches to teaching and learning and the way children learn, and deepen your own understanding of your work and working environment

- Develop your understanding of early education, child development and the developing child in the family and society, in local and global contexts

- Gain a strong foundation in Early Years Education from a variety of professional perspectives, providing opportunities for you to develop your own individual academic and professional interests linking your current work practice to your developing theoretical knowledge

- Benefit from direct entry to the BA at the end of your study, then progress to Qualified Teacher Status or Early Years Teacher Status or employment in leadership and management roles in Early Years

Modules

Every effort is made to ensure this information is accurate at the point of publication on the UCAS website. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to our website.

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 overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

89%
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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
65%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

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.

£20k

£20k

£24k

£24k

£28k

£28k

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.

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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 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.

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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

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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?

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