Fees and key information

Course type
Undergraduate
UCAS code
X1X1
Entry requirements
On this page

Why study this course?

Our Early Childhood Studies (including foundation year) BA (Hons) will open doors for you to enter a career in early childhood care, educational or advisory settings. This degree comes with a built-in foundation year that will prepare you for undergraduate study and is the ideal choice if you don’t meet the necessary requirements to enter the standard three-year course.

On our course you’ll benefit from extra time to work on your study and transferable skills, but you’ll also graduate with the same award and title as students on the three-year degree.

On our Early Childhood Studies (including foundation year) bachelor’s degree you’ll study the play, development and learning of children from birth to six years old. This will be taught in relation to practice in early childhood settings and within a socio-cultural context.

Your foundation year will be shared with students from other degrees with a foundation year, which will give you an opportunity to discuss the subjects you study with students that have different academic perspectives. It will also allow you to meet students outside of your course and expand your network, which you might find useful when job hunting after graduation.

The foundation year is designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for undergraduate study, such as essay writing, time management, research and critical thinking. During the foundation year you’ll also take a taster module in early childhood studies, which will allow you to prepare for more rigorous study of the subject in the subsequent three years of your degree.

You’ll receive exceptional academic and pastoral support from your tutors and a range of services at the University. This will be in the form of one-to-one sessions with your tutor or via small group workshops, during which you’ll be able to work further on your academic and transferable skills. The University also offers a careers service, which can help you to find work experience opportunities, improve your interview technique and learn best practice for writing job applications.

In the three years following your foundation year you’ll study the same content and modules as students on our Early Childhood Studies BA (Hons)

If you find that you’d like to specialise in a different discipline in our School of Social Sciences and Professions, there will be flexibility to allow you to do this.

First in London for student satisfaction

Our childhood and youth studies courses are ranked first in London for overall student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide 2025

First in London for teaching

This course was ranked first in London and top five in the UK for teaching, according to the National Student Survey 2024

Learn the skills you need to reach your full potential

This four-year degree course includes an intensive foundation year (Year 0) which will provide you with the skills required for your subsequent three years of study

Course details

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

  • at least one A level (or a minimum of 32 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC Subsidiary/ National/ BTEC Extended Diploma)
  • English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)
  • enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa (previously Tier 4) you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Methods of assessment in your foundation year are varied and designed to help you flourish and gain confidence in your studies.

Assessments after the foundation year will be based on coursework with no formal examinations.

Our health, social care and early childhood studies graduates have gone onto to work as early years practioners, nursery teachers and managers, mental health officers, support workers and nurses at various employers including Kings College Hospital, the NHS and various schools and nurseries.

Continuing your studies with us

The School of Social Professions has a wide range of exciting industry-linked postgraduate courses available on a full-time and part-time basis in education, health, social and community work. We offer the following degrees that would be ideal for postgraduate progression:

If you study your undergraduate degree with us, as a graduate of London Met, you'll be entitled to a 20% discount on a postgraduate course if you continue your studies with us.
* exclusions apply

This is a four-year degree course with a built-in foundation year (Year 0). It's the perfect route into university if you don't meet the necessary entry requirements for the standard undergraduate degree. You'll graduate with a full undergraduate degree with the same title and award as those who studied the three-year course.

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.

Discover Uni – key statistics about this course

Discover Uni is an official source of information about university and college courses across the UK. The widget below draws data from the corresponding course on the Discover Uni website, which is compiled from national surveys and data collected from universities and colleges. If a course is taught both full-time and part-time, information for each mode of study will be displayed here.

How to apply

If you're a UK applicant wanting to study full-time starting in September, you must apply via UCAS unless otherwise specified. If you're an international applicant wanting to study full-time, you can choose to apply via UCAS or directly to the University.

If you're applying for part-time study, you should apply directly to the University. If you require a Student visa, please be aware that you will not be able to study as a part-time student at undergraduate level.

When to apply

The University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) accepts applications for full-time courses starting in September from one year before the start of the course. Our UCAS institution code is L68.

If you will be applying direct to the University you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only be able to consider your application if there are places available on the course.

To find out when teaching for this degree will begin, as well as welcome week and any induction activities, view our academic term dates.

Are you from outside the UK? Find out how to apply from your home country

Find out more

News and success stories

Visit us