Select your course options:
Where Are You Applying From?
How Would You Like To Study?
When Do You Want To Start Your Studies?
Which Campus Would You Like To Study At?
Which Options Would You Like With Your Course?
Why choose the School of Education
Our education courses rank in the UK top three in their subject field for teaching quality and in the top 10 for student experience (Times, 2025).
Our education courses rank in the UK top 15 in their subject field for career prospects (Guardian, 2025).
95% of our education students were satisfied with the learning opportunities their course offered and how well it developed knowledge and skills for the future (NSS, 2024).
About the course
If you work with young children in a setting such as pre-school, childminding, day nursery or children’s centre, this Foundation degree has been designed to fit around your work commitments. It combines academic study with your work experience, preparing you to work in multi-disciplinary teams in early years settings. On completion, you also have direct entry to one of our one year top-up pathways (Early Years, SEND or Education), enabling you to gain a full BA (Hons) degree.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Designated online classroom and learning space
- Forest School where you can deepen your understanding of the long-term educational benefits of outdoor learning opportunities
- Specialist Early Years and Sensory Centre to support your understanding of how teachers teach and children learn, within early years and SEND contexts
- Multi-media space for webinars and podcasting.
- Designated study space and activity agenda for all Saturday study days
Industry links
As one of the largest providers of teacher education in the eastern region, we have well-established partnerships with more than 500 schools and other associated organisations, a network that puts us at the forefront of educational developments.
Work-based learners also have a unique opportunity to be a purposeful and active part of the Students’ Union-affiliated Work-based Learning Student Society.
Student experience
- Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well.
- You benefit from the support of your own personal tutor, a unit and course coordinator, and the additional support of our experienced library staff, all of whom will help you throughout your student journey and with balancing study with work and personal commitments.
- You attend weekly sessions online that are enhanced and supported by the independent tasks your unit tutors allocate to you.
- The weekly sessions are extended during your Saturday study days, of which there are six across the academic year; these offer a unique mix of group work, tutor-led sessions and cross-course collaboration.
- If you choose the Foundation degree with Early Years Educator, you are supported by a designated University mentor and workplace observation tutor who works with you to arrange and support work-based observations of your practice.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - Karen Siddons
I joined the University of Bedfordshire following 20 years working within the Early Years and Education sector.
I started my career working in a residential school for children with profound and multiple educational and health care needs.
My experience within Early Years and education spans a wide range of provision to include Nursery manager, Child minder, classroom assistant and lecturer.
I have extensive experience within the classroom and have worked in both HE and FE, delivering Early Years study programmes.
What will you study?
Studying our Foundation Degree Early Years Studies course will equip you with specialist knowledge and skills around early years education and child development. Introduction to Higher Education Study is the first unit you will study, where you will be introduced to a range of academic skills and tasks that will support you to demonstrate the ability to reach your full academic potential. Through examining research, theory and pedagogy, our Developing Learning unit will support you to develop the knowledge and skills to support the development of babies and children. In more specific learning areas, you will develop your understanding of English and Mathematics in our Contextual Curriculum: Early Years unit. These subject areas are crucial to early years and modern education for supporting babies’ and children’s needs.
In other areas of Early Years, our unit in The Importance of Play will allow you to examine how children learn and develop through play, based on established research and theory. This will inform your future work where you will be able to develop and support play-based approaches. Furthermore, another crucial area of education is inclusivity and especially within special educational needs and disability (SEND). This is where our unit in Inclusive Practice and SEND will encourage you to question to what extent education is inclusive, while also considering the existing barriers to inclusive education, and how to support all children including children with SEND within Early Years.
As an early years educator, your involvement extends far from the child alone. Early Years: The Child, The Family, The Community explores the impact that settings, families and communities have on the experiences and dispositions of children. Furthermore, you will explore how families, parents and carers are supported to engage with their child and examine potential support from their community. To prepare you for your work in early years education, Developing Professional Practice will explore aspects of professionalism in early years contexts. You will consider the sociological, psychological and philosophical influences on policy and practice. At the same time, Reflections on Practice will encourage you to identify your current strengths and areas for further development in both your studies and professional work. In the long term, you will develop the personal and practice skills of an educational professional.
Introduction To Higher Education Study
What are the key skills and knowledge that are necessary to succeed in higher education?
The unit aim is to introduce you to higher education study by:
Introducing you to the academic processes and structures of your University, online and College setting.
Giving you specific instruction on the key skills in preparing and producing assessments at Level 4 and beyond.
Showing you how to develop the necessary knowledge and study skills that will allow you to reach your academic potential.
Helping you develop as an independent learner and understand the importance of a pro-active approach to your study.
Developing Learning
This unit aims to examine the issue of how our understanding of child development and learning is informed by research and theory and pedagogy.
How can knowledge of theory and research on child development and learning inform our policies and practices in supporting babies, children and young people’s individual development?
The work-based elements will enable the synthesis between the theoretical concepts studied in the unit and the practice and policy you are working with. This unit interconnects with all units in Level 4, and will support your future learning in core units in levels 5, and 6 if you choose to progress to the BA (Hons) Progression Awards.
Inclusive Practice And Send
To what extent is education inclusive?
What are the barriers to inclusive education?
How are children with SEND supported within education?
This unit aims to explore both historic and contemporary perspectives, policy and practice relating to inclusive education. The work-based elements will enable the synthesis between the theoretical concepts studied in the unit and the practice and policy you are working with.
This unit enhances understanding gained in The Developing Learning Unit at Level 4.
Contextual Curriculum : Early Years
English and Mathematical skills underpin much of modern education from Early Years to Post-Compulsory Education. It is important that you develop your understanding of these areas and reflect upon how you develop appropriate skills to support babies' and children's needs.
The unit aims to:
Highlight the role of the development of English and Mathematics within Early Years.
Consider how work based observation and reflection can help develop your practice.
Draw links between what happens in practice and what is described in theory.
Reflections On Practice
This unit seeks to enhance the long-term professional and personal development of educational professionals through a process of reflection and improvement. You will be required to identify current strengths and areas for further development in your academic studies and your professional work
Developing Professional Practice
What does it mean to be a professional in early years practice?
What is the impact of professionals in early years context?
This unit aims to explore aspects of professionalism in Early Years contexts and the relationships between theoretical perspectives and their practical implications. It also aims to acknowledge the sociological, psychological and philosophical influences on policy and practice.
The work-based elements will enable the synthesis between the theoretical concepts studied in the unit and the practice and policy you are working with. The use of personal reflection is encouraged to support your understanding of your own professional growth and development.
This unit enhances understanding gained in the units Developing Learning, Developing English and Mathematics and Inclusive Practice at Level 4 and Reflections on Practice at Level 5.
Early Years: The Child, The Family, The Community
To what extent is the unique child understood within settings, families and communities? How are the attitudes and dispositions of the unique child represented within settings, families and communities?
How are families, parents and carers supported to engage with the child and supports available within the community?
This unit aims to consider the concept of the child, the family, the setting and the wider world. It considers the ecology of relationships that have an impact upon children within society.
The Importance Of Play
Do children learn through play?
Do practitioners have a professional role in supporting learning through play?
This unit aims to examine the issue of our understanding of how children learn and develop through play and is informed by research and theory. It will develop an understanding of the importance for Early Years practitioners to develop and support play based approaches.
The work-based elements will enable the synthesis between the theoretical concepts studied in the unit and the practice and policy you are working with. The use of reflection is encouraged to support your understanding of your own professional growth and development, and this will be enhanced through observed practice and formative discussions in the unit.
This unit builds on Developing Learning at Level 4 and interconnects with Early Years: Child, Family, Community at Level 5 and will provide a foundation for units at level 6.
How will you be assessed?
The purpose of the assessment strategy is to maximise the outcomes of summative assessment through effective personalised formative assessment. This is made possible by a variety of assessment types to engage a number of approaches to learning. In the feedback to each unit of work students are marked against a level specific marking grid and are given advice on their strengths and areas for improvement. Such advice should then be fed into their subsequent assignments to form a gradual building of knowledge rigor and application. It is expected that the student's workplace setting will give context to their individual assessment and will also be used in many of the assessments to provide secondary or primary materials to inform the assessment criteria.
Careers
You will have the opportunity to continue your studies at degree level through the University of Bedfordshire's Applied Early Years Studies (top up) BA (Hons); all successful Foundation degree students have the right of direct entry to the BA at the end of their study.
You could then choose to follow a Primary PGCE or School Direct programme to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). GSCE grades A*-C in maths English and science or equivalent will be required.
If you do not wish to progress to the top-up degree you have various options in employment including leadership and management roles within an early years setting.
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard fee for a Foundation Degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250. These are the full course fees covering each year of study.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
International students cannot apply for Foundation Degrees.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
Virtual Tour
