Early Childhood Development (BTEC)

Your expertise, their growth

Learning about child development is vital for any professional working with children, whether that be within the education, health, or social care sectors. It gives you a background of the key theories which will inform all aspects of your understanding of how children develop from birth, up to the age of eight years.  

The course also provides learners the opportunity to understand aspects of education psychology in early years with links to the different approaches to play and how to meet the play needs of children.

CURRICULUM INFORMATION (Childcare)

WHAT WILL I BE STUDYING ON THE COURSE?

This course extended certificate  in Children’s play and learning development, introduces students to the knowledge and understanding of working with children especially early years.  It enables students to understand the different areas of child development, factors that  might influence it and opportunities to identify the expected pattern of development in children aged 0-8years.  The course also provides learners  the opportunity to understand aspects of education psychology in early years with links to the different approaches to play and how to meet the play needs of children.

The course consists of four units, three of which are mandatory of which two are externally assessed.

Year 12 - Two Units will be covered:

Unit 1 - Child Development

In this unit, you will learn about theories and models of development that explain how and why children develop and how this relates to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). You will develop an understanding of a range of factors that may influence children’s development, and consider the short- and long-term effects on their development.

Unit 5 - Keeping Children Safe

In this unit, you will look at the legislation, regulations and guidance relevant to health, safety and safeguarding. You will investigate approaches to creating safe and secure environments and policies and procedures to control and prevent the spread of infection. You will learn about types of abuse and how to recognise the signs that a child is at risk. 

Year 13 - Two Units will be covered:

Unit 2 - Development of Children's Communication, Numeracy and Literacy Skills 

In this unit, you will learn the sequence of children’s speech, communication, language, literacy and numeracy skills
development. You will plan stage appropriate activities that encourage children’s development and understanding by
stimulating their enthusiasm, and using exciting and interesting ways to enable them to find out more.

Unit 3 - Play and Learning

In this unit, you will learn about the types of play and the opportunities that should be made available to children at
different ages and stages of development. You will consider why play is so important and how it supports children’s
learning and development.

All students are expected to complete 50 hours of mandatory work placement in an early years setting.

WHAT WILL I BE DOING IN LESSONS?

Today’s BTEC Nationals will require commitment and hard work, as you would expect of the most respected applied learning qualification in the UK. You will have to complete a range of units, be organised, take some assessments that we will set and mark and undertake practical tasks and assignments. But you can feel proud to achieve a BTEC because, whatever your plans in life – whether you decide to study further, go on to work or an apprenticeship – your BTEC National will be your passport to success in the next stage of your life.

The following specification contains themes and topics which will form part of the course of study for the Pearson Level 3 Alternative Academic Qualification BTEC National in Early Childhood Development (Extended Certificate). The specification content must be covered in advance of exam series. Please be aware that the themes and topics in Unit 2: Keeping Children Safe may contain mentions of upsetting or difficult topics which are related to the subject, including references to the following:
• Child protection and welfare
• Safeguarding
• Child abuse; physical abuse and injury, neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, domestic abuse.

Students are given the opportunity to undertake a work placement whilst enrolled on this course. The work placement setting should be with children from birth up to eight years and support students with completion of Unit 4: Research and Reflective Practice in an Early Childhood Setting.

HOW WILL THE COURSE BE ASSESSED?

This course is assessed using a mixture of examinations and coursework.  Unit 1 and Unit 3 are examined, while units 2 and 4 are assessed with coursework and placement experience.  

Unit 1 and 2 are externally assessed. There are a total of 80 marks per paper. Students have two opportunities to resit these exams.

Unit 3 and 4 are assessed through summative controlled assessment completed electronically.

BTEC Nationals are widely recognised by higher education and industry as the vocational qualification of choice at Level 3. They provide students with meaningful and practical learning experiences across a range of career sectors to prepare them to progress to higher education as a route to graduate-level employment. Recent data has shown that one in five adults of working age in the UK has a BTEC qualification. What’s more, well over 90,000 BTEC students apply to UK universities every year and their BTEC Nationals are accepted by over 150 UK universities and other higher education institutions for relevant degree programmes either on their own or in combination with A Levels.

WHICH OTHER SUBJECTS GO WELL WITH Childcare?

The qualification is designed to be taken alongside A Levels as part of a study programme and can link to learning in A Levels in Sociology, Psychology, Biology and English. It is intended for students that wish to progress into higher education as a pathway to employment.

AND AFTER THE COURSE?

If you complete a Level 3 qualification successfully you could achieve up to the equivalent to 3 A 'levels which will enable you to progress to Higher Education. Alternatively, you could seek employment in schools, nurseries, day nurseries, playgroups and other related fields.

What further learning will this qualification lead to?
• Nursing – BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing, Nursing – Child – BSc (Hons)
• Teacher Training – Childhood and Early Years Studies BA (Hons)
• Social Work – BA (Hons) Social Work
• Psychology – Psychology BSc (Hons)

What is the qualification worth?

• This qualification is equivalent to one A Level.  It may be studied alongside two A Levels as part of our available Academic Pathways.

  BTEC Grade	UCAS Points	A Level Equivalent Grade
  Distinction*	56	A*
  Distinction	48	A
  Merit	32	C
  Pass	8	D/E (AS Level)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CHILDCARE

Q: What's the difference between A level and BTEC business?
A: The A level course is assessed with external exams at the end of the two year course.  The BTEC is assessed in January and June in each year of study by a combination of internally assessed assignments and exams.

Q: What's the difference between the single and the double?
A: The single (Extended Certificate) is equivalent to one A level and has 58% examined content.  At the end of the course you'll be awarded one grade of Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction*.  These are UCAS point equivalent to A level grades E, C, A and A* respectively.

The double (Diploma) is equivalent to two A levels and has 45% examined content.  At the end of the course, you'll be awarded two grades ranging from Pass Pass to Distinction* Distinction*.

Q: What are the exams like?
A: Assessment is specifically designed to fit the purpose and objective of the qualification. It includes a range of assessment types and styles suited to vocational qualifications in the sector. There are three main forms of assessment: external, internal and synoptic.  You can read about these three in the Specification.

Q: What areas of Childcare are covered?
A: Key topic areas are Children's development; Keeping Children Safe; Play and Learning and Research and Reflective Practice..

Q: Do universities accept BTECs?
A: All universities accept BTECs (apart from Oxford and Cambridge).

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