Foundation Year Foundation in Education, Teaching and Learning

In this module, you’ll be introduced to a range of existing challenges within the education sector. You’ll explore inequality and access to education, the challenges faced by individuals and groups within education, and current legislation, government policy, and practice concerning education in England. This could include covering topics like;

• SEND
• behaviour and wellbeing
• teacher and additional adult workload
• school structures
• social context shaping educational experiences
• and engaging parents and communities.

You’ll engage with key educational thinkers and theories and begin to develop your academic skills, like critical reading, discussion, reflective writing and constructing evidence-based arguments.

This module introduces you to key elements of working within education, considering safeguarding and protection of children and vulnerable individuals, as well as physically and psychologically safe spaces for play, learning and education to take place.

You will explore the legal requirements for health and safety, and safeguarding children, as well as exploring practical aspects of providing safe environments for learning.

Through class discussions and activities, you’ll create a portfolio of risk assessments for a selection of learning environments and annotated plans for educational activities, preparing you for working in different educational settings and situations. You’ll also undertake mandatory safeguarding and Prevent Duty training as part of the module, which is required for you to undertake the placement module in semester two.

In this module, you’ll gain the core skills and strategies you need to succeed as a university student. You’ll build up knowledge of the subjects within your foundation year and learn how to turn critical reading into clear and successful undergraduate assignments. You’ll also learn effective study strategies, including:

• learning from lecture content
• taking part in seminars
• working and studying in group.

At the heart of this module on Global Issues is a deep concern for the future of people and the planet. You'll explore current global issues and will consider their causes and impacts. You'll be invited to reflect on how to drive the changes so urgently needed for a more equitable and sustainable future.

You'll explore three overarching areas: power, people and planet and will utilise the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UNESCO ESD competencies as a framework of reference. You'll also draw on theoretical models such as Systems Thinking and Futures Thinking that support a transformative learning approach to build the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competencies that you'll need to navigate and respond to today’s ‘super-wicked’ problems.

By the end of this module, you'll be empowered with key skills of resilience, empathy and hope that are vital for working towards a fairer, fitter future.

This module introduces you to the early years and childhood studies, considering the first five years of a child’s life as the most important for establishing a foundation for success in later life.

You will explore aspects of care and education, considering vital elements of attachment and routine to develop understanding of this subject area. Through comparing theory, practice, literature and your own personal reflections, you’ll develop your own understanding of the importance of early childhood as the foundation for lifelong success.

You’ll also have the opportunity to explore a range of careers that you could pursue with this foundational knowledge of early years and child development. Following this module, you’ll be well prepared to select your chosen route into either Early Childhood Studies, Education Studies or Primary Teacher Education.

In this module you'll build the real-life experience you need to succeed in your foundation studies and prepare you for undergraduate study.

You’ll gain hands-on experience by engaging with work placement opportunities in either an early years and childcare setting, or another organisation linked to education. Your time spent on placement will give you a foundation for applying theoretical knowledge to practise, and help you to develop professional skills in communication, organisation and time management, and reflection.

Placements run during semester two, where you'll spend a total of 24 days on placement.

This is your chance to work in the community and learn about education in real-life situations, whilst developing the basic level of professional skills and competencies you’ll need for placements on an undergraduate degree.

This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll gain the key skills you need to succeed as a university student, as you create, manage and complete your own research project. You’ll have one-to-one guidance from an expert academic supervisor in your chosen subject area who will support you to shape your research from your initial ideas through to your completed project.