A very warm welcome to The Early Years Education Department for all our new students joining us in 2019 and of course, all our returning students – welcome back!
The Department offers a suite of programmes that provide high quality learning and training experiences to those who wish to work with young children in a variety of roles across the EYE sector. We are really pleased that you have decided to study with us at Edge Hill University and particularly in the EYE Department.
The Early Years Education Department has some key strengths identified by a variety of quality procedures and our own students’ comments (NSS/SSCF 2018/19 meetings):
Strengths of the Department include
- Quality of overall student experience (strong ISS/NSS scores and highly positive Bristol Online Survey End of programme responses and Student Staff Consultative Forum Minutes). For the past 3 years now, our students are 100% satisfied with our programmes overall.
- Successful academic achievement across all programmes – you will get there and do really well in your chosen career!
- Strong retention across all programmes – we have good support mechanisms in place for all students, so please talk to your tutor team if there is anything you are concerned about, so that we can signpost you and help, where possible.
- Consistent high quality and complimentary partner feedback and a strong collaborative working relationship (Partnership BOS feedback and PQO Reports).
- Consistent highly positive External Examiner feedback – all our programmes are reviewed by an External Examiner.
- Partnership Training and Development Opportunities across the partnership, with future plans to enhance and develop as an area of enterprise – we offer free CPD, so please do look out for this opportunity alongside your studies.
- ‘Forest Edge’ and outdoor learning developments – we are early years, so you will be outside often!
- Cross-Faculty collaborations to support teaching and research – your tutor team are researchers, so ask them about their work and read their publications in journals, books etc.
- An investment in Paediatric First Aid Training for all Final Year and PGCE students to comply with DfE ‘Millie’s Mark’ with Millie’s Trust Foundation at no extra cost to you. You will be thoroughly ‘employable’.
- Distinctive Department for Early Years Education, which we are very proud of and you will benefit greatly from being immersed in early years ‘ness’
- Our students tell us that we are welcoming, supportive, engaging, knowledgeable, inspiring and fun. I do hope you will also think this, but if not – tell us. Do look out for our ‘Meet the Team’ events and come along.
I would also like to share with your the ‘Vision for Early Years Education Department’ as you are an essential part of this vision and ethos.
“The Early Years Education overarching vision is to raise the status and quality of the early years workforce (ECEC workforce) and to work in partnership with employers and early years settings/schools across England, to ensure high quality teaching and learning, reflective practice, leadership and research is at the heart of our early years training and professional development programmes.
This vision is based on our aspiration to lead early years research, learning and teaching on both national and international levels through providing a dynamic student-focused learning environment, offering our students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) high quality learning experiences that are inextricably linked to the needs and interests of young children, who are at the heart of our early years provision. We aim to provide an outstanding, sustainable and inclusive learning environment through continuous enhancement of our provision by responding to identified learners’ needs, developments in the fields of research, wider community interests, including those of employers, while ensuring a thoughtful, process of reflection and evaluation”.
We hope that you thoroughly enjoy your studies with us and that you engage with the ‘student voice’ opportunities offered to you to get the very best from your teaching and learning experiences – if I have not shared this with you during induction, I will talk to you when I teach you!
Please do feel free to pop in and see me at any point in your studies and let me know the good things you are doing and if any issues arise for you. My office is in the Faculty of Education, second floor FoEL 2.50, with my name on the door. Alternatively, do feel free to email me or tweet.
Dr Karen Boardman
Twitter @KarenMBoardman