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Early Childhood Education

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-B,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

M:45

GCSE/National 4/National 5

English Language and Mathematics Grade 4 (or equivalent).

112-120 UCAS points

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

DMM-DDM

UCAS Tariff

112-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Early years education

Do you aspire to make a significant difference to young children’s lives, future generations and transform communities in a rewarding field? Are you excited to learn about children’s education, development and care? We’ll teach you the latest theory, philosophy and best practice. There are so many different approaches you can try. This is a chance to specialise in the development of young children between 0 – 7 years old. We’ll teach you how to give every child you work with the best possible start.

You'll have the opportunity to focus on practice or research. Whichever path you choose, you can enter a variety of careers related to working with children and families.

If you focus on practice, you’ll complete two extended work placements in your 2nd and 3rd year. In addition to your degree, you’ll graduate with Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies. This puts you in an excellent position to seek immediate employment in early childhood settings and to count in staff-child ratios from the day you start work. This means you’ll be able to make a difference early on in your career. Plus, you’ll have a range of transferable skills that are in high demand.

If you focus on research, you’ll specialise in theory and critical analysis. You’ll investigate philosophies, concepts and current issues related to early childhood education. We’ll teach you how to critique their impact through work-based learning. Through your studies, you’ll become an expert in the theories which underpin child development, education and care. You’ll become a confident, self-aware and reflective graduate. You’ll have the research skills to work in a variety of multi-agency settings or progress to post graduate studies.

Modules

For a full list of modules, see the 'What will I Study' section of the course page on our website.

Assessment methods

100% coursework.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Hertfordshire

Department:

Education

Read full university profile

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.

86%
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

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
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

78%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
81%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
3%
Male students
97%
Female students
63%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
C

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
low
Employed or in further education
56%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

39%
Teaching and educational professionals
33%
Childcare and related personal services
6%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

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.

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

£29k

£29k

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 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.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here