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BSc (Hons) Childhood Development

BSc (Hons) Childhood Development

Overview:

What influences development and why do children behave the way they do? On this Childhood Development degree, you’ll explore key issues in children’s development, learning and behaviour, from a range of perspectives.

You’ll learn about cognitive, biological, social, and emotional development throughout childhood and adolescence. You’ll recognise the complex influences that shape the lives of children and adolescents, including how play affects children’s development and motivation.

A key element of the Childhood Development course is the opportunity to gain a short period of hands-on experience working with children and adolescents in a range of settings, including schools, child and family welfare charities, and youth justice.

You’ll be offered clinical experience on campus and will have the opportunity to undertake short courses and work placements, as well as completing additional qualifications such as Safeguarding Children (Level 1).

Typical A-Level Offer
CCC to exclude General Studies (this is equivalent to 96 UCAS tariff points).

Typical Welsh BACC Offer
Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and CC at A Level to exclude General Studies (this is equivalent to 96 UCAS tariff points).

Typical BTEC Offer
BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Merit (this is equivalent to 96 UCAS tariff points).

Typical Access to HE Offer
Pass the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points

Additional Requirements
GCSEs: The College normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances

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Entry Requirements

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions. WFC prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access College. Here is a link to our Contextual Admissions Policy.

Other qualifications and experience

We can also consider combinations of qualifications and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable. We can sometimes consider credits achieved at other universities and your work/life experience through an assessment of prior learning. This may be for year one entry, or advanced entry to year two or three of a course where this is possible.

To find out which qualifications have tariff points, please refer to the UCAS tariff calculator.

If you need more help or information or would like to speak to our friendly admissions team, please contact us here

 

Additional Requirements

A satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check may be required depending on your placement.

WHAT YOU WILL STUDY

The Childhood Development course offers students the unique opportunity to explore the psychological factors that influence development from birth to late adolescence. It addresses current psychological understandings of both childhood and adolescence and how these help to explain both typical and atypical development across this early but crucial part of the lifespan. The Childhood Development  degree will also include an exploration of current key legislation and policy that influences and shapes practices when working with children and adolescents, e.g. Safeguarding Legislation. Students on this course will both explore how professionals work with children and young people and critically review the role of psychological development in the development of such practices.

You can also undertake a sandwich year placement, which provides you with the opportunity to spend a year working in a professional setting between the second and third year of your degree. This provides you with a fantastic opportunity to develop your employability skills while engaging with the community and building on the knowledge and experience of your degree.

Year One: Childhood Development Degree

  • Historical and Conceptual Issues of Childhood and Adolescence
  • Working Therapeutically with Children and Young People
  • The Development of Children and Young People

Year Two: Childhood Development Degree

  • Researching Children and Young People
  • Professional Practice and Employability (requires satisfactory DBS check)
  • Therapeutic Interventions with Children and Young People
  • Children and Young People: Policy and Contemporary Practices
  • Critical Perspectives of Childhood and Adolescent Development

Year Three: Childhood Development Degree

  • Independent practical project
  • Critical reflections on child and adolescent psychopathology
  • Development in childhood and adolescence

Plus two options from the list below:

  • The Psychology of Education and Work
  • Health Psychology Across the Lifespan
  • Practical Skills in Behaviour Analysis

Foundation Year

The BSc (Hons) Childhood Development is also available as a four year course including an integrated Foundation Year in Social Sciences, and is designed for students who do not currently meet admissions criteria for direct entry onto the degree. You will start by completing a foundation year, which provides well-structured support, allowing you to develop your skills and knowledge before continuing onto the three year degree programme.

Teaching

The BSc (Hons) Childhood Development degree is delivered through lectures, seminars, workshops, individual / small group supervision and independent study. You will also have the opportunity to attend guest lectures given by academic staff from other institutions and professionals who work in different areas of practice.

You will complete a range of different class activities including group discussions, debates, case studies and in-class projects. You will experience a great range of delivery and assessment methods.

Our academic staff are involved in research, so you’ll be taught by staff at the forefront of their specialist fields. 

Assessment

You will complete a range of assessments including essays, practical reports, oral presentations, story bags and case studies. These will also be some examination assessments (seen and unseen) and in-class tests.

COURSE DETAILS

Placements
Practical work placements are a compulsory part of our Childhood Development course, plus there are internship opportunities available in all years of study.

Psychology Plus aims to enhance your skills and give you an advantage in the graduate jobs market or applications for further study. You’ll have the opportunity to gain clinical experience in our on campus clinic, and complete specialist short courses, professional certificates and work placements – altogether a great boost to your CV. 

Our Behaviour Analysis Clinic specialises in treating the behavioural challenges associated with a wide range of disorders, including autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, and conduct disorder.

Facilities
We have purpose-built psychology laboratories where you can develop your practical psychology skills.

A range of tools are available,including eye-tracking equipment and electroencephalography (EEG) machines. There are also interview and observation rooms that you can use to conduct experiments and tests.

The College was the first institution in the UK to offer a wide range of psychological services to the public. Our Behaviour Analysis Clinic specialises in treating the behavioural challenges associated with a wide range of disorders, including autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, and conduct disorder.

Additional Requirements

We also welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications. Please visit the country specific pages on our international website for exact details.

English Requirements
In general, international applicants will need to have achieved an overall IELTS grade of 6.0 with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component.

However, if you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, but please visit the country specific page on our international website for exact details. If your country is not featured please contact us.

CAREERS

In addition to gaining theoretical knowledge around key stages of the developing child and adolescent, the BSc (Hons) Childhood Development degree will also develop a range of practical skills and engage in placement based activities, which will give you both the knowledge and tools to work with children and young people in a variety of settings.

Your Childhood Development degree will open the door to a range of exciting career opportunities across many settings, including youth work, nurseries and early years settings, schools and charities / third sector organisations. There are a range of professional qualifications that this course will help prepare you for, such as Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Youth and Community Work and teaching qualifications.

Our Careers and Employability Service
As a WFC Childhood Development student, you will have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate.

This includes: one-to-one appointments from faculty based Career Advisers, in person, over the phone or even on Skype and through email via the “Ask a Question” service. We also have extensive online resources for help with considering your career options and presenting yourself well to employers. Resources include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, interview simulator and application help. Our employer database has over 2,000 registered employers targeting WFC students, you can receive weekly email alerts for jobs.

Our Careers service has dedicated teams: A central work experience team to help you find relevant placements; an employability development team which includes an employability programme called Grad Edge; and an Enterprise team focused on new business ideas and entrepreneurship.

Fees

Full time

Complete your degree in the shortest possible time and study flexibly – when and where suits you!
 

£7,250

You’ll study 9 modules in total (approx. 37 hrs/week).

Part time option one

Study for a degree whilst fitting it around your work, care and other life commitments.
 

£4,250

You’ll study 6 modules per year (approx. 25 hrs/week).

Part time option two

Take time to study and spread the tuition fees over a longer period – at no extra cost.
 

£5,500

You’ll study 4–5 modules per year (approx. 19 hrs/week).

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