This module provides students working in early years and primary education with the opportunity to develop a broad range of personal, professional, academic, and research skills. It is designed to support your transition into higher education and to enhance your future career development through reflective and evidence-informed practice. 

You will be introduced to key academic and research approaches, including formal methods of enquiry and a variety of methodologies currently used in early childhood and primary education research. The module places strong emphasis on developing effective study skills, such as reading and interpreting research, and communication skills that will support your success throughout the programme. 

A central aim of this module is to encourage you to develop professionally and reflect critically on your current practice. You will be supported to create meaningful personal development plans aligned with the programme’s expectations and your own professional goals. 

At this stage of the course, the focus is on building the foundational knowledge and skills needed to support children’s learning and development. You will begin to engage with reflective and research-based thinking to inform your own learning and enhance your practice. These skills are highly valued by employers and are essential for those working with children and families in educational settings. 

0-11 years is a rapid period of development and growth for children, and these early experiences can have a major impact on their future life chances. This module introduces you to understanding the holistic and contextual nature of children’s development and wellbeing. You will be equipped with knowledge and understanding of key child development theories and contemporary perspectives of child development. The module focuses on key broad areas of development: Cognitive, Physical, and brain development, Language, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. By the end of the module you will have a clear understanding of the importance of considering children and child development holistically, situated in their wider sociocultural environments, and a firm grounding in children’s development theory which you can draw from to apply to practice situations. This module will require you to link your knowledge and understanding of theory to supporting holistic development in practice. You will consider the broad concept of wellbeing and reflect on supporting wellbeing in practice.

This module introduces you to key ideas and debates about childhood from sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives. It encourages critical engagement with dominant Western conceptions of childhood by exploring how cultural, social, political, and economic factors shape children’s lives across diverse global contexts. 

Using a range of approaches, you will examine themes such as children’s rights, education, work, play, family structures, and global inequalities, placing emphasis on children’s voices and lived experiences. The module challenges traditional constructions of childhood, including notions of vulnerability, innocence, and dependency, and explores debates such as the “disappearance of childhood.” 

By engaging with perspectives from both the Global South and North, you will develop an understanding of the plurality of childhoods and reflect on the diversity of children’s lives. This module supports the development of critical thinking and cultural awareness, enabling you to appreciate how global discourses and rights frameworks influence understandings of childhood in different settings. 

This practice-based module explores the rich diversity of needs that children present in Early Years and Primary settings, recognising that every child is unique in their development, experiences, and ways of learning. The module takes a holistic and inclusive approach, considering how practitioners can effectively support a wide range of needs, be they cognitive, emotional, social, physical, cultural, or linguistic, within the context of inclusive education. 

In Early Years and Primary environments, practitioners encounter a broad spectrum of diversity, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those learning English as an additional language (EAL), children from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and those who may have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. This module equips you with the knowledge, skills, and reflective capacity to respond to these diverse needs with sensitivity, creativity, and professionalism. 

You will critically engage with key concepts, definitions, and frameworks of inclusion and diversity, drawing on current policy, theory, and research. The module will examine how inclusive pedagogy can be embedded in everyday practice, curriculum design, and learning environments to ensure all children feel valued, supported, and able to thrive. 

Through reflective practice, you will be encouraged to draw on your own experiences in educational settings, share examples of effective inclusive strategies, and identify challenges and barriers to inclusion. The role of the practitioner as an advocate for equity and belonging will be a central theme, with emphasis on collaboration with families, communities, and multi-agency professionals. 

This module aims to foster a deep understanding of how inclusive values can be translated into meaningful action, enabling future practitioners to create nurturing, responsive, and empowering learning environments for all children. 

This module explores the role of play as a pedagogical approach across diverse global contexts. Recognising that play is central to children’s learning across the 0–11 age range, you will critically examine how play is understood, valued, and implemented in early years and primary education contexts worldwide. 

Drawing on a range of international theorists, pioneers, and pedagogical philosophies, the module encourages you to reflect on your own practice and compare it with global approaches to play-based learning. Through interdisciplinary inquiry, you will evaluate how cultural, social, and educational contexts shape play provision and pedagogy, and consider how enabling environments support meaningful learning experiences. 

The module fosters critical reflection, collaborative learning, and the development of professional insight into how play can be used to support inclusive, responsive, and effective teaching practices. 

Education policy is shaped by political ideologies and broader social priorities. This module explores how shifting political values have influenced the development of education policy in the UK, from the post-World War II period to the present day. You will be introduced to key political ideologies and critically engage with the policy landscape, tracing major reforms and the values that underpin them. 

Through the examination of topics such as the welfare state, neoliberalism, marketisation, the National Curriculum, Ofsted, standardised testing, and curriculum accountability, you will consider how policy is used to shape educational priorities and outcomes. The module also addresses contemporary challenges including school attendance, SEND provision, funding pressures, and children’s mental health, alongside relevant education and welfare legislation. 

The module aims to develop your critical thinking and analytical skills, encouraging them to consider how policies affect children, families, and educational professionals. In doing so, you will reflect on the relationship between policy, practice, and power, and the role of education in shaping society.  

This module explores the interconnected roles of health promotion and safeguarding in supporting the wellbeing of children aged 0–11 across early years and primary education settings. It recognises that promoting children's physical, emotional, and social wellbeing is not only a core responsibility of educational practitioners but also a vital preventive strategy in reducing risk and enhancing outcomes. 

You will critically examine how educational environments contribute to health promotion through trauma-informed, inclusive, and holistic practices. Topics such as nutrition, oral hygiene, emotional resilience, and nurturing care routines will be explored in relation to current policy, legislation, and practice. The module also considers the role of professionals in identifying and responding to ongoing health needs, and the importance of empowering children and families through rights-based approaches. 

Building on this foundation, the module examines safeguarding as a responsive framework activated when concerns arise. You will engage with safeguarding legislation, categories of abuse, indicators of harm, and the ethical and professional responsibilities involved in protecting children. The module emphasises the importance of multi-agency collaboration, contextual safeguarding, and lessons learned from serious case reviews to inform practice and policy.  

By integrating health promotion and safeguarding within a single framework, the module encourages you to reflect on their role in both preventing harm and responding to it. It supports the development of critical thinking, ethical awareness, and professional judgement, enabling you to navigate complex scenarios and contribute to safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments. 

This module is designed to enable you to develop a critical understanding of research methods and methodologies, with a particular emphasis on how research actively informs and shapes early years and primary education practice. You will explore the dynamic relationship between research and professional decision-making, gaining insight into how evidence-based approaches can enhance pedagogical effectiveness and outcomes for children.

Through critical engagement with a range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research designs, you will evaluate the strengths, limitations, and practical applications of various methodologies. You will apply this knowledge in the development of your own research proposal, justifying their methodological choices with reference to relevant theoretical frameworks and current educational research.

The module provides a comprehensive introduction to diverse research strategies, including ethical considerations and the role of the practitioner-researcher. Reflexivity, both as a researcher and as a practitioner, is embedded throughout, encouraging you to critically examine their own positionality, values, and assumptions in relation to the research process.

A key focus of the module is on bridging the gap between theory and practice. You will be supported in developing reflective skills that enable them to interpret and apply research findings to real-world educational contexts. In doing so, you will cultivate a research-informed mindset that empowers you to contribute to ongoing professional development, innovation, and evidence-based practice in early years and primary settings. This module enables you to develop a research proposal on a topic of your choosing supporting their progression to level 6 study and conducting and independent research project. 

This module provides students working in early years and primary education with the opportunity to develop a broad range of personal, professional, academic, and research skills. It is designed to support your transition into higher education and to enhance your future career development through reflective and evidence-informed practice. 

You will be introduced to key academic and research approaches, including formal methods of enquiry and a variety of methodologies currently used in early childhood and primary education research. The module places strong emphasis on developing effective study skills, such as reading and interpreting research, and communication skills that will support your success throughout the programme. 

A central aim of this module is to encourage you to develop professionally and reflect critically on your current practice. You will be supported to create meaningful personal development plans aligned with the programme’s expectations and your own professional goals. 

At this stage of the course, the focus is on building the foundational knowledge and skills needed to support children’s learning and development. You will begin to engage with reflective and research-based thinking to inform your own learning and enhance your practice. These skills are highly valued by employers and are essential for those working with children and families in educational settings. 

0-11 years is a rapid period of development and growth for children, and these early experiences can have a major impact on their future life chances. This module introduces you to understanding the holistic and contextual nature of children’s development and wellbeing. You will be equipped with knowledge and understanding of key child development theories and contemporary perspectives of child development. The module focuses on key broad areas of development: Cognitive, Physical, and brain development, Language, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. By the end of the module you will have a clear understanding of the importance of considering children and child development holistically, situated in their wider sociocultural environments, and a firm grounding in children’s development theory which you can draw from to apply to practice situations. This module will require you to link your knowledge and understanding of theory to supporting holistic development in practice. You will consider the broad concept of wellbeing and reflect on supporting wellbeing in practice.

This module introduces you to key ideas and debates about childhood from sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives. It encourages critical engagement with dominant Western conceptions of childhood by exploring how cultural, social, political, and economic factors shape children’s lives across diverse global contexts. 

Using a range of approaches, you will examine themes such as children’s rights, education, work, play, family structures, and global inequalities, placing emphasis on children’s voices and lived experiences. The module challenges traditional constructions of childhood, including notions of vulnerability, innocence, and dependency, and explores debates such as the “disappearance of childhood.” 

By engaging with perspectives from both the Global South and North, you will develop an understanding of the plurality of childhoods and reflect on the diversity of children’s lives. This module supports the development of critical thinking and cultural awareness, enabling you to appreciate how global discourses and rights frameworks influence understandings of childhood in different settings. 

This practice-based module explores the rich diversity of needs that children present in Early Years and Primary settings, recognising that every child is unique in their development, experiences, and ways of learning. The module takes a holistic and inclusive approach, considering how practitioners can effectively support a wide range of needs, be they cognitive, emotional, social, physical, cultural, or linguistic, within the context of inclusive education. 

In Early Years and Primary environments, practitioners encounter a broad spectrum of diversity, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those learning English as an additional language (EAL), children from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and those who may have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. This module equips you with the knowledge, skills, and reflective capacity to respond to these diverse needs with sensitivity, creativity, and professionalism. 

You will critically engage with key concepts, definitions, and frameworks of inclusion and diversity, drawing on current policy, theory, and research. The module will examine how inclusive pedagogy can be embedded in everyday practice, curriculum design, and learning environments to ensure all children feel valued, supported, and able to thrive. 

Through reflective practice, you will be encouraged to draw on your own experiences in educational settings, share examples of effective inclusive strategies, and identify challenges and barriers to inclusion. The role of the practitioner as an advocate for equity and belonging will be a central theme, with emphasis on collaboration with families, communities, and multi-agency professionals. 

This module aims to foster a deep understanding of how inclusive values can be translated into meaningful action, enabling future practitioners to create nurturing, responsive, and empowering learning environments for all children. 

This module explores the role of play as a pedagogical approach across diverse global contexts. Recognising that play is central to children’s learning across the 0–11 age range, you will critically examine how play is understood, valued, and implemented in early years and primary education contexts worldwide. 

Drawing on a range of international theorists, pioneers, and pedagogical philosophies, the module encourages you to reflect on your own practice and compare it with global approaches to play-based learning. Through interdisciplinary inquiry, you will evaluate how cultural, social, and educational contexts shape play provision and pedagogy, and consider how enabling environments support meaningful learning experiences. 

The module fosters critical reflection, collaborative learning, and the development of professional insight into how play can be used to support inclusive, responsive, and effective teaching practices. 

Education policy is shaped by political ideologies and broader social priorities. This module explores how shifting political values have influenced the development of education policy in the UK, from the post-World War II period to the present day. You will be introduced to key political ideologies and critically engage with the policy landscape, tracing major reforms and the values that underpin them. 

Through the examination of topics such as the welfare state, neoliberalism, marketisation, the National Curriculum, Ofsted, standardised testing, and curriculum accountability, you will consider how policy is used to shape educational priorities and outcomes. The module also addresses contemporary challenges including school attendance, SEND provision, funding pressures, and children’s mental health, alongside relevant education and welfare legislation. 

The module aims to develop your critical thinking and analytical skills, encouraging them to consider how policies affect children, families, and educational professionals. In doing so, you will reflect on the relationship between policy, practice, and power, and the role of education in shaping society.  

This module explores the interconnected roles of health promotion and safeguarding in supporting the wellbeing of children aged 0–11 across early years and primary education settings. It recognises that promoting children's physical, emotional, and social wellbeing is not only a core responsibility of educational practitioners but also a vital preventive strategy in reducing risk and enhancing outcomes. 

You will critically examine how educational environments contribute to health promotion through trauma-informed, inclusive, and holistic practices. Topics such as nutrition, oral hygiene, emotional resilience, and nurturing care routines will be explored in relation to current policy, legislation, and practice. The module also considers the role of professionals in identifying and responding to ongoing health needs, and the importance of empowering children and families through rights-based approaches. 

Building on this foundation, the module examines safeguarding as a responsive framework activated when concerns arise. You will engage with safeguarding legislation, categories of abuse, indicators of harm, and the ethical and professional responsibilities involved in protecting children. The module emphasises the importance of multi-agency collaboration, contextual safeguarding, and lessons learned from serious case reviews to inform practice and policy.  

By integrating health promotion and safeguarding within a single framework, the module encourages you to reflect on their role in both preventing harm and responding to it. It supports the development of critical thinking, ethical awareness, and professional judgement, enabling you to navigate complex scenarios and contribute to safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments. 

This module is designed to enable you to develop a critical understanding of research methods and methodologies, with a particular emphasis on how research actively informs and shapes early years and primary education practice. You will explore the dynamic relationship between research and professional decision-making, gaining insight into how evidence-based approaches can enhance pedagogical effectiveness and outcomes for children.

Through critical engagement with a range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research designs, you will evaluate the strengths, limitations, and practical applications of various methodologies. You will apply this knowledge in the development of your own research proposal, justifying their methodological choices with reference to relevant theoretical frameworks and current educational research.

The module provides a comprehensive introduction to diverse research strategies, including ethical considerations and the role of the practitioner-researcher. Reflexivity, both as a researcher and as a practitioner, is embedded throughout, encouraging you to critically examine their own positionality, values, and assumptions in relation to the research process.

A key focus of the module is on bridging the gap between theory and practice. You will be supported in developing reflective skills that enable them to interpret and apply research findings to real-world educational contexts. In doing so, you will cultivate a research-informed mindset that empowers you to contribute to ongoing professional development, innovation, and evidence-based practice in early years and primary settings. This module enables you to develop a research proposal on a topic of your choosing supporting their progression to level 6 study and conducting and independent research project.