Children and Young People

• Study a course that’s been developed with employers in the sector, so you know it’s relevant and up-to-date
• Choose a specialist pathway relevant to your interests: Early Years, Early Years with Practitioner Status, Teaching Assistant, or Special Educational Needs
• Gain hands-on industry experience by volunteering/working two days a week in the sector.

You can study this course at one of our partner colleges:

• Boston College
• Loughborough College
• West Midlands Business College

Why study this course?

The Foundation Degree Arts (FdA) Children and Young People is a higher education qualification designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and professional practice needed for a career working with children, young people, and families. Developed in partnership with employers, the programme reflects current workforce, and industry needs and combines academic study with practical, work-related learning.

As a vocational qualification, the programme focuses on both theory and practice, providing opportunities to apply learning within professional settings.

Students can choose to study one of the following pathways:

• Early Years – Age range 0-5 years
• Teaching Assistant – Age range 5 years and above
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – Age range 0-25

Upon successful completion, you will be awarded a Foundation Degree Arts (FdA) in Children and Young People, with your chosen pathway included in the award title where applicable (for example, FdA Children and Young People (Early Years)).

Learners not placed in a setting /employment aligned to a specific age range or specialism may instead complete a generic degree.

The programme is made up of two stages of study:

• Stage 1 (Level 4) – 120 credits – 6 x 20 credit modules
• Stage 2 (Level 5) – 120 credits – 6 x 20 credit modules

You will study four core modules, one option module, and one pathway module (where applicable) at each stage, achieving a total of 240 credits on successful completion.

Early Years Practitioner Status Route

If you follow the Early Years Practitioner Status route, you will study the Early Years pathway modules and complete a Professional Practice Portfolio alongside your academic modules throughout the programme. To achieve the award FdA Children and Young People (Early Years with Practitioner Status), students must successfully complete all 240 credits and the Professional Practice Portfolio.

Award Classification

Students who successfully complete the programme will receive one of the following classifications:

• Distinction
• Merit
• Pass

Work-Based Practice (Placement)

As this is a work-based degree, you are responsible for securing your own placement or employment setting. You must undertake a minimum of two days per week of paid or unpaid work with children and/or young people throughout their studies. Your placement or work setting will form an integral part of the programme and will provide opportunities to draw upon your experiences and practice within assessments and learning activities.

Ensure that your placement or employment setting aligns with your chosen pathway—Teaching Assistant (TA), Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), or Early Years (EY) to support your engagement with module content and the application of learning in practice.

If you are working across different age phases, such as both primary and secondary settings, you will be able to undertake the generic FdA Children and Young People degree.

To support your professional development, you will have a critical friend at your placement/work-based practice and the University conducts workplace visits, including:

• Autumn semester: telephone placement review.
• Spring semester: in-person placement visit.

Entry requirements

To study the FdA Children and Young People degree you must be aged 18 or over and working directly with children or young people aged 0-25 years in a voluntary or paid capacity for a minimum of two days a week.

Our entry requirements are usually from A level or equivalent qualifications such as:

• NVQ 3
• BTEC National Certificate
• BTEC National Diploma
• CACHE or NNEB award
• Open College Network Credits
• Completion of a recognised Access to Higher Education course
• Five GCSEs including English and Maths at Grade 4/C or above or equivalent such as; Key Skills, Functional Skills or Higher Diploma qualifications. It is recognised that not all applicants had the opportunity to achieve five GCSEs or equivalent.

While these are preferred, individual circumstances and qualifications may also be considered. As part of the application process, all applicants will be invited to an interview and asked to provide a short-written summary of their experience working with children and young people.

Delivery of learning

Modules are delivered over a defined study period, with full-time students completing each module over 8 weeks and part-time students completing each module over 6 weeks.

Full-time Study Route: Each module is studied over an 8-week teaching period

Weeks 1–5: Lectures and taught sessions introducing key concepts, theories and practice, application of learning, and assessment preparation.

Week 6: Seminar activities and assessment preparation.

Weeks 7–8: Module tutorials providing individual and group support for assessments.

Week 9: Teaching begins for the next module.

Week 10: Assessment submission deadline for the previous module.

Part-time Study Route: Each module is studied over a 6-week teaching period

Weeks 1–4: Lectures and taught sessions introducing key concepts, theories and practice, application of learning, and assessment preparation.

Week 5: Seminar activities and assessment preparation.

Week 6: Module tutorial providing individual and group support for assessment completion.

Week 7: Teaching begins for the next module.

Week 10:  Assessment submission deadline for the previous module.

You'll study through a mixture of theory and practical work, and reflect on your practice.

How you will learn and be assessed

Throughout the module, you will participate in discussions and debates, complete formative activities, collaborate with peers, and develop your knowledge and expertise within the subject area. Formative activities are embedded throughout each teaching session to support your learning and development, with the learning outcomes and assessment requirements explicitly explored and revisited across the module to help you build confidence and demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes. Formative assessment is designed to help you develop your knowledge, skills, and understanding before submitting the summative assessment. This may include participation in class discussions and debates, activities completed in the teaching sessions, reflection tasks, peer and tutor feedback.

You will be given opportunities to engage in seminars and individual module tutorials. These sessions are tailored to support you in completing your summative assessment and provide opportunities to discuss your ideas, receive personalised guidance, and clarify any aspects of the module content.

Assessment is 100% coursework-based and incorporates work-based learning as a central feature. As a vocational degree, the curriculum is firmly rooted in real-world professional practice, enabling you to apply your learning within workplace contexts. Authentic assessment methods include oral presentations, reports, reflective commentaries and diaries, and academic essays.

Demand is growing for qualified practitioners working in children’s and young people’s services. You’ll have the knowledge, understanding, and professional skills to progress in your practice and make an impact on service provision. Previous graduates were promoted to senior roles and others now lead practices.

You can top up to a degree by completing the final stage of a relevant bachelors degree, such as:

• BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (Top up)
• BA (Hons) Education Studies (Top up)
• BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs and Disability (Top up)

For fee information, please contact the partner college you wish to study at.

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.