Education & Early Years – Early Years Educator
Special Entry Requirements
You will need 4 GCSEs at grade 4 include GCSE Maths or GCSE English. You will also require an enhanced DBS check prior to commencing industry placement which college will help you to organise.
Subject Intent
Government policy on early years education continuously evolves and recent changes to the funding for 2-year-olds has led to an increase in demand for places in early years settings, furthermore, there is also a shortage of qualified early years practitioners to provide the workforce for this additional demand for places. The T Level in Education and Early Years provides students with first-hand experiences of working with young children in a variety of education and care settings where they acquire knowledge and develop the skills required to support their next steps. Students can progress to a wide range of career options in the fields of education, health and social care, both directly into the workforce or onto higher education to study higher apprenticeships, foundation and honours degrees.
What will I study? - Exploring sector provision for education and childcare; Supporting child development; Approaches to learning for positive outcomes in education for children and young people; Legislation, policies and practice for education and childcare, and working with others in education and childcare.
Course Introduction
T Levels are a brand-new qualification designed to give you a head start towards the future you want. They are equivalent to three A Levels and bring classroom and work placement together on a course designed with employers and businesses. Click for more information on T Levels.
Working with children and young people requires a lot of patience, enthusiasm and hard work. This course will be suitable for you if you have a genuine interest in working with children and young people and want a qualification that offers a licence to practice with children aged 0-5 years, but also provides flexibility to work in a range of job roles in the fields of education, health and social care with children and young people across the 0-19 age range.
As part of the course, you will work with early years educators in day nurseries, pre-schools, primary schools and special education provision by planning, implementing and evaluating play and learning experiences to support children’s learning and development. You will also learn, and apply, skills in observation and assessment using the early years framework in order to inform future planning requirements for children’s individual needs.
Preparing for T Level Education & Childcare
We have created a transition pack to show you the kind of work that you will be doing at level 3 and to help you prepare for September.
If you have any questions about the course, please email admissions@s6f.org.uk
Case Studies
Two of our students have created case studies of their T Level experience. You can read these here:
Course Modules
You will study a range of topics including child development, observation and assessment, safeguarding, health and safety and working with parents/carers and other professionals. To succeed you will need to be passionate about working with children, have effective communication and teamworking skills and be willing to undertake a minimum of 750 hours industry placement.
On completion of the course, you will have a licence to practice within the Early Years sector allowing you to go straight into employment. Alternatively, you may choose to continue onto university to study courses for a range of job roles in education, health, social care.
Assessment
Assessment includes exams, practical tasks, an employer-set project, assignments and observation of practice in industry placement.
Career Opportunities
