Program Overview

BA (Honours) Children and Childhoods with Foundation Year

Course Summary

Develop your knowledge, skills, and confidence to work with children, young people, and families, engaging with diverse communities, challenging inequality, and transforming people's lives.

How You Learn

You'll be taught by academics with specialist knowledge and expertise in a range of areas – from psychology and early years to teaching and counselling. You'll collaborate with your tutors to model and create inclusive teaching and learning strategies and environments, and be supported to challenge accepted ideas and practices.

Modules

Year 1

• Contemporary Issues In Inclusive Education: Examine several contemporary themes and issues relevant to education across the life course, develop a questioning approach to education, and develop academic skills for a successful transition into higher education.
• Introduction To Inclusive Education, Childhood And Psychology: Examine approaches to education, childhood, and psychology to promote inclusion and social justice, and develop academic skills required to support successful transition into higher education.
• Children As Communicators And Thinkers: Develop an awareness of the development of communication and literacy skills and the impact of this on thinking, learning, and participation in childhood.
• Introduction To Children And Childhoods: Introduce key theories and concepts related to children and young people's holistic development and learning, considering the influence of historical and societal factors throughout childhood.
• Learning To Learn: Explore practice associated with effective learning and development, and develop knowledge and understanding of the processes of learning and the importance of reflection and developing independence and autonomy in learning.
• Practice To Keep Children Healthy And Safe: Explore the health, wellbeing, and safety of children, and equip students to evaluate the wider public health agenda, national trends, supporting legislation, and policy and procedures.

Year 2

• Play And Enabling Environments: Develop knowledge and understanding of the pedagogy of play and the importance of enabling and inclusive environments and spaces in childhood.
• Responding To Childhood Adversities: Explore the impact and interplay of individual and societal factors on a child's learning, development, wellbeing, and outcomes, and consider the influences of a range of adverse childhood experiences.
• Autism: Reflect on how children's behavior is conceptualized, experienced, and responded to as 'challenging' in relation to autism, and consider the role of communication skills within this process.
• Forest Schools: Focus on a critical analysis of national and international approaches to outdoor learning and sustainability through an experiential approach, within the context of childhood and adult education.
• Introduction To Counselling Skills: Introduce students to the discipline of counselling and different theoretical approaches, and consider the importance of the therapeutic relationship and whether contemporary developments assist or detract from the relationship.
• School And The Curriculum: Explore the current issues and debates active within education, and help students consider their attributes as potential future practitioners.
• Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages: Combine online learning, workshops, observations, and practical teaching experiences to develop the knowledge and skills to effectively teach English to speakers of other languages.
• Trauma Informed Practice: Support students to develop knowledge of underpinning research on trauma, attachment, social engagement, and relational pedagogies for children and young people, and promote an understanding of how to create mentally healthy environments and support individuals to overcome barriers to learning and wellbeing.
• Working With Professionals: Deliver an immersive work experience working alongside an employer or organization in a short placement, so that students can appraise their own values and motivations in context of the world of work, considering inclusivity and industry sector values.

Year 3

• Global And Contemporary Issues: Explore a range of local and international societal, historical, and systemic issues within education, childhood, and inclusion within a wider community of learning.
• Learning And Wellbeing In Childhood: Build on knowledge and understanding gained at level four and level five to consider the adult role in supporting development, learning, and wellbeing in childhood, and explore approaches and strategies used in health, education, and care.
• Project: Build on professional and academic skills and knowledge developed throughout the course, and critically reflect on values and skills in the context of the world of work, considering inclusivity and industry sector values.
• Working In Partnership With Children And Families: Develop knowledge and understanding of policy and practice relating to working in partnership with families and professionals, and the professional skills required to work effectively with a range of stakeholders.

Future Careers

This course prepares you to progress into a career in:

• Education
• Family liaison
• Counselling
• Social work
• Youth work
• Mental health work

Some of these careers require further postgraduate training, such as the following Hallam courses:

• Post Graduate Certificate in Education
• MA in Education
• MA in Art Psychotherapy Practice

Equipment and Facilities

We've invested over £100m in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries, modern cafes, and study spaces designed by our students.

Most of our teaching is conducted in person at our City Campus, right in the heart of Sheffield.

You'll have access to industry-standard teaching facilities and equipment, such as our Early Childhood Studies classroom.

Where Will I Study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars, and practical sessions, as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

Entry Requirements

• UCAS points: 64
• GCSE: English Language at grade C or 4 or equivalent, Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalent
• ACCESS: Access to HE Diploma, with at least 45 level 3 credits

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent.

Fees and Funding

• Home students: Tuition fees for 2026/27 are not yet confirmed. Our tuition fee for UK students on this course in 2025/26 is £5,760 for the foundation year and £9,535 per year for the degree (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year).
• International students: Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2026/27 is £18,000 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year)