Narratives Of Childhood

This unit examines children’s lives and education through historical, sociological and philosophical perspectives. It explores the ways in which children and young people’s social and learning worlds are experienced by them and constructed, surveyed and regulated by adults. It draws on different theoretical perspectives to investigate notions of childhood and interrogate the subjective realities of children’s lives and learning across the different spaces and places of family, community and school. It explores how social, economic, technological and cultural change, alongside difference and diversity shape various narratives around contemporary childhood experience and raise critical questions for policy and practice about children’s care, welfare and education.

The unit is relevant to students who intend to work with children, young people and families. It provides a broad understanding of the theories underpinning the studies of childhood and youth and education that is relevant to professional practice across family, school and community contexts. 

Early Child Development

How is our understanding of child development informed by research and theory?
This unit will help you to understand how important it is for Early Years practitioners to have knowledge of child development.
This unit interconnects with the unit The Growing Child in Context in semester 2, and Early Years Curriculum Studies at Level 4 in semester 1, and will support your future learning in core units in levels 5 and 6.

Early Years Curriculum Studies

The unit will provide an introduction to the current legislation and guidance for Early Years practitioners. It will demonstrate how current policy has developed from the pioneers in early years education and discuss the limitations of current policy in practice. The value of academic research in developing policy will be explored.

Key Concepts In Education

In this unit we will help you to find the answers to the following questions:

- What do I need to do to produce academic work to a Higher Education standard?

- What are some of the key concepts and ideas that underpin my subject area and how can I approach them academically?

This unit will equip you with the skills you need to succeed in higher education and will introduce you to the key concepts and knowledge base that underpin your field of study. It will act as an extended induction programme to your degree. You will take an active approach to constructing knowledge in the unit. All sessions are workshops where you will take part in learning activities including discussion, information gathering, analysis, evaluation, debate and written exercises. In the sessions you will complete, share, discuss and develop work. You will undertake guided, focused discussion and analysis of literature and concepts. The assessments will be approached in a step-by-step basis to ensure you are confident in what is required to complete a successful assessment at university.

Developing Practice In Early Childhood Settings

This unit explores a range of underpinning knowledge about observation,

planning and record keeping and applies child development knowledge and

principles to the placement that you undertake for this unit.

The placement is designed to enable you to observe and practice a range

of workplace activities that will enable you to begin to demonstrate

Graduate Practitioner competencies (DfE, 2019).

You will be expected to demonstrate the capability to support and

promote children’s early education and development, plan and provide

effective care and learning which takes into account the context of the

child within the family, the role of parents working with practitioners and which  prepares children for transition and/or school

Investigating The Social World

This unit aims to equip students with an understanding of different quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigating the social world and, professional settings in particular. More specifically, the unit will seek to:

• Develop your understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research methods and the ways in which research data can be collected, analysed and reported.
• Promote your understanding of the ethical issues involved in undertaking research in professional settings and on sensitive issues.
• Develop your skills in designing and implementing all aspects of a research project.
• Equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to undertake your dissertation at Level 6 where you may use both qualitative and quantitative methods

Early Representations Of Numeracy And Literacy

How do young children use representation in the development of their early literacy and numeracy?
This unit aims to explore features of learning specific to very young children’s use of representation, practitioner recognition of the value and importance of this as well as the synthesis between theory, professional literature and the broader contexts of policy.

Developing Teaching Practice

This unit looks at how recent research and developments in teaching help practising teachers deliver effective classroom sessions. It will be of particular relevance if you are considering a career in teaching at any level. It seeks to answer the following questions: What is the conceptual and practical basis of current educational practice? How do teachers create an effective classroom framework?

The Lifelong Curriculum

This unit aims to equip students with an understanding of key considerations in curriculum design.  It explores questions such as

• How do we design the curriculum and how do we implement the curriculum
• What is meant by lifelong learning?

These two questions interlink to further explore how lifelong learning might be promoted and how it is situated within both historical and current educational policy discussion.

Inclusive Education In The Early Years

What are the issues around in inclusion and inclusive practice in early childhood education?

This unit aims to explore both historic and contemporary perspectives, policy and practice relating to inclusive education in the Early Years.  It will look at a range of aspects which might create barriers to learning for young children

This unit enhances understanding gained in Early Child Development and Developing Practice in Early Childhood Settings at level 4

Inclusive Practice In Early Childhood Settings

The taught aspects of this unit focus particularly on the issues around inclusion and inclusive practice in early years education, what inclusion looks like in practice and what early years professionals do to ensure effective  inclusive practice for unique children with differing needs. It builds upon understanding gained in level 4 units and Inclusive Education in the Early Years in semester 1 of level 5, and will help you to apply  theoretical principles to practice in the placement you undertake for this unit.
 

The placement is designed to enable you to observe and practice a range of workplace activities that will enable you to begin to demonstrate Graduate Practitioner competencies (DfE, 2019), and in particular to focus upon those which have high relevance to aspects of inclusive practice.  It builds upon the placement undertaken in level 4, and anticipates further opportunities for you to engage in developing effective and informed practice, safeguarding and the  promotion of health, safety and welfare of children  in partnership with others.

Introduction To Educational Philosophy

This unit will introduce you to a range of philosophical concepts and methods relevant to the study of education. We will consider how philosophical concepts and methods can be applied to, and may transform our understanding of, educational questions and contexts.

This unit develops work begun on the Yr1 Key Concepts module, and looks ahead to Investigating the Social World (Yr2, Sem2), Reading Philosophy & Education (Yr3, Sem1), and the Year 3 Dissertation. Although this unit feeds naturally into Reading Philosophy & Education, it is not a requirement of that unit.

Professionalism, Leadership And Management In The Early Years

What do leaders and managers in the early years workplace need to know in order to be successful in their setting?   How do early years practitioners make sense of ideas about status and professionalism espoused by those with insider and outsider perspectives    on early years education?

This unit focuses on the issues of organisational, legal and interpersonal   inter-personal aspects of leading a team and the challenges of working in multiagency context with diverse groups of people and roles.

This unit connects with Early Years Curriculum Studies in Level 4 and  builds upon aspects of the syllabus in core units at level 5

Children And Young People’S Wellbeing

With an increasing amount of young people experiencing mental health issues and an increasing awareness of this in society and in particular in education, this unit will support students’ understanding of contemporary social and emotional issues in education. Students will gain an understanding of how to support children and young people in a variety of contexts. 

Dissertation

To plan, carry out and write up an independent research project with guidance from a dissertation supervisor. This will involve you in identifying a topic that is of interest to you, relevant to your course and is important in the context of wider research and policy and practice debates. Undertaking individual research offers the opportunity to develop a variety of skills in planning and managing a project, including ethical issues and working with participants, gathering, analysing and reporting data.

Representations Of Disability

In this unit we will help you to find the answers to the following questions:

• How is disability understood and represented in a variety of media?
• What can these representations tell us about how disability is regarded and experienced?

This unit will equip you with the skills you need to investigate disability and the media. It will help you understand key concepts in the visualisation of disability and how representations influence perceptions of disability. The workshop format will allow you to discuss concepts and examples of representation and to develop your own understanding of a particular representation of disability and to communicate that understanding.

International Perspectives On Early Childhood Education

The unit examines key international and renowned approaches to supporting children’s learning in the Early Years and offers students the opportunity to develop their own model for an Early Childhood curriculum.
This unit connects with Early Child Development and Early Years Curriculum Studies in Level 4, builds upon some aspects of the syllabus in core units at level 5 and interconnects with Developing Children’s Thinking and Understanding at Level 6

Reflecting On Quality In Early Childhood Settings

This unit focuses on enhancing your understanding of how the physical, emotional and relational roles in early childhood education environments best enable children to learn and develop effectively.  It combines theory with placement experience in order to help you to explore and apply ideas about how  adults can ensure their support for young children enables them to develop high quality reflective thinking and make sense of their world

 
 
The placement is designed to enable you to both observe and engage in practice that will enable you to begin to demonstrate Graduate Practitioner competencies (DfE, 2019).

English Language Foundation

This unit focuses on your ability to understand and use the English language accurately when you read, speak, listen and write. We will concentrate on the English you need for undergraduate level study in your chosen subject area, covering grammar, subject area vocabulary and the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

A key element of the unit is the grammar of the language, and particularly the verb tense system in English, because your ability to use the verb tense system accurately will be extremely important when you come to write essays and reports. This unit will focus in particular on the grammar of the language.

We will also focus on reading, listening and speaking skills in the context of your chosen subject area. Beginning with short texts, we will practise each skill and practise it again, so that gradually you will see, hear and feel that your command of the language is improving. 

A recurring focus of the unit will be your acquisition of 'learner autonomy'. This means your ability to acquire the language yourself, without needing a teacher's help. This is important because from next year you will not have an English teacher to help you. So we will consider and practise strategies to help you gain confidence in your own ability to increase your knowledge of and ability to use the language, including for instance guessing meaning of difficult words, deciding which words are important in a text, recognising differences between formal and informal language, and other strategies, so that as the first semester continues, you begin to feel more confident in your use and experience with the English Language.

Academic Skills Foundation

When you begin your undergraduate level studies, you will be expected to have knowledge of and ability to use a large range of 'study skills'. You will also be expected to have some knowledge of the subject area you will  be studying. This unit deals with both of these aspects of your preparation for undergraduate level study. 

All of the academic skills are practised in English, so you will use your developing acquisition of the language from the partner unit 'English Language Foundation' to practise and gain mastery of these skills. You will also use your language and study skills as you learn the foundation of your subject area, putting the skills into practice as you learn.

Developing English Language Skills

This unit builds on the progress you made during its partner semester 1 unit 'English Language Foundation' and increasing your level from that which you had achieved by the end of semester 1. 

We will recycle the tense system in English and other elements of the grammar system, but you will  now learn how to use other aspects of the grammar, including the passive voice, as well as linking words and phrases and devices which enable you to write longer sentences but retain grammatical accuracy. 

You will notice that we gradually introduce more specialist language that you need in preparation for your degree and we will expect you to use and develop the skills that you gained in the previous units so that you are able to work more independently.

Academic Skills Development

This unit builds on the skills learnt and practised in its partner semester 1 unit 'Foundation Academic Skills'. We will add more skills to the list, including summarizing and synthesising, argumentation, critical thinking and referencing and citation skills, as well as several others and practise and test them in the same way as with the semester 1 unit.

We will also investigate the research skill and you will learn how to prepare a research proposal and conduct a literature review, and how to plan a research project, learning about the research tools available and how they can be used to conduct research in your chosen field. 

You will continue to broaden your knowledge of key current issues and theory in your chosen subject area, and apply the critical thinking and argumentation skills you acquire in this unit to argue for and against propositions you have studied in the form of in both essays and presentations and in seminar situations, ensuring that you are ready to step up to your chosen undergraduate course with a base level of subject area knowledge from which to continue your academic development as you progress to level 4 study.