We would like to welcome you wholeheartedly to the Early Childhood Studies Degree at Canterbury Christ Church University. Our team are really looking forward to studying the lives of young children and their childhoods with you. Throughout your degree, we will provide you with the skills and knowledge to enable you to transition into a graduate that will work with, and be an ambassador for, young children, their families, and the communities to which they belong.

The Course Team

Key dates

Academic Calendar: Semesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2025-26 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.  

Welcome and Induction

Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to your course and the wider University, helping you to feel confident and prepared for your studies right from the very start.

It is important to check your Course Welcome Week for all the activities you are required to attend as part of your course induction. If any of your welcome activities are in groups, your course team will contact you before you arrive to let you know which group you will be in.

In addition, check the Student Events Hub for a range of fun activities. including the Students’ Union Welcome Fair, to help you make friends and live your best CCCU student life.

Your teaching timetable 

UniTimetables provides an overview of all teaching activities for a course. If your course is taught in groups, it will display information for all groups, not just the group you will be assigned to.

Your individual student timetable will show you what modules and groups you are expected to attend via MyTimetable. This will be available for when your teaching starts.

Learn more about timetabling for new students including user guides and videos.

Welcome

Early Childhood Studies focuses on the holistic development - both developmental and social - of infants and young children from conception to the age of eight. It draws upon research and professional practice from many areas: from health and education, psychology & sociology, to economics and neuroscience, which is what makes it so diverse, exciting and an interesting degree to study!

The Early Childhood Studies degree at Canterbury Christ Church University has been designed to meet the QAA Subject Specific Benchmarks (2022). QAA (2022) state that 'Early Childhood Studies graduates progress to a wide range of professional roles, contribute to policy and research, and advocate for babies and young children, their families and the early childhood professions. They facilitate the right of children to actively participate in their world, recognising each child and all children's uniqueness. Their knowledge enables them to advocate for young children’s needs, voice, rights, development and learning, while celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion.' This will be you in the future and your journey starts now!

The modules you study in your first year with us are:

An introduction to research and knowledge construction 

Health, well-being and positivity

Social justice and the pedagogy of freedom

Sustainability, education and action for hope

The extraordinary making of us: the influences that shape our identities

Children: Active, playful, thinkers

You can see an overview of your second and third year modules by visiting the BA Early Childhood Studies Course Page here.

Study Support

As you embark on your academic journey, you’ll be fully supported to ensure you get the most out of your learning experience. During Induction Week, you’ll take part in specific sessions, meet your module tutors, and have IT and library induction sessions to help you navigate the digital tools essential for your studies. You’ll also be introduced to our Virtual Learning Environment, which will be central to your learning, and be informed about the wide range of student support services available, including dedicated mental health and well-being support. At the outset of your course, you’ll be assigned a personal academic tutor who will guide you throughout your studies, offering both academic advice and pastoral support. You’ll also have access to the Learning Hub, an online platform packed with resources to help you develop key academic skills. The hub has been developed by Learning Developers and Learning & Research Librarians with your needs in mind. Here you will find a range of modules with tips to help you develop your study, academic and research skills.

Getting started

To prepare you for starting with us, have a think about how you would respond to the following questions:

  • What has led you to Early Childhood Studies, and what are you bringing to this next phase of your life/career in terms of prior experiences, values, strengths, learning needs, hopes and concerns?
  • How would you describe a 21st Century Child in the UK?
  • Consider - what do children do, how do they act, where do they go, and who do they socialise with?

and please access the resources below:

  • The Early Childhood Studies course at CCCU has a blog called Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. It is qan excellent general resource for your journey to understanding children and childhoods, and you should spend some time exploring it.
  • Have a look at the National Children’s Bureau blog. The National Children's Bureau is a charity that works to improve the lives of young children. It is a good resource for exploring the challenges that young children can experience.
  • The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is a good resource for exploring social issues relating to young children and their childhoods.
  • Unicef’s Early Childhood Development explores the lives of young children from a global perspective.

Your welcome and induction will be w/c 15th September 2025 - we look forward to meeting you then.

Pre-course reading

All of the chapters in these books will be useful during your studies. If you want to make a start on reading, choose the chapters that most appeal to you:

  • Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2016) Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University. London: Sage.
  • Bolshaw, P. & Josephidou, J. (2019) Introducing Research in Early Childhood. London: Sage.
  • Garvey, D (2018) Nurturing Personal Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • Hopkins, B, Geangu, E., & Linkenauger, S. (2017) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • McDowell-Clark, R. (2020) Childhood in Scociety in the Early Years, London: Sage
  • Powell, S. and Smith, K. (2017) An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies. London: Sage.
  • Smith, K. & Vincent, K. (2022) Supporting Early Literacies through Play. London: Sage.

It is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles. They also price match Amazon on core texts recommended in the module handbooks you will receive when you start in September.

International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.

Contact details