Early Childhood Studies BA Welcome Pack
Welcome to BA Early Childhood Studies – September 2026.
A very warm welcome to Early Childhood Studies. We are delighted that you have chosen to study with us.
Our course is designed to support you in making a real difference to the lives of children and their families, and to equip you for a stimulating and rewarding future in early childhood. Our friendly and highly experienced multi-professional staff team are eager to support you on your personal and academic journey.
You will be exploring, over the next three years, a range of topics that relate to working with young children and their families and will also have the opportunity to go on placement to see how this learning is played out in practice. We will prepare you with the knowledge and skills you need to work in the field of Early Childhood, and help you to progress to the career path of your choosing.
You will learn through a range of experiences, at University and on placement, which blend together to ensure you develop academic and professional skills and a strong value base.
Each module is made up of ‘Learning Events’ which involve a whole range of activities that take place before, during and after formal sessions on the days you are in University.
You will have other reading, online activities and work for your assignments to complete on your Private Study days.
We hope you have a happy, successful and rewarding time studying at the University.
Your Course Leader
Dr Tanya Richardson
Programme Leader for Early Childhood Studies | Senior Lecturer in Education (Childhood, Youth and Families)
tanya.richardson@northampton.ac.uk
As Course Leader, Tanya will be able to help you with any general queries that you may have about the course. This might be about aspects related to your personal situation, academic situation or your professional development.
She may not have all of the answers but will be able to signpost you in the appropriate direction if need be.
Preparing for your course
In preparation for your course starting in September, we hold some online sessions beforehand so you can meet your Academic Team and other students studying the same course. Details of these will be sent out by email nearer the time. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Tanya Richardson: tanya.richardson@northampton.ac.uk.
Tuesday 22 September
Session: Getting to know you!
- Time: 10am – 1pm (BST)
- Location: to be confirmed
Session: Meet your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT)
- Time: 2 – 3pm (BST)
- Location: to be confirmed
Wednesday 23 September
Session: Subject Session – meet the course team, your timetable and module details, and placement information.
- Time: 10am – 1pm (BST)
- Location: to be confirmed
Session: How to use the UON systems
- Time: 2 – 4pm (BST)
- Location: to be confirmed
Thursday 24 September
Session: Library Induction (group one)
- Time: 10:45 – 11:45am (BST)
- Location: meet at the Library Desk on the second floor in the Learning Hub, Waterside campus
Session: Library Induction (group two)
- Time: 11:15am to 12:15pm (BST)
- Location: meet at the Library Desk on the second floor in the Learning Hub, Waterside campus
Session: Storytime with refreshments
- Time: 1 – 3pm (BST)
- Location: to be confirmed
Friday 25 September
Session: Course Leader drop-in
- Time: 10 – 11am (BST)
- Location: The Ground (coffee shop), first floor, Learning Hub, Waterside campus
Preparation and Pre-Arrival tasks
As part of your Early Childhood Studies degree you will be asked to complete Case Study Research on a child. This will support planning, preparation and focus for the studying Child Development module in year one (EYS1122) and the Promoting Children’s Development in year 2 (EYS2119).
The objectives of the study are:
- To inform and support your knowledge of child development
- To develop and sustain professional, ethical and sensitive relationships with children and parents
- To learn and reflect on the practice of studying children
- To begin to develop your skills as a researcher.
What do families need to know?
Parents will need to know that:
- You will negotiate mutually convenient times to visit.
- You value all the insights they can give you into their child and that you will be interested in what he/she does and how he/she is learning and developing between your visits.
- You will keep in regular contact by telephone or other means
- That with their permission you will record observations and information parents may give you
- Any material you collect will be recorded so that the child and the family cannot be identified as you will use pseudonyms instead of real names.
- You will not keep anything in your file without showing it to them.
What do you need to do next?
Identify a child to study – do this as soon as possible before your start University. Please don’t worry if you do not know any children, we can provide an alternative, but where possible we encourage you to find a child you know to study as this does make your life easier moving forward.
What will we do to support you?
In the first few sessions we will help you to:
- Consider ethical issues involved in studying
- Write a ‘Statement of Intent’ illustrating how your study will conform to ethical guidelines
- Complete the ethics form
- Complete a risk assessment
- Gain informed consent from the parents
- Work with the parents on a background ‘history’ of the child
- Begin collecting data (observations, transcripts of conversations with parents, annotated photographs and pictures)*
- Keep your tutor informed of your progress by bringing in your Case Study details to all focus sessions
- Make sure you evaluate your observations and other records of the child’s development
Equipment
There are two books we would like you to buy, if you can, before you join the course to support your learning and your assignments. Both books are available in our library so it is not essential that you have your own copies but if you would like to buy your own, the books are as follows:
- Santrock, J. (2019) Children. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Education.
- Silberfeld, C. (2022) The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies. London: Sage Publications.
Please make sure you buy the most up to date edition where possible.
