Program Overview

Children and Young People FdA

Course Description

This professional qualification is valued by employers. We’ll help you to become a more confident, knowledgeable and effective practitioner working with children, young people and their families. The course enables those already working, or wanting to work with children and young people aged 0–25, to further develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. You can choose a specialist pathway* relevant to your interests: Early Years, Early Years with Practitioner Status, Teaching Assistant, or Special Educational Needs. You’ll need to be working or volunteering in the sector two days per week and have 48 UCAS points from A level or equivalent qualifications.

Study Options

• Full-time: 2 years
• Part-time: 3 years

Start Date

• September

Location

• Buxton & Leek College (Buxton/Leek Campus)

How You Will Learn

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

How You're Assessed

• There are no exams.

Careers

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
• BA (Hons) Education Studies
• BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs and Disability

In recent years, many of our graduates have continued on to a teacher training course and are now teaching.

Fees and Funding

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

How to Apply

• Please look at our application deadlines before you apply.
• Our undergraduate and postgraduate course pages will show the intakes that are available and open to applications. It's best to apply early so you can secure your place and beat the rush.
• Once we have received your application and supporting documents (such as qualifications or references), we will review it and contact you within 4 weeks to let you know if you have been successful or not.
• Our aim is to support all students to have the best possible opportunities to succeed and so our application and enrolment deadlines are in place to ensure you stand the best chance of doing so.
• Joining the programme later may harm your chances of success on your course. It is therefore vital that you take note of the dates and ensure you submit your completed application and subsequent enrolment in time.

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.