Early Years Initial Teacher Training: Graduate Employment Based Route

This course is no longer accepting applications. The next entry will be 2023.

Working as an early years teacher is a rewarding and challenging career and you can make a real difference to young children’s development and life chances. This part time training programme is designed for graduates employed in early years settings who wish to extend their teaching skills with children from birth to five years and develop their knowledge of early childhood learning and development. Your employer must be in full support of your application.

Why study Early Years Initial Teacher Training: Graduate Employment Based Route at Middlesex University?

This one year part time training route enables you to work towards Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) whilst being employed in an early years setting. In addition to the role that you have with children in your workplace, you will have the opportunity to extend your knowledge and skills through placement experiences to fully meet the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) by the end of your training programme.

We recognise that as an employed-based student you will have unique training needs and we will work with you to create an individual training plan in consultation with your employer. We emphasise the importance of developing a strong knowledge and understanding of early childhood development, theory and early years pedagogy. This will support your expertise in supporting and leading reflective practice and quality provision for babies and young children across the Early Years Foundation Stage and the transition to Key Stage 1.

You will benefit from the guidance of expert tutors who bring a wealth of professional experience to their teaching. The opportunity to gain the postgraduate certificate in Early Years Foundation Stage Teaching, which can be used towards a master’s degree in the future, will enhance your professional development as a critically reflective early years teacher with EYTS.

As a student of this course you will receive a free electronic textbook for every module.

Accreditation

Our degree is accredited by the Teaching Regulation Agency, Department for Education.

What will you study on the Early Years Initial Teacher Training: Graduate Employment Based Route?

The programme is designed to build on your practice role and experience in your workplace setting with sufficient additional training and placement opportunities to demonstrate your teaching skills across the 0-5 age range. You will also be expected to increase your understanding of the transition from the EYFS to Key Stage 1 and beyond through visits and placement experiences.

The University training programme takes place on one day a week on a Friday and follows a blended learning approach with a combination of online and campus-based lectures, seminars and practical workshops. You will also benefit from access to the University's extensive resources, including those provided by the library and student support services.

Modules

How is the Early Years Initial Teacher Training: Graduate Employment Based Route taught?

We regularly review and update our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learned during the pandemic to enhance our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.

The training programme will include weekly lectures and seminars on early years theory, policy, education and care practices which closely reference the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) and the professional knowledge and skills required by early years teachers. Small group supervision sessions with an experienced early years tutor provide a supportive environment for sharing ideas and reflecting on your academic learning and practice.

You will be expected to do independent study where you read, listen and reflect on other learning activities.

Assessment

All University-based modules are assessed by coursework that has been designed to enable you to reflect on your knowledge and understanding of young children’s learning and from your practice experience in your workplace and on placement. You will also be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) in your workplace and placement settings for Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS).

Teaching and learning for 2022 entry

We are currently reviewing our approach to teaching and learning for 2022 entry and beyond. We've learned a lot about how to give you a quality education - we aim to combine the best of our pre-pandemic teaching and learning with access to online learning and digital resources which put you more in charge of when and how you study. We will keep you updated on this throughout the application process.

Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our professional facilities, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all of your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time.

You’ll receive final arrangements for your teaching and a full course timetable before you start. Delivery may differ in light of block teaching requirements, with theory sections covered online and practical sessions delivered in specialist spaces on campus.

Outside of these hours, you’ll be expected to do independent study where you read, listen and reflect on other learning activities. This can include preparation for future classes.

Definitions of terms

• Live in-person on campus learning – This will focus on active and experiential sessions that are both:
  • Led by your tutors including seminars, lab sessions and demonstrations We’ll schedule all of this for you
  • Student-led by you and other students, like small group work and presentations.
• Live online learning – This will include lectures, tutorials and supervision sessions led by your tutor and timetabled by us. It also includes student-led group work that takes place online
• Tutor set learning activities – This covers activities which will be set for you by your tutor, but which you will undertake in your own time. Examples of this include watching online materials, participating in an online discussion forum, completing a virtual laboratory or reading specific texts. You may be doing this by yourself of with your course mates depending on your course and assignments. Outside of these hours, you’ll also be expected to do further independent study where you’ll be expected to learn, prepare, revise and reflect in your own time.

Support

You have a strong support network available to you to make sure you develop all the necessary academic skills you need to do well on your course.

Our support services will be delivered online and on campus and you have access to a range of different resources so you can get the help you need, whether you’re studying at home or have the opportunity to come to campus.

You have access to one to one and group sessions for personal learning and academic support from our library and IT teams, and our network of learning experts. Our teams will also be here to offer financial advice, and personal wellbeing, mental health and disability support.

How can the Early Year Initial Teacher Training: Graduate Employment Based Route support your career?

Early Years ITT is the only teacher training focused on the birth to five year age range. This makes Early Years Teachers with Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) ideally placed to provide high quality education and care for babies and young children in all private, voluntary and independent (PVI) early years settings which is where the majority of children and early years provision are based. You can also work in free schools, academies and independent schools where teaching staff can be employed without the requirement to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Early Years Teachers with EYTS can work in maintained settings. However, only those who meet the legal definition of a school teacher with QTS can lead teaching in a maintained nursery school or a nursery class in a maintained school for children aged 3 and over.

There is no pay scale for early years teachers. The pay and conditions of individuals with EYTS are determined by employers. All early years settings are free to set the level of pay for individuals they employ with early years teacher status including maintained schools.