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Early Years Education and Care: Early Years Practitioner Status (Full-time) (BA Hons)

Carmarthen
3 Years Full-time
88 - 104 UCAS Points

Early Years Education and Care: Early Years Practitioner Status is a full-time three-year degree programme which includes both lectures and practical placement experience.

This Early Years Practitioner Status programme is included in the Social Care Wales’ list of qualifications required for work within the early years and childcare sector in Wales.  As part of this programme, students attend a placement at a variety of early years settings to gather the vocational experience necessary for gaining Early Years Practitioner Status. It is also a qualification offering graduate practitioner competencies in England as part of the Early Childhood Studies Degree Network (ECSDN).

The timetable is designed to support students to have plenty of time to complete placement experience and University-based learning. Suitable placements could include:

  • maintained and non-maintained nurseries
  • crèche
  • Cylchoedd Meithrin
  • Foundation Phase classes in primary schools
  • Flying Start Centres

Students who successfully complete this programme will have a degree as well as a licence to practice within a range of early years settings.

Course details

Start date:
Study modes:
  • On-campus
  • Full-time
Language:
  • English
  • Welsh
  • Bilingual
Institution code:
T80
UCAS code:
YPS1
Course length:
3 Years Full-time
Entry requirements:
88 - 104 UCAS Points

Tuition Fees 2023/24 and 24/25
Home (Full-time): £9,000 per year
Overseas (Full-time): £13,500 per year

Why choose this course?

01
A qualification recognised as a licence to practice by Social Care Wales in the early years sector - supporting employability and professional development.
02
Provide graduate practitioner competences in line with ECSDN in England
03
We focus on your development as early years professionals and will prepare you for a fulfilling and exciting career across a range of disciplines
04
Small class sizes, innovative assignments that enhance employment skills and no exams.
05
Student experience - widening horizons through visits, guest speakers, and extra training opportunities. We offer a range of additional qualifications to enhance your skills and knowledge.
06
Bilingual and Welsh-medium study at the heart of our provision.

What you will learn

Students learn about all aspects of young children’s education and care, giving students opportunities to link practical activities and experiences to theories relating to holistic development.

Learning activities include group discussions, workshops, study visits as well as lectures in order to develop knowledge and understanding of a range of relevant topics.

There is an emphasis on hands-on learning in order to support the understanding of the links between theory and practice within the early years.

Guest speakers provide opportunities to hear from sector-leading experts and keep students up to date with current policy and developments within the early years’ sector.

There are also optional residential visits to other parts of the UK and abroad.

Human Development

(20 credits)

The Professional Practitioner

(20 credits)

Children's Play: Theory and Practice

(20 credits)

The first 1000 days

(20 credits)

Language and Literacy in the Digital Age

(20 credits)

Awe and wonder- science, mathematics and the outdoors

(20 credits)

Leadership and teamwork in the early years

(20 credits)

Safeguarding: practice, legislation and the multi-disciplinary team

(20 credits)

Well-being, care and healthy living

(20 credits)

Research for Learning

(20 credits)

Inclusive leadership: working together to support families

(20 credits)

Regaining Paradise? Sustainability in the Early Years

(20 credits)

Supporting Children with Additional Learning Needs

(20 credits)

Early Years Curricula

(20 credits)

Leadership and Management for systems of quality

(20 credits)

Disclaimer

  • We listen to student feedback and insights from industry and from professionals to ensure that course content is high-quality and up-to-date, and that it offers the best possible preparation for your future career or study goals. 

    For this reason, there might be modifications to the content of your course over time, to keep up to date with changes in the subject area or in the sector. If a module is no longer running, we’ll make sure to keep you informed, and work with you to choose a different suitable module.

testimonial

Staff

Our People

You will be taught and supported by a wide range of professional staff and teams here to help you get the university experience you are looking for. Our teaching staff were ranked 2nd in Wales for assessments and feedback (NSS 2023) meaning the comments you get back from your work will help you learn. Our commitment to your learning has seen our students us as Top 10 in the UK for Lecturers and Teaching Quality. Find out more about our academic staff who teach across our courses. 

Accommodation

Carmarthen Accommodation

Carmarthen Accommodation

Carmarthen has a variety of accommodation and we guarantee accommodation for 1st Years with availability for your 2nd and 3rd Years. Based on our Carmarthen campus you will be right in the middle of everything, with options to suit all budgets. 

Further information

  • A typical offer for this course is 88-104 UCAS points.

    All applicants will be required to provide a satisfactorily enhanced disclosure document from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

    This degree is ideal for school-leavers studying a range of courses including A-Level, BTEC, CACHE and Welsh Baccalaureate. These course subjects can be linked to child development and care; however, the degree is also appropriate for those with no specific childcare qualifications and who have studied subjects including language, arts, music, drama, mathematics, sciences or humanities.

    Early Years encourages and values applications from students who are returning to education.

    As part of the application process, students will be given an opportunity to attend visit days. This provides applicants with an opportunity to visit the campus, meet the lecturers, ask questions about the degree and have a tour of the site with a current student.

    During visit days the course lecturers are always interested in the applicant’s experiences of volunteering and working with young children, for example, school/college placements. The team also likes to hear about applicants’ interests, hobbies, and responsibilities.

    To gain graduate practitioner competences a C level GCSE Mathematics and English or other suitable equivalent literacy and numeracy qualifications may also be required.

  • All our programmes are assessed by 100% coursework. There are no exams.

    We have found that using a varied range of assessment methods increases employability skills. Employers seek graduates who are problem-solvers and who have a range of transferable employability skills.

    Assessment provides opportunities to develop skills such as the ability to work in a team, have effective oral and written communication while using a range of information-sharing methods, including briefing papers, academic posters, group debates and professional discussions.

    There are also opportunities for practical work experiences, supporting employability, professional development and careers.

    Bilingual and Welsh-medium study is at the heart of our provision; you can choose to enrol on the Welsh-medium or English-medium programme and present your assignments in either language.

  • Students are required to apply for, and obtain, a UWTSD Enhanced Disclosure Barring Check (DBS). The fee for this is dependent on the DBS and is approximately £44.

    Students are required to gain the equivalent of 700 hours’ practical experience in places such as early years settings. This will incur travelling costs and refreshment costs. (Only applies to Early Years Practitioner Status programmes.)

    Students may incur additional costs as they are required to attend some module lectures with appropriate clothing for study outdoors.

    Mandatory study experiences and enhancement activities are organised for students studying Early Years. The cost of travelling and the study on offer is covered by the Early Years discipline. However, students would need to supply their own refreshments for some visits.

    Additionally, Early Years organises optional opportunities for students to gain additional qualifications during the latter part of their programme, for example, Health and SafetySafeguarding. These incur costs for the students; the cost is determined by the provider.

    The School of Early Years also offers students optional opportunities to partake in visits beyond the campus, for example, Cardiff, London, Sweden and Canada. The costs of these optional visits are incurred by the students.

  • You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available, please visit our Bursaries and Scholarships section.

  • Graduates go on to careers in a variety of fields including:

    • Additional learning needs support
    • Afterschool Leader
    • Childminder
    • Children’s Charity Roles (e.g. Barnardo’s)
    • Community Support Officer
    • Family Facilitator
    • Family Support Officer
    • Parenting Officer
    • Pastoral Support
    • Play Workers
    • Room Leaders
    • Setting Managers
    • Youth Workers

    Further Study

    Some of our graduates progress to other further studies. Some students have progressed on to our own MA programmes, including our MA Early Literacy and MA Early Years Education and Care.

    Postgraduate programmes such as these offer opportunities for students to up-skill and deepen their understanding of young children and their families. Such studies have enabled postgraduate students to progress in their existing field of work and for others to move to new careers.

    Route into teaching

    As a UWTSD Early Years student, you will be guaranteed an interview for the PGCE Primary programme, subject to meeting entry qualification requirements. When applying for the PGCE Primary programme we, in conjunction with Initial Teacher Education, will support you through a mock application and interview process.

    Postgraduate Study and Alternative Routes

    Graduates will also be able to progress on to a number of postgraduate courses in their area of interest, a good degree classification in Early Years Education and Care meet the entry requirements for many postgraduate routes.

    Below are a few examples of routes previous graduates have taken:

    • Family and Communities
    • Nursing
    • Play Therapy
    • Policy and Government
    • Research
    • Social Work
    • Speech and Language Therapy

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