Early Years Education BA (Hons)
Enhance your knowledge of early years education for children from birth to five years as you analyse current approaches, examine how to meet children’s individual needs, and explore the role of play.
Overview
| Course length: | 1 year full-time 1 year full-time |
|---|---|
| Start dates: | September 2025 September 2026 |
| Location: | Edge Hill University or Holy Cross College and University Centre (Bury) |
| Subject(s): | Education and Teaching |
| Faculty: | Education |
| Department: | Early Years Education |
This is a Level 6 conversion programme, giving you the opportunity to progress from a foundation degree (or equivalent) to an honours degree in a relevant subject.
The programme is primarily aimed at students progressing from the FdA Early Years Education and Leadership programme, although progression from other related foundation degrees may be possible. Focusing on the study of early years education frameworks within a range of local, national and international contexts, you will develop the knowledge and skills required to become an excellent practitioner within your setting and beyond, while also boosting your personal and professional career development.
The course is mapped to Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies and meets the full and relevant DfE criteria to be counted in the staff:child ratios of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
What you'll study
This course will challenge your assumptions about children’s learning and development. You will be encouraged to reflect on perceptions of what young children should be taught and how they should learn. You will explore the role of play in children’s learning and examine the development of play-based provision in early years settings.
Adopting a critical perspective on early years education, you will discover the key theories and underpinning issues in the education of babies and young children and gain an insight into how to work collaboratively with parents, families and communities.
You will also undertake a small-scale research project where you will identify and investigate an aspect of early years education to explore in-depth.
How you'll study
You will study through a combination of online and face-to-face sessions. Your online sessions will consist of sessions with your tutors, directed tasks and independent research.
Supported learning using the internet and Edge Hill University’s online resources is a major feature of the programme. No prior IT experience is necessary, as full support will be provided.
How you'll be assessed
You will be assessed in each module that you study. This may take the form of an assignment, portfolio, presentation or a combination of these methods.
There are no formal written examinations as part of the current assessment methods on this programme.
Who will be teaching you
You will be taught by a team of lecturers and associate tutors with extensive expertise and experience and a passion for their subject. All the team are involved in current research and have actively contributed to the development of the Early Years Foundation Stage, as well as various research projects at national and international levels.
Entry criteria
Entry requirements
You need to have completed a foundation degree in Early Years Education and Leadership or a related subject. If you have an equivalent qualification, please check to ensure this is acceptable. It is desirable to be in a leadership role within your setting.
You must be working on a full-time, part-time or voluntary basis in an early years setting with children aged 0-5 years. A statement of support will be required from your current employer.
Please note, the above examples may differ from actual offers made. A combination of A Level and BTEC awards may also be accepted.
If you have a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent), there is no maximum number of qualifications that we will accept UCAS points from. This includes additional qualifications such as Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), AS Levels that haven't been continued to A Level, and General Studies AS or A Level awards.
How to apply
Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.
If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.
Discover our accommodation
Facilities
The Faculty of Education enjoys the enviable position of being one of the country’s leading providers of transformative education, training and research for the teaching and education workforce. Housed in a state-of-the-art £9m building, the Faculty of Education enjoys a stunning setting from both its lakeside and piazza buildings.
Facilities in the lakeside building include a 300-seat lecture theatre, five well-equipped ICT suites, and 18 teaching rooms complete with the latest technology.
Our nearby piazza building houses our Research Hub and our Secondary and Further Education department including a lecture theatre and a number of seminar rooms.
If you choose to study at Holy Cross College and University Centre in Bury. You’ll be taught by Edge Hill lecturers and staff, and have access to a range of modern facilities, including recent building upgrades and refurbishments. There’s a range of study spaces and a coffee shop where you can relax before lectures. Holy Cross is especially proud of their library, IT facilities, modern classrooms and meeting rooms in the Mary Kelly building where the face-to-face sessions will take place.
Where you'll study
Faculty of Education
Finance
Tuition fees
UK Full-Time
£9,535
a year
International
£17,000
a year
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.
Financial support
Subject to eligibility, UK students joining this course can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the Government to cover the full cost of tuition fees. UK students enrolling on the course may also be eligible to apply for additional funding to help with living costs.
Scholarships
We offer a range of scholarships, which celebrate the determination, commitment and achievement of our students. Many of our scholarships are awarded automatically. There are some however, where you will need to be involved in an application or nomination process. To find out more about our scholarships and check your eligibility, please visit our dedicated scholarships pages.
Money Matters
Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students.
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please see our EU student finance page for further details.
Your future career
Early years is a rapidly growing sector and our early years graduates work in settings across the UK. We offer excellent support throughout the programme to help you gain an understanding of the opportunities that exist for early years graduates.
As an Early Years Education graduate, you will have the opportunity to develop your existing career, or embark on an exciting new path, in a wide range of areas working with children and communities. This could include roles such as a graduate early years’ practitioner, family support worker, community leader or a researcher for a charity in the voluntary sector.
Alternatively, you may wish to train to teach or embark on further study at postgraduate level.
Course changes
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.
Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.
