Early Years

Cardinal Newman College's work-based Early Years Foundation Degree is designed for  anyone who is working or is interested in working with children from 0-5 years within the Early Years Foundation Stage or children of this age in other settings or with children and young people with SEND. We encourage students to try to gain as much experience as possible working with children across this age range throughout the course.

All learning, teaching and assessment is related to student’s experiences in the workplace, so we expect students to be working or volunteering in a role relevant to this degree for at least one day a week throughout the course.  This practical experience is extremely valuable to support classroom study and graduate progression opportunities. We provide assistance and guidance where if required to find student work placements.

The Early Years Foundation degree is especially designed and delivered to support all students to develop and build their academic and their practical knowledge and skills.  This approach is particularly useful if you are returning to education after a break as well as serving as a fantastic introduction to the academic expectations of Higher Education for those who have more recently studied.

The Early Years Foundation Degree is a full-time, work-based degree,  delivered in college every Wednesday, term time only, from 1pm to 7.30pm, for 33 weeks each year. Students will study at level 4 in year one and at level 5 in year two. 

One of the most distinctive and valuable features of this degree is that students work or volunteer alongside studying, in a role that supports children in an educational context. Not only does this make undergraduate study accessible for people who want to or need to remain in employment  but also supports all teaching, learning and assessment as the curriculum is designed to enhance and relate to student's own practice.  

On the Early Years Foundation Degree, there are no examinations. You will be assessed through a combination of strategies including essays, reports, individual and group presentations, case studies, research reports and work-based assignments. By using a variety of different assessment methods we aim to enable the development of key transferable skills into the workplace.

We operate a flexible admissions policy for our Foundation Degrees and treat all prospective students as individuals. Our typical offer is two A levels, two BTEC’s or NVQ together with GCSE maths and English grade C (4) or above or an equivalent qualification and a clear Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS). We will take into consideration all prospective student’s learning / educational achievements, the application as a whole, work experience and the personal statement.

Mature students without traditional qualifications may be accepted on the basis of previous academic, professional, vocational or experiential learning, known as Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) 

From 2025, the course fees will be £6,185 per annum and tuition fee loans are available for this course, plus other maintenance loans depending on individual eligibility. Further information and guidance is available on our website Support & Fees for University Courses or from the Student Loans Company Student Loans Company – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For more information about the Foundation Degree in Early Years, please contact Assistant Principal HE and T Levels, Kathy Salisbury  - ksalisbury@cardinalnewman.ac.uk

Apply Online for Early Years FD