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Just out of intrest how many people on early years courses?

61 replies

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 10:23

Ive noticed a lot of people on here have questions about early years courses.

So how many of us are there? and what levels are we working towards?

Maybe we should start a thread and pool our knowledge (especially about piaget I hate that man!)

I am currently working towards a level 4 and (if I pass touch wood!) will start level 5 next year.

Just being nosey really

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
ellingwoman · 11/05/2008 10:26

I'm possibly going to start one next year, although I haven't signed up yet. I'm just finishing my NVQ3 TA course and feel flushed with success!

I will be looking out for advice and encouragement!

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 10:31

its hard work but I love it! hoping to take it up to level 6 but it is hard with a four year old! Well encourage each other!

Only advice keep your development file up to date. I didnt its due in on wed and im having to fake it and belive me faking a years worth of books, websites and lessons is hard work!

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Lazylou · 11/05/2008 10:33

I am! I'm 4 weeks off the end of Level 5 having finished Level 4 last year. DS is due in less than 3 weeks now, so it's a race against time to get it all finished and done before then otherwise I won't be graduating in July!

(I hate Piaget too lol)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Lazylou · 11/05/2008 10:34

Oh and I second what dylanthecat says about the development file. That wasn't much fun filling ti from scratch within 2 weeks

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 10:40

Hope you dont have him early Lazylou! Are you going back for level6?

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Lazylou · 11/05/2008 10:50

Not this year . I want to do teaching rather than EYPS, so I am going to take a year off of uni whilst we settle down with DS and DD settles into her first year at school, but I am going to go and do GCSE maths once a week at evening college because whether I do teaching or EYPS, you need to have it. I'm planning on going back next September if I can get a place at the same uni.

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 10:53

Im hoping to do a pgce at the end of all this it just seems such a long way off!

chose this way of doing it because I can work while I get a degree

My college let you take a year off but anylonger than that and they make you start again!

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ellingwoman · 11/05/2008 10:55

How long did it take you both to get level 4 and level 5?

Can you do it at your own pace or is there, say, a 2-year limit?

Lazylou · 11/05/2008 10:59

We were told that we could finish the FD and then if we wanted to do the top up, the uni allocate places to those going from the college. There are only 30 allocated places though and about 35 who want to go and do it, so in a way, I feel like I'm doing one of them a favour! I can re-register at the uni whenever I want, but whether I get a place or not will be a different thing. I'm hoping that I can get a place based on doing my FD with them and even if I have to go part time to start with, then that will be better than not going back at all.

Some uni's make you give up your FD to do the BA so if you don't finish the BA, you lose your FD. I'm hoping that by going to the same uni, (we don't have to give up our FD there) even if I don't finish the rest of it, I will still have my FD.

I really, really want to go this year but I think it is going to be too much atm. Plus I have studied continuously from the time DD was born, doing level 3 and then this, that I feel I missed out a lot with her and I dont want to make the same mistake with DS.

Which uni are you at? Is it an FD you are doing as well?

Lazylou · 11/05/2008 11:01

Hi Ellingwoman.

It has taken 2 years for me to get to the end of this course, but that was because I opted for college/uni rather than OU. I need discipline, otherwise I would get nothing done. I know of some people who are doing it over three years but to me that was too long, so I have crammed it all into 2 years. It's been tough, but its been worth it.

If you go with the OU, I think you can do it at your own pace, although I'm not sure. My OU experience is limited and learnt only through MN

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 11:01

1 acidemic (sorry cant spell) year per level (so about nine months).3 years to get to level 6 you cant go at your own pace and Im in colege 2 nights a week and some saturdays, plus they expect you to do 15 hours a week independant study. Dont know when they expect you to sleep when you have a job as well!

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dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 11:04

Im at newcastle college but you get the degree from leeds met you?

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Lazylou · 11/05/2008 11:04

Yep, ours is similar. College once a week and one Saturday a month. Full time course squeezed into part time hours. I don't do the whole 15 hours at home thing, but whilst writing my dissertation at the moment, I am certainly glued to this chair a lot more than I would normally be!

Lazylou · 11/05/2008 11:05

I'm at Roehampton. We went there for a school trip in the sixth form and I wanted to go there forever, it was just coincidence that the college I went to ran it from there.

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 11:07

The fd used to be 3 years this is the first year of 2 so now it takes the same amount of time as full time. Whats your dissertation about apparently we are already ment to be thinking about it

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ellingwoman · 11/05/2008 11:11

Right. It looks like a lot of time and commitment needed. I think I will investigate the options available and leave it a year. I certainly couldn't devote that sort of time at the moment. Possibly I'm too late for enrolment anyway. I may just do a computer course next year or something not too brain thirsty!

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 11:15

I didnt enrole untill right at the last moment I did it on the spur of the moment but if I had thought about it the work load would have put me off

You should just go for it! Who needs sleep anyway?! It really is worth while doing

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Lazylou · 11/05/2008 11:16

The question is something along the lines of: How does the outdoor area of a private day nursery setting support the imaginative play of children aged three and four years old.

It is waaaaay boring but I didn't think it through beforehand and in the end, just had to choose something before the proposals were done.

If I were you, I would seriously consider the areas you might want to look at and have a browse on the net to see if there is enough information on the subject. Talk it through with your tutors and when you have identified a direction you want to go with it, start collecting information and file it away until you start to actually do the research.

We had lots of trouble with our college and this dissertation business. They told us at the end of year 1 that we had all through year 2 to do it, then changed the goalposts and said they wanted it done by Feb. We argued with them and eventually, after 3 or 4 attempts, we got it pushed back right until the end so it is the last thing going in now!

I've set myself 3 weeks to do it in, because of the imminent arrival of DS, so I am spending most of my time writing up and doing reading that I should have done months ago. Seriously, don't leave it til the last minute, especially with LO's around!

You need to find something that isn't too big to research too. There's a good book I bought to help with the planning and implementation of the research, which might help as a starting point. It is quite basic imo so you ight need to back it up with other books, but it was worth the money. It's called 'Doing your early years research project' and is by Guy Roberts-Holmes (2005 I think).

Have you got any ideas as to what you want to look at?

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 11:22

no i have no ideas! not even general ones! dont have to do it untill the 3rd year though but I do need to think about it

Its too big if you know what i mean so like my development file im hiding from it and hoping it will go away!

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Lazylou · 11/05/2008 11:54

It won't trust me! You'll end up like me, rushing to get it all done in time now!

MiaWallace · 11/05/2008 13:56

I'm doing a BA Education Studies but want to teach foundation/ks1, so my module choices are generally early years.

I hate Piaget but hate Bruner more

dylanthecat · 11/05/2008 15:25

everybody hates Piaget and you cant get away from him!

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dylsmum1998 · 11/05/2008 16:26

hi, i'm doing BA (hons)Childhood studies
at canterbury christchurch uni.

i hate piaget- just do not get it at all. also have total name bloke so can partially describe theories but be buggered if i can remmeber who wrote them tis not boding well as my exam on them is in less than a fortnight!

dylsmum1998 · 11/05/2008 16:27

block not bloke although if they were all called by the same name i couldnt get it wrong could i

ChocolateRockingHorse · 11/05/2008 16:28

Am doing a BA in Childhood and Youth Studies but current course is about teenagers/young people.

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