Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Applied Early Years Studies (Top up)

at University of Bedfordshire - Bedford Campus United Kingdom

Coaching is a great way to express your passion for sport. Great Britain is now seen as a leading competitor in world sport and there are increasing opportunities to make a career out of coaching. There has never been a better time to become a coach.

This course offers you the opportunity to specialise in the academic study of sports coaching, gaining the qualifications and practical skills to be a successful coach.

It combines a thorough understanding of sport and exercise science with knowledge of the range of roles and contexts within which a coach works. Theoretical, vocational and practical elements are included to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of sport science, which underpins coaching practice.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from internationally-recognised staff in the fields of science, exercise and sport
• Study a challenging and enjoyable course which prepares you for employment – 90% of students in work/study 6 months after finishing
• Gain from the opportunity to work with staff who were closely involved with the London 2012 Olympic Games and interact with support services for elite and top-class athletes
• Develop your skills through coaching in partnership with local clubs and teams
• Explore the development of sporting participation or ‘sport for sports sake’ (at all levels) and the role and delivery of sport as a social instrument for change
• Benefit from using state-of-the-art facilities including muscle cell and molecular biology labs for a range of sports science experiments and studies

If your ambition is to enter an Early Years profession and you have a Foundation Degree or equivalent, this top-up course will bring you up to a full Honours degree in just one year.

The Applied Early Years Studies BA (Hons) is a top-up (progression) course which builds on knowledge and skills gained from a previous relevant Foundation Degree or a similar 240-credit course.

Your studies take a whole-child approach to learning; early education; the needs of the child; and child development within the family and society, locally and globally. Your learning builds on your experience in the workplace and the course content adapts to suit your interests and circumstances.

 Why choose this course?

• Develop your understanding of the importance of education research and enquiry
• Choose a research dissertation topic and carry out research in your own area
• Gain practical skills by undertaking work placements
• Benefit from a course that provides a clear route into a professional graduate role, through Early Years teacher status, Primary initial teacher training or leadership and management

An inspirational primary school teacher can help young children make sense of their world and prepare them for life in the 21st century. This course, with recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), equips you with the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to take on this important role.

With this DfE-accredited degree, you learn through taught sessions and supported teaching practice, where you are encouraged to apply the theory you have learnt in areas such as child development, teaching and learning.

Mentors and University liaison tutors support you while on placement as you begin to develop the core skills for teaching children aged 5-11. You start with one-to-one and small-group teaching practice before moving on to whole-class teaching. A placement coordinator provides briefings, support meetings and guidance as well as overseeing target setting and CEDP completion.

Units include literacy and reading; mathematics and science; meeting the needs of individual children; multidimensional classrooms; planning for learning across subjects; and exploring core subjects.

Why choose this course?

• Gain hands-on experience of teaching via three teaching placements: one per year, each in a different term to give a good insight into the whole academic year
• Take up three ‘Broadening Experience’ placements (one per year) in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) so you know where children have come from; at Key Stage 3 (KS3) so you know where they are going on to; and a final personalised placement
• Work with experienced tutors with a wealth of experience in building trainee competence and confidence across all subjects
• Learn to teach a reflective, reactive curriculum, with sessions responsive to the needs of individual cohorts, helping to ensure progression in skills, knowledge and experience
• Develop leadership and management skills, along with an ability to communicate effectively with children, parents/carers, colleagues and other professionals
• Benefit from conference days with guest speakers talking on subjects ranging from employability to SEND provision, wellbeing to lesson planning
• Take learning outside the classroom with trips to places of educational interest such as local museums and our Forest School

The University of Bedfordshire and the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity are focussed on promoting football and developing students’ understanding of the variety of ways the football industry impacts on society.

The course offers you a broad overview of the football industry, while allowing you to focus on a specific area. Following a common first year you can choose to specialize in one of the following areas: football’s business environment; football development; and football coaching. You will conduct a detailed study of the sports industry sector as a whole. If you aspire to become a qualified football coach, the programme will give you the opportunity to gain recognised awards, such as the FA Coaching Level 1 and 2.

You will study the how impact of the Premier League and Football League clubs goes beyond the economic impact and encompasses investment in facilities and you will explore how community programmes supported by the Premier League in schools and disadvantaged areas has reached a significant scale and the impact of this.

The rapid growth of the football sector has created opportunities to become a sports professional in an expanding, borderless industry. Football is one of the most important industries in the UK in  terms of interest, participation and consumer spending. This course has been developed to reflect the growing complexity of the football market. The courses offer students the chance to enhance their employability by equipping them with the knowledge and higher-level skills demanded of a career in a global sport industry.

On this course you will be taught by top class professionals within the field. Your academics have a wide research portfolio, working with governing bodies such as the FA, UEFA and FIFA, and a variety of individuals from specific professional football teams, who will enable the students to get a deep understanding of this every changing industry.

Why choose this course?

Graduating with an LLB from the University of Bedfordshire is the first step on your journey towards becoming a solicitor or a barrister as well as a range of other professional opportunities.

The LLB (Hons) Law is the undergraduate degree for all students wishing to pursue a career in law.

During your degree, you will explore the latest developments in legal practice. In addition to the core subjects all LLB undergraduates are required to study, you will have the opportunity to study a range of specialist optional units including medical law and ethics; family and child law; immigration and asylum law; aviation law; commercial law; and international law.

Teaching is delivered by a dedicated team with professional experience in the legal industry. In-class teaching is supported by a range of fantastic extra-curricular opportunities including our Law Clinic; our award-winning Refugee Legal Assistance Project; and our mooting programme.

Our law graduates leave us as articulate and knowledgeable individuals with a range of transferable skills, ready to pursue a career in law, management, human resources, the civil service and public sector, education, and many other areas.

All our LLB courses satisfy the requirements set by the Bar Standards Board for the academic component of Bar training. For further information, go to the Bar Standards Board website here.

Why choose this course?

• Study law within its broader economic, social, political, historical, ethical and cultural environment
• Develop your advocacy skills in our modern Moot Court, giving you confidence in a realistic setting
• Explore your ability to present arguments in a persuasive and authoritative way
• Gain skills in critical analysis, research, teamwork, use of language and argument, and the ability to work and learn independently
• Benefit from the option to obtain an additional qualification, the Higher Diploma in Paralegal Practice, accredited by the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP).

This course is designed for recent graduates who are looking to develop their career in physical education teaching or youth sport coaching.

It will support you in developing the knowledge and skills required to progress to teacher education and/or higher-level employment. It will deepen your critical understanding of the issues facing professionals in physical education and sport settings.

The course undertakes a research-informed and practice-based theory approach. Many of the units require you to draw on observations and activities in work-related environments in order to link experience and theoretical learning.

MA Physical Education and Sport (Pedagogy) is a rigorously designed and intellectually demanding professional education and development programme.

It is studied in order to become a more effective and reflective teacher or coach in school, club and other community settings. Each unit is grounded in the most recent developments in research on physical education, sport pedagogy and youth sport, and draws on your practical experience.

We use intensive, compressed teaching time combined with flexible off-site guided learning to fit around your work in a school or youth sport setting.

This course will also provide the advanced knowledge and research training required for direct access to higher degrees by research (MPhil/ PhD).

Why choose this course?

• Study in a supportive environment, on a course covering a unique combination of topics designed to integrate research with current physical education policy and practice
• Develop an advanced and critical understanding of pedagogy and practice for social justice and youth voice; sport and education policy; action research; and public health concerns in physical education and youth sport environments
• Gain the necessary personal competencies, applied practical skill-sets and subject expertise to become a theoretically informed and reflective practitioner
• Gain a grounding in the theoretical study of physical education and sport pedagogy in your practical workplace experience.
• Develop your personal and professional network and benefit from our links with schools, Sport England, Governing Bodies, and Active Partnerships
• Receive support from peer mentors who are studying on our MA Physical Education and Sport (Leadership) course
• Exchange knowledge with aspiring graduates in sport, physical activity and health industries/institutions by attending units that will also include students from our other MA and MSc courses.
• Gain experience of working with young people, practitioners and employers to investigate and analyse real problems and develop the ability to develop innovative solutions
• Undertake a semester long research project on a chosen topic, working in a physical education, sport or physical activity environment of your choice
• Study using range of learning activities including lectures, seminars, practicals, problem-based-learning and tutorials
• Learn from a team who have a wide range of academic expertise and experience in specific subject areas including critical pedagogy, youth voice, models-based practice, policy, leadership, and the sociology of sport.
• Gain insights from experts through the seminar series coordinated by the Institute of Sport and Physical Activity Research (ISPAR)

This bespoke top up course is for you if you have completed a related foundation degree or HND and wish to gain a full bachelor’s degree in one year.

You will gain deeper understanding of sport science and coaching as well as relevant experience through work placements/internships at sports organisations, schools and within a coaching environment, preparing you for a successful career.

By linking closely to your previous studies and work experience it provides seamless progression to university-level study with the added benefit of a targeted initial induction and a week-long summer school to help support your academic development.

Why choose this course?

• Study key areas of sport science (coaching) including coaching for performance, sports physiology and psychology as well as research methods and employability units.
• Develop your coaching skills and build partnerships with local sports clubs and teams with help from our excellent links with industry including Sport England and the Football Association.
• Learn from our team of experts in fitness, personal training and strength and conditioning.
• Gain a sound training, skills and knowledge of sport science (coaching) together with the transferrable skills needed for a range of careers.
• Build your employability through relevant work placement/internships at sports organisations, schools and within a coaching environment where you can also carry out a research project.
• Benefit from specialist teaching laboratories and sports facilities at our School of Sports Science and Physical Activity as well as world-class teaching from a team with research expertise in environmental physiology, health and metabolism and movement within sports science field.

If your love of the English language is matched only by your fascination for the breadth of its literature this distinctive degree is an ideal choice.

Develop a sophisticated understanding of both the language and a variety of texts from core periods of literary history – from the medieval to the present day, with the opportunity to take units focused on central issues in the study of English language.

You will examine a range of key texts in literary and linguistic history, and a choice of specialist units will further deepen your appreciation of English literature across genres and eras.

• Learn valuable transferable skills on a course combining theory and practice
• Study areas including creative writing, publishing and broadcasting and translation and interpretation
• Develop your knowledge and understanding of literature whilst learning practical skills relevant to teaching and many other careers where a detailed, critical knowledge of language and literature are needed
• Gain from studying with academics who produce world-leading, internationally recognised research
• Explore the Hockcliffe Collection, one of the most important collections of children’s books in the country
• Benefit from a course which prepares you for a range of careers in teaching, editing, publishing, journalism, business, travel and tourism, or further postgraduate study

Find your individual voice and put your passion into practice on a course that will see you graduate as a versatile and highly employable dance artist, ready to forge a portfolio career within the dance sector.

The course comprises daily technique classes including contemporary, ballet and commercial; fitness sessions; choreography and creative sessions; workshops in digital technologies, dance-teaching skills and community dance practices. You will also be encouraged to think, write and talk about how dance theory informs your work.

There are many opportunities to perform in works by professional choreographers for the University Dance Company, as well as works created by your fellow students. Performances are presented in our professional theatre.

The emphasis is on professional practice, technical competence, creativity and teamwork, a combination that supports students to be versatile, adaptable and employable.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from our highly experienced teaching team specialising in different areas of dance
• Develop your skills through visiting dance artists and choreographers
• Create your own work for performance, including a major piece for the annual student showcase and dance festival
• Gain performance experience in our up-to-the-minute dance studios and professional 280-seat theatre
• Explore extra-curricular activities including cultural exchanges, dance societies and trips
• Take up opportunities for internships and participation in external dance projects

There is a growing demand for people with specialist skills in the area of special educational needs and disability (SEND). This one-year course - specifically for those who have completed a relevant Foundation Degree or higher education qualification - enables you to top up to a full degree and prepares you to develop your career within SEND settings.

Develop your existing knowledge of contemporary theories, policy and practices in SEND, using your own experience of working with children in a variety of educational settings including residential, special and mainstream schools.

Explore the complexity of defining inclusive practice; child development; the barriers to development and learning that some children face; and understanding SEND in the context of family and society, locally and globally.

There is a strong focus on using your workplace to provide context and practical application.

Why choose this course?

• Gain a strong knowledge base in special educational needs and disability studies from a variety of professional perspectives
• Develop your own individual academic and work interests, linking your current practice to your developing theoretical understanding
• Learn the importance of educational research and enquiry, and carry out research in your specialist area
• Benefit from a course that prepares you to work in multi-disciplinary education and care teams, able to take on leadership and management roles within a SEND setting
• Challenge yourself with further study to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS); GSCE grades A-C in maths, English and science (or equivalent) are required