Early Years and Education - T Level - Level 3

Our T Level Technical Qualification in Education and Early Years will prepare you to become an Early Years Educator, enabling you to work with children from birth to 5 years and gain knowledge of children aged 5 to 7 years.

Through studying this T Level qualification you will gain the knowledge and skills needed to progress in skilled employment or higher education.
You will focus on the study of education and childcare, with the course offering breadth and depth of study, by incorporating a key core of knowledge with opportunities for you to acquire several practice and technical skills.
For 80% of the course you will be at college focusing on academic and technical study, whilst 20% will be invaluable practical experience gained with an employer as part of an industry placement.

The level 3 technical qualification in Education and Childcare has 2 components:

Core knowledge and understanding covers the core knowledge, understanding and skills relevant Education and Childcare. Such as:

• Behaviour
• Child Development
• Equality and Diversity
• Parents, families and carers
• Safeguarding, health and safety and wellbeing

Occupational specialism covers the knowledge, understanding skills and behaviours that is required to achieve competency. This will focus on early years education and childcare.

• Support and promote children's play, development and early education
• Develop relationships with children to facilitate their development
• Plan, provide and review care, play and educational opportunities to enable children to progress
• Safeguard and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of children
• Work in partnership with colleagues, parents, carers and other professionals to support children's development

As part of this T Level programme you are required to complete an industry work placement in an Early Years setting where you will gain hands on experience in working within the sector, allowing you to put theory into practice and apply the knowledge that has been gained.

Industry placement

A big part of your study will be to complete relevant industry-based work placement. Throughout the course, you'll be required to complete a minimum of 45 days (315 hours) work placement. You'll also get the opportunity to show us what you've learned and demonstrate your abilities during numerous observations through the course. Work placement is a great opportunity to get your feet wet in your chosen specialism and help confirm that this is the career you want to do!

Core Skills will be assessed through externally assessed tests and an employer set-project.
Technical skills will be assessed through work-placement observations and Synoptic assessment of performance.

How many UCAS points will I achieve on this course?

The number of UCAS tariff points for a T Level diploma varies between 72 and 168 points, depending on your grade for the core content and the specialism.
We've included some examples below of what grades you need to achieve common UCAS tariff point entry requirements:

| UCAS Points | Grades required |
| --- | --- |
| 72 | Pass (D or E on the core)|
| 96 | Pass (C or above on the core) |
| 120| Merit |
| 144 | Distinction |
| 168 | Distinction* (A* on the core and distinction in the specialism |
| 72 | 45 credits at distinction |

You can find more details on the UCAS Tariff points calculator here.

You will need

• 5 or more GCSEs grade 4 or above including English Language, maths and a positive DBS

If you are interested in progression into teaching, you should also have a GCSE grade 4 or above in science

Or (for internal applicants)
* Level 2 Childcare course at Merit or Distinction and English Language and maths GCSE grade 4 or above

And
* An information session to identify suitability of the course

T Levels have been designed with leading employers and businesses. They will provide you with the skills to progress to an apprenticeship, university or skilled employment.