Early Years, Foundation Degree

On completion of this two year course, most students decide to apply for the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (Graduate Practitioner) Top-Up course, which is also offered by the College, to obtain a full BA (Hons) degree. Moreover, completion of the Foundation Degree leads to the designation of “Senior Practitioner”, and potentially to management-level roles in early-years settings.

You will need the following:

- Evidence of Level 2 literacy and numeracy, for example Functional Skills at Level 2 or GCSE English Language and Maths at Grade C/4 or above on entry. Where a student does not already hold a level 2 in English and/or Maths qualification, they must present evidence of this before the end of Level 5 to remain on the course to achieve the ‘full and relevant’ status.

- An acceptable qualification, such as a minimum of one A Level or an equivalent Level 3 qualification, for example the CACHE Diploma or BTEC National Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning, and Development. Or an Advanced Modern Apprenticeship in Early Years or another appropriate subject.

However, we also welcome applications from experienced and mature practitioners who do not have the above qualifications.

English Language Requirements (For students whose first language is not English): IELTS 6.0 (with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking). If you need a student visa to enter the UK, you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements: www.brookes.ac.uk/students/isat/visas

Home Tuition fee £7,570 per year, £5,045 per year for part time students.
International Tuition fee £9,900 per year for new students, £9,650 per year for continuers.

Extra Costs: an additional fee of £100 is charged at enrolment to cover the cost of planned extra-curricular activities. Whilst all core text books are available in the College and University libraries and online, students may wish to purchase their own copies. Prices of core textbooks range from £15.00 - £55.00.

You can find information on our fees and on Student Finance at www.abingdon-witney.ac.uk/support/fees-bursaries. Please note tuition fees may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by the University and all college partners.

Foundation Degree in Early Years (FdA), awarded by Oxford Brookes University.

This course utilizes a team-based learning approach. Team-based learning is an evidence-based, active learning, collaborative approach designed to enhance student engagement, scaffold students in their independent learning, and deepen the level of learning in class. It also strengthens students’ ability to work in groups – an important professional skill for all educators. Students are allocated to a team at the beginning of the year and remain in the same team throughout the entire course in order to learn how to work effectively together. Students are expected to prepare for each lesson individually by studying the preparatory study guides and assigned readings provided by the tutors and then undertake activities in class as a team. These are designed to challenge students to apply knowledge and understanding of theories and concepts to real practice problems or events and engage in high level critical thinking about content covered in the modules. Students are also expected to participate actively in class and online discussions. The student’s proper preparation is therefore essential to enable learning and participation in this course.

All staff delivering on the course have a minimum qualification level at grade 6 and substantial experience of working within a variety of early years settings.

Each module is completed with an assessed piece of work designed to enable exploration of themes that have been studied. Some assignments relate to your practice in your own setting and range from within-setting observations of children and in-class presentations to your cohort, to written essays, reports, reflective writing, and small-scale research studies.