Join us at one of our upcoming Open Days!
Saturday 1 July | Sunday 8 October | Saturday 28 October | Saturday 18 November
Saturday 1 July
Sunday 8 October
Saturday 28 October
Saturday 18 November
Our next Open Day is in:
Overview
Develop both your understanding of children and your therapeutic skills
Our BA (Hons) Childhood Studies with Therapeutic Play with Integrated Foundation Year encompasses working with children in a variety of settings and contexts with a focus on utilising therapeutic play approaches.
Develop your knowledge and skills
This programme is the perfect preparation to work therapeutically with children and young people in specialist SEND settings, to support children with social, emotional and mental health challenges in mainstream settings, or to undertake further training to become a registered Play Therapist.
Choose your pathway
This unique and innovative course will offer two distinct pathways:
- ‘Early Childhood’ working with children aged 0-8 years of age which confers Level 3 ‘full and relevant’ status,
- or ‘Childhood’, which provides the option to work with children and young people across the age range.
Routes for all
We also offer an Integrated Foundation Year option for those looking to develop their academic confidence and skills before beginning a full degree.
On this course you will
- Develop your academic skills on an integrated foundation year.
- Investigate, understand and analyse the fast-changing landscape of working with children.
- Develop your understanding of and skills in utilising therapeutic play approaches.
- Pursue specific pathways that allow you to centre your learning around your passions and interests.
- Gain practical experience in real-world environments.
The Course
Develop your practice skills and knowledge of working with children
Studying at university can be challenging but that’s the beauty of studying this course with an integrated foundation year.
Following a year that introduces to the subject and develops your academic skills and confidence, you will study a diverse and interesting range of modules.
The course provides the opportunity to gain professional practice experience making clear links between theory and therapeutic practice.
You will be guided through an exciting range of modules that are specifically designed to increase understanding of children, and to develop therapeutic skills.
Study areas include:
- Children's Health and Wellbeing
- Special Educational Needs
- Play, Creative and Expressive Arts
- Therapeutic Play
- Working Therapeutically with Families
- Being Human
This list is indicative and subject to change.
Final research project
Students in their third year will undertake an independent research project with a therapeutic play focus.
ENRICH sessions
In addition to these modules, a programme of ENRICH sessions will provide exposure to a diverse range of relevant subject presentations including: Developing Resilience, Therapeutic Relationships and The Role of the Play Therapist.
Teaching and Assessment
Feel the support of our staff as you gain confidence in your abilities
Teaching
You will learn from expert practitioners and accomplished academics with a wide range of experience within the field of Childhood Studies.
We bring new research together with established theory into the classroom through a mix of direct teaching, seminars, and activity-based learning.
Within your learning sessions, you will be challenged to go further and be encouraged to be proactive, responsive and responsible for your own learning and ideas outside of the classroom.
Our focus on group discussion and the consideration of the thoughts of others allow you to develop your own ideas.
Assessment
It is important that our assessments are designed to meet the various learning needs of students.
We offer a variety of assessment methods that include presentations, assignments, exams, academic posters and placement portfolios.
Experience
Discover facilities that help support your learning
Close community
Our commitment to a friendly and close-knit student community contributes to a high degree of success for our graduates.
Learning Resource Centre
The Learning Resource centre (LRC) contains the library, a café, IT/teaching rooms, and the Student Information Zone (SIZ).
Library
Our campus library holds more than 200,000 books and over 500,000 eBooks.
Expert staff
Learn from expert and experienced teaching staff who are here to support your needs.
Subject specific librarians
If you have difficulty finding material for an essay, seminar or project, subject librarians will be happy to provide assistance.
Practice Placements
Gain vital experience within a professional environment to support your learning
As part of our BA (Hons) Childhood Studies with Therapeutic Play with Integrated Foundation Year course, you will gain the opportunity to undertake practice placements.
These placements will allow you to work directly within local early years settings as you apply your theoretical learning within a real-world environment.
In both your second and third years, you will complete a practice placement, where the age group you work with will change depending on your chosen pathway.
In your third year, this practical element of the programme will include the delivery of therapeutic interventions.
On this course, you could gain a total of 80 days of work-based placements. You’ll get the chance to attend three different registered organisational settings to gain a mix of experience. You’ll also gain the opportunity to work with babies, 3-5 and 5-7 year olds.
The placements gained in Year’s 1 and 2 (Level 4 and 5) will be counted as ‘full and relevant’ which means with this degree, you will be counted at Level 3 in staff: child ratios.
- Year One – 25 days
- Year Two – 30 days
- Year Three –25 days – Graduate Practitioner Competencies (optional placement)
If you choose to take our dedicated third-year placement module, you will receive a separate certificate stating that you have been awarded the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies.
Course Costs
Course fees 2023/24
UK fee
International fee
For further details about fees, please see our Tuition Fees page.
For further details about international scholarships, please see our Scholarships page.
To find out about any additional costs on this course, please see our Additional Costs page.
Course specific costs
You will be required to have a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check costing £40 which needs to be paid for before the start of the course.
Entry Requirements
UCAS
GCSE
T Level
IELTS
Non-standard Application Entry Routes: The University has an alternative entry route for applicants who have relevant skills and experience but who do not hold the formal minimum entry qualifications required. Applicants who demonstrate the necessary skills and experience to enter a course of higher education will be asked to complete an entry task involving the completion of specially set assignments.
DBS
BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies training applicants are required to have an enhanced Disclosure Barring Service check which needs to be paid for before the start of the course.
We strongly suggest that all students sign up for the Disclosure and Barring Service update service for which there is a small annual charge, this makes the DBS portable both during and after the degree.
Failure to sign up for the update service might require the student to gain a further enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check which will incur additional costs.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Click the ‘Apply now’ button to go to relevant UCAS page.
Many qualifications have a UCAS Tariff value. The score depends on the qualification, and the grade you achieved.
Head to the UCAS Tariff Points web page where you can find a tariff points calculator that can tell you how much your qualification and grades are worth.
