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Early Childhood and Education BA(Hons)

2025-26

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Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

3 years full-time

Entry requirements

A Level - BBC

BTEC - DMM

See full entry requirements

Places available (subject to change)

18

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About the course

Reasons to study

  1. You can select option modules that are relevant to your future career plans within early years and education.
  2. To help you get ahead in your studies, there are a variety of support networks and services available to you.
  3. Following this degree, you could go on to secure a career within local authorities, children’s centres, nurseries, or a pre-school setting.

This Early Childhood and Education BA(Hons) degree course is aimed at international students. It will support those who wish to work within a range of early childhood education settings, including in schools, businesses and in the voluntary sector.

Why study Early Childhood and Education BA(Hons)

On this Early Childhood and Education BA(Hons), you’ll develop an understanding of the importance of early childhood education, nationally and internationally. You’ll have access to a range of modules covering many contemporary issues, including:

  • Sociological perspectives
  • Educational theories
  • Safeguarding

A range of option modules are available on this early years international course, as well, which allows you to make sure your degree is relevant to your own future employment plans. Plus, while you’re here, you can take an optional work placement in your second year of study. This only applies to those who study with us from year 1 onwards, with the placement designed develop the skills that employers are looking for and help you gain useful contacts in the wider early childhood sector.

You’ll have opportunity, also, to:

  • Make national and international comparisons
  • Analyse and solve problems related to early childhood education in a global context
  • Undertake an investigative project in your final year, where you’ll chose a specific area of study to research related to early childhood education

Following this degree, you could go on to secure a career within local authorities, children’s centres, nurseries, or a pre-school setting. You might also opt to work as a child minder, or in welfare or safeguarding children. Some students might decide to further their development post-university, with a view to making an impact in a specific role or career within early years. They might do this by enrolling onto another relevant course and boosting skills in, amongst others, classroom leadership.

Course detail

Core modules:

Theories and Strategies for Learning

This module introduces you to a variety of key skills intended to support your transition into higher education. The module encourages the development of academic study and communication skills necessary for success on your course along with academic tenacity and resilience. It encourages you to harness your organisation skills, have aspirations and develop self-efficacy.

Perspectives in Learning and Development

This module introduces significant theories and research which underpin development and learning for children, young people and adults. It considers a range of key concepts to explain the basis of development and learning. It identifies the different dimensions of development (cognitive, linguistic, social, moral) and locates these aspects of development in their cultural and social context and in an international context. It focuses on different transitions that children and young people must make as they develop into adulthood and introduces students to different perspectives on the processes involved in learning and development.

Self, Society and Welfare

This module develops your understanding of society. Firstly, it examines social policy issues in society, such as poverty and inequality, and how the state responds to them through ‘welfare’, as well as through ‘rights’ and ‘citizenship’. You will then investigate the formation of identity and social differentiation by examining key sociological concepts such as social class, gender, the family, ethnic identity and disability.

Issues in Contemporary Education

This module introduces the study of education including education as a business and its contribution to the labour market. It examines the historical and political dimensions which have shaped the modern educational system. Your understanding of the nature and purposes of education will be developed through the examination of key theoretical perspectives and educational ideologies. Your understanding will be assessed through a presentation examining the education systems in England and one other country. You will also produce an annotated bibliography of the key texts used to prepare the presentation.

Entry requirements

BBCat A Level or equivalent

112 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications

Merit at T Level

DMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma, D*D* BTEC National Diploma or CACHE Diploma grade B

  • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above
  • 112 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications

In addition you must also:

*   have GCSE English Language at grade 4 or above, or grade C or above if awarded under the previous GCSE grading scheme.

*   provide Pre-Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered.  For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

Placements

In your second year you may have the option to complete a work placement in a relevant educational setting. We can help link you with a placement setting either individually or as a member of a small group. You could gain experience in schools, children’s centres, nurseries, children’s services, young people's centres/community groups, in a local council, or in museum education for example. Your placement could be in Huddersfield or surrounding areas, so please consider any travelling costs you may incur.

Student Work

Your career

This course will enable you to consider a varied range of careers and you will be able to use your transferable professional skills such as: organisational, leadership, teamwork, communication, record keeping, report writing to work in a professional capacity, while keeping children and young people safe and promoting their health and well-being. 

The course can lead to future careers in early years practice, teaching assistant, teaching, social work, family support, educational pastoral support, SEN teacher, SEN support, training consultant, early years marketing, speech and language assistant, health visitor assistant, nanny, childminder, please notes they may be further study required at post graduate level for some career options. The degree will also be useful if you are pursuing roles in early years settings (including childminders), Children's Centres, community hubs, schools, Local authority, training organisations, FE teaching and typical employers include - early years settings (including childminders), Children's Centres, community hubs, schools, local authorities, training organisations, FE colleges. 

You may also want to undertake further study to boost your career prospects through post graduate study, this would apply if you were intending to work in teaching (PGCE), speech and language, social work, disability nursing, children's nursing, play therapist, educational psychologist. There are different master’s degrees in childhood and early years practice and where a specialism is the focus such as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Opportunities to be a research assistant, study for a PHD/Doctorate or be enterprising and set up own business may also be available.

* Percentage of graduates from this subject who are in work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2020/21, UK domiciled, other activities excluded).

95% Graduates employed*

Student support

​At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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