Description
This qualification is only available until 31 December 2017.
To claim this qualification, you must complete the required 60 or 120 credits by this date.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for this qualification, please contact the Centre for Qualifications and Ceremonies on +44 (0)1908 653003 or by email.
This pathway enables experienced practitioners with a Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree (or equivalent) to enhance their professional development by topping up to the BA Early Years / BA (Hons) Early Years in just one or two years. You’ll develop your critical understanding of early years practice and frameworks from ethical, social, legal, and political perspectives; and gain the knowledge and skills needed to work collaboratively and equitably within an integrated, interdisciplinary workforce. You’ll examine policies, legal developments and practice innovations that promote children’s wellbeing across universal and specialist services – focusing on listening to children, promoting children’s well being and multi-agency working. This degree course is considered ‘full and relevant’ for the purposes of registration and regulation – which means you’ll count in the qualified ratio of staff at Level 3. It also prepares you for further research, study, enquiry and practice.
The degree without honours requires 60 credits at Level 3, and the degree with honours a total of 120 credits at Level 3.
Planning your studies
To be eligible for the top-up route to this degree you will need to hold a Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree in Early Years (or equivalent) awarded within the last five years and be an experienced early years practitioner. (Your degree transcript should tell you if your foundation is sector endorsed). Please note that holders of the OU's Foundation Degree in Early Years are not eligible to apply for this top-up route.
If you don’t hold a Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree in Early Years (or equivalent) and wish to count another qualification to this degree, see the full version of our BA Early Years (B51) for credit transfer details.
If you think you may be eligible for the top-up route, please download the application guidance and form from the Childhood and Youth programme website (see the section for the Top-up Bachelor of Arts Early Years and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Early Years (B60)).
There is a three-year time limit for completing the BA Early Years (unclassified) and the BA (Hons) Early Years degrees. This will start from the first time you could study the Level 3 module Working together for children (KE312) after your application has been accepted.
You can study to achieve both an unclassified and an honours bachelors degree depending on how many credits you study. You will achieve the BA Early Years unclassified degree by studying the compulsory 60-credit module Working together for children (KE312).
If you wish to continue to achieve the BA (Honours) Early Years degree then you will be able to ‘top up’ your unclassified degree by studying Issues in research with children and young people (EK313) as your final compulsory module.
A credit transfer scheme towards the ‘long’ version of the BA or BA (Hons) Early Years (B51) also exists. Smaller ‘chunks’ of study up to a maximum of 180 credits for the 300-credit unclassified BA Early Years or a maximum of 240 credits for the 360-credit BA (Honours) Early Years can be counted towards this scheme. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site or by telephoning the Credit Transfer Centre on 01908 653077.
Career relevance and employability
The BA Early Years / BA (Hons) Early Years is designed to contribute to the development of integrated, coherent services for children and a highly skilled and effective workforce across the UK.
It may also be helpful if you’re interested in further training as an Early Years Teacher. However, since the OU doesn’t offer teaching training for this age range, we cannot guarantee automatic progression to ITE training programmes. For up-to-date information see the Department for Education website in England; the Teach in Scotland website in Scotland; and the Teacher Training & Education in Wales website. More information can also be found about routes to entering teaching by downloading our Becoming a teacher booklet.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
For this top-up route you require:
60 credits from the following compulsory module to claim the BA Early Years (300-credit unclassified degree):
| Level 3 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Working together for children (KE312)
|
60 |
|
And 60 credits from the following compulsory module to ‘top up’ to the BA (Honours) Early Years (360-credit honours degree):
| Level 3 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Issues in research with children and young people (EK313)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module EK311
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
For this qualification, we do not allow you to count credit for study you have already done elsewhere.
Classification of your degree
On successful completion of the required modules you will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts Early Years degree or Bachelor of Arts with Honours Early Years degree depending on the modules studied.
Your honours degree will be classified as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours. Your degree will be classed on the basis of your study of Open University modules only (the class of your foundation degree will not affect the class of your degree).
You will have the opportunity to attend one degree ceremony (i.e. you can not attend a ceremony for both the unclassified and the honours versions of this qualification).
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification