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Early Childhood Studies

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-B,C,C

104-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels.

106-112 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.

Cambridge Pre-U score of 44-46.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

25

25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H4,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H4

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

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

DMM

104-112 Tariff points to include a minimum of 2 Advanced Highers.

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

104-112

104-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent.

104-112 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 1 A level, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Early childhood studies

**This is a Connected Degree**

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

**Overview**

If you want to help children have the best start in life, there are questions you need to explore. For example: how is their wellbeing affected by factors like digital technologies, race, culture and globalisation? On this course, you'll look for answers across a child's crucial first 8 years.

On your BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies degree, you’ll discover how a child develops physically, emotionally and mentally. And with plenty of opportunities to work with children, you’ll practice how to make a positive difference for them. You can customise your degree and develop specialist skills that are valued in a variety of professions.

**Course highlights**
- Learn different ways to measure children’s development from birth to age 8, which you can apply in all kinds of careers

- Choose to do a different work placement in every year of study – from local schools, to other organisations that put young children first

- Develop new skills by working with children in our own play and sensory rooms, and in outdoor environments such as forests and beaches

- Look at how children are affected by society and politics, and discover what psychology and philosophy teach us about early years

- Be taught by experts and hear from guest speakers, with unique insights into childhood and education based on their lived experience

- Gain transferable skills in psychology, sociology, teaching and learning, leadership and management, and creative thinking

You can follow an optional psychology pathway through this degree by choosing specific modules in psychology. This will lead to a BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies with Psychology award when you graduate.

You can achieve the professional status of 'Graduate Practitioner' for Early Years Practice by undertaking assessed practice in the early years sector in each year of study. This leads to the award BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (Graduate Practitioner). This professional accreditation is recognised by the Department for Education and highly regarded by early years employers.

In your final year, you can tailor your studies to include the Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) route, which leads to the award of Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS).

**Careers and opportunities**
You’ll graduate with rewarding career options, including working with children, families and communities in a variety of professional roles.

You could also take your studies further on a postgraduate course, such as MA Education Studies or MSc Educational Leadership and Management.

What jobs can you do with an early childhood studies degree?

Our graduates work in a range of educational roles and settings:

- early years teaching – with Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS)

- primary teaching – with a PGCE or SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training) leading to QTS (Qualified Teacher Status)

- pedagogical leadership in early childhood

- early years provision and setting management

- forest school leadership and training

- freelance education and private tutoring

- special educational and disability needs

Our graduates also pursue a variety of careers related to health and wellbeing:

- health and wellbeing promotion

- family support

- professional nannying

- therapeutic play – with further training

- play work

Our graduates also become consultants and researchers into early years issues.

Towards the end of your degree and for up to five years after graduation, you’ll receive one-to-one support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy to help you find your perfect role.

Modules

Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- Becoming a Researcher
- Child and Youth Development
- Health & Well Being of the Child and Young Person
- Perspectives of Early Childhood Education
- Understanding Childhoods

There aren't any optional modules in this year.

Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Global Childhoods
- Just Playing?
- Professional Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care
- Research with Children and Young People

Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Children's Literature
- Children’s Social Minds
- Empire and its Afterlives in Britain, Europe and Africa
- Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences
- Gender, Race and Education
- Global Security
- Intercultural Perspectives on Communication
- Introduction to Teaching
- Marketing and Communication
- Modern Foreign Language
- Modernity and Globalisation
- Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
- News, Discourse and Media
- Principles of Economic Crime Investigation
- Professional Experience
- Space, Place and Being
- The Sociology of Education
- Transitional Justice and Human Rights
- Understanding Personal Life
- Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response

Placement year (optional)
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.

Year 3
Core modules in this year include:
- Aspiring Leaders And Managers
- Dissertation / Major Project
- Promoting Confident Capable Learners

Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Behaviour Matters
- Families in Need
- Going Outside: Pedagogies for Outdoor Learning
- Introduction to Teaching
- Issues relating to Children and Young People's Mental Health
- Professional Experience
- Psychology in Practice
- Risk, Relationships And Responsibilities In Universal Safeguarding
- Working with Looked After Children

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment methods

Assessment methods include:

Essays, reports and reflective accounts
Individual and group presentations
Individual and group project work including the opportunity to work towards a Major project in liaison with a local employer
An online portfolio
Developing a simple Wordpress or Google Sites website

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

Year 1 students: 8% by written exams, 15% by practical exams and 77% by coursework
Year 2 students: 10% by practical exams and 90% by coursework
Year 3 students: 100% by coursework

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
International
£17,200
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Portsmouth

Department:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

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.

81%
Early childhood studies

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.

Childhood and youth studies

Teaching and learning

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
83%
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

77%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
75%
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
7%
Male students
93%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
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.

Childhood and youth studies

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.

£27,500
high
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

68%
Welfare professionals
16%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
5%
Other elementary services occupations

What about your long term prospects?

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

Childhood and youth studies

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

£30k

£30k

£32k

£32k

£34k

£34k

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 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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