University of Cumbria, BA (Hons), Early Years Education

The course has 2 key elements: Element 1 includes child development and young children’s learning from birth to 7 years old, including how and what to teach children in this age group; students learn the importance to the child of family, school and community; students develop a global perspective and explore different countries’ education of young children; students study inclusive education and effective teaching to support children with special needs or English as an additional language; students are given the opportunity to explore themes and areas of interest in greater detail, to develop their thinking and research in an area of teaching that is important to them; element 2 provides students with valuable school and work-based experience through structured placements in schools and other early-years settings; they learn by working with other professionals in providing for the needs of young children and their families; a key feature of the course is a creative approach to learning experiences in and out of the classroom; successful completion of this course leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), subject to satisfactory performance in skills tests.