Careers Brief - Early Years FdA

Overview

Your part-time Foundation degree in Early Years will provide you with both a nationally recognised qualification and evidence of your ability in your field. You will also have the opportunity for progression onto an Honours degree.

Apart from the knowledge and experience gained from your training, you will have developed effective employability skills useful in a range of jobs. Functional Skills such as: teamworking, time-management, planning, being persuasive, written and verbal communication.

To clarify your personal career direction or to consider a wider choice of careers (matched to your interests) use the Prospects Planner and other tools in the Career Planning section of this Careers Guide.

For an overview of the industry sector, go to National Guidance Research Forum for 'LMI Future trends' and 'Sectors covered'.

Go to the website links below to find out more.

Further Study

You will be able to apply for a Top-up degree. Top-up degrees are designed as direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Honours (or Ordinary) degree, though entry may be selective.

Alternatively, you could transfer onto a related Honours degree. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses but could be the final year.

Go to http://onlineservices.bournemouth.ac.uk/courses/ for information on the BA (Hons) Early Years Care and Education Top-up (full or part-time) degree studied at Bournemouth University and designed as a progression from this course.

Other institutions offering related Top-ups include:

Bath Spa University; Birmingham City University; Blackburn College; University of Bolton; Bradford College; Croydon College; Doncaster College; Farnborough College of Technology; University of Gloucestershire; University of Greenwich; Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education;

University of Huddersfield; Leeds Metropolitan University; Norwich City College of Further & Higher Education; Somerset College of Arts & Technology; University Campus Suffolk; College of West Anglia; University of Worcester.

To search degree courses go to www.ucas.com (UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use the university/college links for course details.

You will need to use UCAS to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.

Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Go to the university/college links for information on course costs and finance and to the Financial support section for additional help.

Alternatively, you could consider 'topping up' your Foundation degree to Honours through distance learning with the Open University. You could be awarded up to 240 credits and then only need 120 credits of OU study at level 3 to achieve an Honours degree. This would also give you the opportunity to take up employment. Go to www.open.ac.uk/ to search undergraduate courses and credit transfer.

With a good Honours degree (First or 2.1), you may progress onto an appropriate higher level Masters and/or PhD doctorate. This could be to develop your area of study to a more in-depth practical and/or academic level or to gain other specialist training.

For information on postgraduate study and finance, go to the national online directory at www.prospects.ac.uk/study.htm .

Go to the main section Further Study in this Guide for further information and help.

Useful Links

http://mycareerhub.bournemouth.ac.uk/

Bournemouth University Graduate Employment Service - job news, campus events, part-time work, placement, graduate jobs, ask a question, book an appointment

www.prospects.ac.uk/starting_out.htm

Graduate Prospects - national careers site for HE students studying in the UK:

Drop down 'Careers advice' for 'Childhood Studies'

Drop down 'Job sectors' for 'Teaching and education'

http://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/

Next Step careers site - go to sub-headings 'Planning your career' and 'Job Profiles' for section link 'Education and Training'

www.tda.gov.uk/

Training and Development Agency for Schools - teaching and support staff roles

www.gscc.org.uk/

General Social Care Council - drop down 'Education and training'

www.basw.co.uk/

The British Association of Social Workers - go to sub-heading 'Social Work Careers'