It is now more than 25 years since the first students graduated with an Early Childhood Studies (ECS) degree within the United Kingdom. The Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network (ECSDN) was launched around the same time to support the higher education institutions (HEIs) that were delivering the programme. The ECS degree was aimed at providing higher-level study opportunities for those wanting to be, or already, working in the early childhood education and care sector.
Since this time, the number of degrees has grown enormously, and early childhood is now firmly established as an inter-disciplinary academic discipline. The need for highly qualified graduate early childhood practitioners is as relevant today as it was in the early 1990s. We know and understand from the extensive research that has been undertaken that high-quality provision is more likely when a highly trained workforce is in place.
It is also important to note that many graduates from these degrees move on to post-graduate education in a variety of disciplines and work across the health, social care and education sector in graduate roles.
ECS degrees give students the opportunity to engage with the multiple perspectives on early childhood. They promote the critical application of theory to practice with infants, young children and families. Integral to the degrees is holistic knowledge and understanding of the ecology of child development in the context of the family, community and wider socio-political contexts. Anyone who has studied early childhood, or taught on ECS degrees, appreciates how the knowledge, understanding and skills gained support future careers in working with children and families.
There are currently five types of degrees mapped onto the Early Childhood Studies QAA Benchmark. Students can study a degree with:
- no placements
- formally assessed placements
- unassessed or sporadically assessed placements
- Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies embedded
- a combination of work and study, for those in employment.
What are the Graduate Practitioner Competencies?
ECS degrees can be studied in a variety of ways at a range of HEI and further education colleges, with higher education provision, across the UK. Some programmes have an academic focus only, while others offer placement opportunities or are employment-based.
Learners decide to study ECS at different ages and times in their life, with different entry qualifications and reasons. Some students have considerable experience in practice, others have minimal or no experience at all. However, they share an aspiration to work with children and families but are not always sure of the practice or professional direction they want to pursue. The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies, as an optional route in degree programmes, were implemented and piloted in 2018 and they set about to join the theory learnt in the classroom with practice, aiming to ‘ensure the skilful application of knowledge to practice and practice to knowledge’; showing that the graduates could practice at Level 6 standards as well as having the knowledge base that the degree affords. The aim was to provide students with both the practical skills at Level 6 to go alongside the knowledge at Level 6 that they gain by undertaking a degree.
A real strength of ECS degrees is the variety of study and career pathways. However, this can present challenges for future employers. Different HEIs use different titles for degrees mapped onto the ECS QAA Benchmark Statement, and it is not always clear how the degree maps against sector qualifications. This can cause confusion in the sector and also confusion for students when they graduate and are often unclear of what they are able/unable to do within the workforce.
To proactively address these issues and strengthen degrees with placements, or that are work-based, the ECSDN has collectively developed assessed practice competencies awarded at Level 6, that provide students with a holistic understanding of early childhood development and their ability to apply, critically evaluate and communicate theoretical knowledge to practice. These can be embedded in a variety of ways, including:
- in a specifically designed degree
- as a pathway option.
HEIs can award Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner to students who successfully meet all the competencies.
The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies aim to:
- Remove the confusion in the sector about how ECS degrees are aligned to practice requirements in the four nations of the UK.
- Address the inherent challenges of different types of early childhood degrees and study pathways, enabling the wider workforce to be clear about individual early career graduates’ expected level of knowledge, skills and actual experience in practice.
- Acknowledge the different pathways that lead learners to undertake the degrees, enhance their practice experience and enhance their employability skills.
- Ensure that higher education academic routes are responsive to the changing needs and training routes in early years practice, education and the wider children's services workforce.
- Make a significant contribution to strengthening a graduate-led early childhood workforce that is responsive to workforce needs and improves outcomes for children.
- Afford students with placement opportunities to critically apply theory to practice in a range of early childhood settings and/or schools, social care and health settings. This will enable students to develop graduate skills in the application of the inter-disciplinary early childhood knowledge base to reflective practice.
- Provide new opportunities for graduates who want to strengthen their practice in early childhood and/or progress to post-graduate academic programmes or professional training, includingEarly Years Teacher (0-5), teacher (3-7/5-11), social work, enterprise, health professional, or alternative graduate opportunities.
Full and relevant criteria in England and how this is met by ECS degrees
The Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network aligns with the Department for Education (DfE) requirements by agreeing that a graduate can be counted as ‘full and relevant’ in early years settings in England if:
- they held an Early Years Educator, or equivalent Level 3 qualification, before joining the degree.
Or their ECS degree is mapped onto the ECS QAA benchmark statement and includes placements with:
- academic assessment
- practice which is observed, assessed and developed by setting mentors
- one visit per placement by HEI staff to observe, assess and develop practice.
By undertaking the Graduate Practitioner Competencies, students will meet the full and relevant criteria and therefore be able to join the workforce accordingly.
What does an Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner look like?
The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner is an advocate for young children's rights and participation and recognises that young children are active co-constructors of their own learning. They critically apply high-level academic knowledge of pedagogy and research evidence to the holistic development of infants and young children (birth to eight years of age) in a practice context that is respectful of the child, their family and community.
An Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner will have met nine competencies through assessed placement tasks, observations of practice and academic assignments. They will understand the importance of:
- advocating for young children's rights and participation
- promoting holistic child development
- working directly with young children, families and colleagues to promote health, wellbeing, safety and nurturing care
- observing, listening and planning for young children to support their wellbeing, early learning, progression and transitions
- safeguarding and child protection
- inclusive practice
- partnership with parents and caregivers
- collaborating with others
- ongoing professional development.
What is the current situation with regards to the Graduate Practitioner Competencies?
Nationally we currently have more than 30 HEIs delivering the competencies and we have already seen students graduate having successfully achieved the award. Research has been done regarding the impact of this initiative and already it appears to be generally well received by students, mentors and academic tutors alike, with an increase in students’ levels of confidence.
A mentor, an early childhood leader, recognised the benefits of the competencies and stated that, ‘The graduate competencies provide a licence to practise while covering a range of skills that are necessary when working in the early years field.’
- Details above taken from the guide to the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner.
- The second article in this series will explore further how the competencies are being applied in the workplace and the different career paths they can lead to.