Level 4 core modules

• Learning and Skill Development for HE and Work

  Foundation Degree Students entering Higher Education will need specific study skills to enable them to maximise their learning potential and take advantage of opportunities available both in the academic setting and the workplace. The module is intended to be both preparatory and supportive - building a strong foundation for learning and later development.

• The Development of the Individual

  This module will explore the growth and development of the whole child in interaction with his / her environment. Students will consider features of different aspects of child development, from birth to early adolescence, using a range of theories and perspectives and consider this as a foundation for lifelong learning.

• Understanding the Work Sector

  This module is intended to allow students to explore the impact of social and economic factors on the work sector and consider the legal and ethical frameworks informing their practice.

• Research 1: An introduction

  This introductory module aims to provide students with a basic understanding of the research process. The qualitative and quantitative research paradigms will be discussed as well as a variety of methods used by researchers.

• Work-Based Learning 1

  In this module, students are expected to demonstrate a degree of autonomy in the management of their learning. They will analyse and evaluate relevant theoretical underpinning and interpret information and evaluate argument.

• Differences and Diversity

  This module introduces a key ethical approach to the children's workforce which learners need to incorporate into their thinking if they are to be successful contributors to any setting offering services to children and young people. Disability, differences and special educational needs will be explored in relation to the debates on inclusion and exclusion, needs and rights, and the importance of seeing every child as an individual.

Level 5 core modules

• Work Based Learning 2

  Students will be encouraged to continue their exploration of their professional/ occupational practice, along the strands developed previously, as a source of learning. Students will be expected to demonstrate a greater degree of autonomy in management of their learning and demonstrate a more detailed knowledge of relevant theoretical underpinning and be able to analyse and evaluate both information and argument.

• Safeguarding Children and Young People

  This module will enable students to develop an informed understanding of the complexities inherent both past and present, in the notions of abuse, protection and prevention. Through engagement with a relevant and diverse literature, students will develop their awareness of their challenges presented by incidences of actual or suspected abuse, as expressed in existing legislation and policy frameworks.

• Working with Young Children and Families

  This module will enable students to develop knowledge and understanding of working in a professional capacity with children and their parents/carers. Central to this module is the development of students' ability to apply relevant theory / models to the complexities of real situations.

Optional modules

• Holistic Approaches to Infant Development

  This module focuses on the holistic approach to development and learning opportunities for children 0-8, with particular attention to age-related issues and curricula such as the promotion of cognitive, social and emotional development through play and learning in the early years environment.

• Planning to Play

  This module focuses on the promotion of the holistic development of children and young people through play. You will be expected to engage with planning, implementation and evaluation in your setting. It is centred on the understanding that play is central to the needs of children and young people.

• Exploring Curriculum: Principles and Practice

  This module explores key concepts and questions relating to why, where, how and what children are taught in formal and informal educational contexts. Different theories, models and frameworks of curricula will be examined and discussed and their implications for children's experiential learning throughout childhood will be considered.

• Extending Outdoor Play

  This module explores the nature of different outdoor play experiences, and engages with a sensory experience of the natural environment. Development of skills and knowledge of the world will be through practical opportunities and through observation of others. Theories of how and why we should provide outdoor play-based activities for children and young people will be discussed and analysed.

• Areas of Learning: Language, Literacy and Mathematics

  This module will enable students to develop their knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of development as children acquire concepts, skills and attitudes in language, literacy and mathematics and to know how to plan for an appropriate and effective learning environment.

• Independent Learning Module

  This module provides you with the opportunity to broaden or deepen your understanding of a given relevant topic through undertaking a programme of negotiated learning.