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Early Childhood Studies graduates: An insight into their journeys
This Spring, we are sharing the inspiring stories of some of our Early Childhood Studies (ECS) graduates. -
BGU alumni launches new nursery in Lincoln
Alice Anders new start-up is dedicated to creating a nurturing, stimulating and welcoming environment for all children. -
Reading buddies share stories at local nursery
Students from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) recently shared stories at St Giles Nursery as part of a Reading Buddies scheme. Developed in partnership with the nursery and Ermine Library, the scheme provides an opportunity for university students to witness the importance of sharing stories with young children and help them develop their literacy skills. Seven Early Childhood Studies students explored a range of books with small groups of early years children. From 'Gorilla Loves Vanilla' to the classic 'Funnybones', the children's imaginations were captivated by the books shared during the thirty-minute sessions. Under the scheme, students can gain certification for their CVs based on how many sessions they attend. The initiative runs once a month and has been well received by both the students and the children. BGU Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies Samantha Hoyes said: "The Reading Buddies scheme is a wonderful initiative that not only benefits the children but also provides our students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience. "By participating in this programme, our students are able to develop their skills and knowledge while supporting the local community. We are delighted to see the positive impact that this scheme is having and look forward to continuing our partnership with the Ermine Library and St Giles Nursery School." -
Students graduate in exciting Early Childhood degree pathway
In September 2021, Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) introduced students to the opportunity to work towards sector endorsed graduate practitioner competencies alongside the BGU BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies programme. The ECGPC (Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies) pathway seeks to strengthen the link between placement and theory, developing a graduate led workforce across the ECEC sector. It includes 80 days of placement in a variety of settings, an additional portfolio, and a very special end point assessment where they showcase all they have learned. This is therefore the first year of completion. This route, along with our traditional BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies, is full and relevant, meaning they are ready and qualified to work within the Early Childhood sector. BGU students Marina Quaresma and Katy Evans graduated from the University on Thursday 24th July 2024 with a qualification in BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (Graduate Practitioner). Prior to graduation they both completed their End Point Assessment for their chosen routes, demonstrating the skills they have learned across their extensive placement. Both of them are BGU's very first students to graduate with the ECGPC! The GPC route really benefits practical skills such as planning activities and observing children. Placement offers the opportunity to see the theory in practice and allows you to build relationships with local settings. The E-diary also benefits your reflective skills and allows you to look back on what you have learnt. My favourite part was watching the children flourish under my care and the relationships I made along the way. Katy Evans The Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies aim to: 1. Remove the confusion in the sector about how ECS Degrees are aligned to practice requirements in the four nations of the UK. 2. 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. 3. Acknowledge the different pathways that lead learners to undertake the degrees, enhance their practice experience and enhance employability skills. 4. 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. 5. Make a significant contribution to strengthening a graduate-led Early Childhood workforce that is responsive to workforce needs and improves outcomes for children. 6. 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. 7. 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, including Early Years Teacher (0-5), Teacher (3-11), Social Work and health professions. ECSDN. (2020). Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies -
BGU graduate given Prue Goodwin Award!
This year's Prue Goodwin award has been presented to Bishop Grosseteste University Children’s Literature and Literacies MA student (now 2024 graduate) Emma Edwards, in recognition of her Master's dissertation which explored representations of disability in children's literature. Her research around this topic was incredibly in-depth and she was "very interested in the types of characters represented in literature, as well as how the children interpreted and understood them." Dr Prue Goodwin, who received an honorary doctorate from BGU in 2021, has been an inspiration to many colleagues and their teaching. Prue Goodwin trained as a teacher at BGU (1965-1965) and is now a world authority on Primary Education. She is a longstanding member of the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) and a prolific writer, having written and edited more than 18 books and guides. Emma commented: "I am really grateful that my master’s dissertation has been recognised through the Prue Goodwin award. I referred to her work during the research element of the study. The final dissertation was a result of a lot of hard work and was particularly challenging as I was balancing a Primary School teaching role, a new Senior Lecturer role and a young family.My dissertation stemmed from two key pieces of academic writing. Bishop (1990) identified that books were, ‘Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors.’ Blaska (2004) built on this work and went on to identify that ‘Perhaps no group has been as overlooked and inaccurately presented in children’s books as individuals with disabilities.’ My final work focused on representations of disability within children’s literature, particularly focusing on visible disabilities. I’m really proud of the work through this piece of research and I hope that I will have the opportunity to share my findings and build further on my understanding of representations within children’s literature in the future." Her award was presented by award-winning children's author Hannah Gold on Thursday 24th of July just after the BGU Graduation ceremony at Lincoln Cathedral. Hannah was attending the ceremony to receive her Honorary Doctorate from BGU. Congratulations Emma! -
Exploring Relationships, Sex and Health Education in the Early Years
Level 6 students on the Early Childhood Studies course at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) got to explore Relationship, Health and Sex Education in the Early years thanks to a guest lecture by Catherine Kirk of the RSHE Service. Organised as part of their 'Issues in Early Years’ module, the interactive session encouraged the students to discuss their memories of RHSE training from school before exploring this topic in relation to the early years. Catherine Kirk is an industry expert with over 20 years’ experience in RSE including leading development in two local authorities. She is also the founder of #RSEday, and current part-time RSE consultant for Nottingham City Council. Samantha Hoyes, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at BGU, helped set up the event and discussed the importance of students getting to interact with industry leaders: “The ‘Issues in Early Years’ module is all about broadening our student's knowledge of the early years and some of the current issues and themes in the sector. Catherine has over 20 years experience in RSHE and is currently involved in a range of projects around this topic, making her an ideal candidate for the students to learn from. Catherine’s session was really positively received by the students who enjoyed how interactive it was. In fact several of them have also continued to research the area further and are now covering this as their issue in early years. External speakers both enhance our modules and allow students to consider their own future career opportunities. Already this year we have welcomed a very experienced reception teacher in to talk about assessment in the early years and the upcoming changes, as well as a local Health visitor to enhance our health and wellbeing module and we look forward to offering more talks as the year progresses” To find out how you can create your own successes in our collaborative learning community, visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
Health & Social Care graduate nominated for award
Bishop Grosseteste University graduate Kayleigh Denman has recently been nominated for the Daisy Award by a patient she looked after in the course of being a student nurse. She is the first ever student at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust to receive this nomination! The Daisy Award is an internationally recognised award which identifies nurses and midwives who give extraordinary compassionate care. "I graduated from BGU in 2023 with a degree in BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care. I personally feel the course at BGU played a massive part in me being able to understand the meaning of evidence-based, compassionate care and how to professionally practice this. The course is particularly beneficial if you were like me and uncertain as to where in the health and social care sector you would like to go into, due to the broad spectrum of opportunities and choices. This course enabled me to learn multiple skills that cover all aspects of health and social care, preparing me for any challenges, achievements and decisions that will benefit me in the future. The skills and knowledge I learnt throughout the 3 years undergraduate degree helped me become a student nurse, allowing me to work to the best of my abilities, along with my understanding of how to communicate in a professional and friendly manner to all patients and staff members, as reflected by the nomination for the Daisy Award. The Health & Social Care lecturers were amazing in terms of knowledge within the field and they always went above and beyond to support and care for their students, to which I personally am grateful for. I am awaiting to start the MA Health & Social Care Leadership course at BGU, encouraged by the support and confidence given to me throughout the BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care. Achieving a Master’s degree in this subject will enable me to consider different career paths that are available and allow me to proceed in a future career in an important role within this sector. I have already gained key skills and experiences during my undergraduate degree, giving me a solid foundation for my studies and the motivation to succeed and further boost my skills and abilities." We wish Kayleigh the best of luck in her nomination and fingers crossed for success! -
Student's passion 'reignited' through placement
Work-based learning experiences are an integral component of the BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care here at Bishop Grosseteste University. We have developed a range of partnerships within the sector including Lincolnshire County Council Children’s Health, Children’s Social Care, Charity Organisations Every-one, Black Barn Farm and LINKAGE, all of whom provide valuable placements as well as connect with students during classroom-based sessions. Every undergraduate student undertakes three compulsory annual placements over the course of their three years giving them a minimum of 180 hours of learning in practice. Students are encouraged to reflect on their experiences whilst in placement and form a fundamental part of their learning when back in the classroom and through assignments. Reflection and discussion supports students to expound their knowledge, consider their and others values, and develop their practice skills in their journey to becoming healthcare practitioners. Our latest collaboration is with the Lincolnshire’s Neighbourhood Team: ‘Neighbourhood working’ provides a collaborative approach to the delivery of local services. This includes involvement from health, social care, voluntary organisations, and charities. Their ethos is centred around working together to find solutions to health and wellbeing challenges. Our role is to put patients on the right radars or coordinate when multiple services are involved and not working together. As this was a new work-based learning opportunity we asked Health & Social Care BGU student Amy to share her thoughts around this opportunity: “I was initially anxious about going to placement, I have not worked in this area for some time and knew there would be a considerable amount of learning. I can honestly say it was the best experience, I started the placement with an open mind and committed myself to get involved with any aspects of work suggested to me I quickly realised how vital the neighbourhood team are in improving the lives of service users within the social care sector, I was able to shadow, ask questions, understand their responsibilities, and appreciate how far reaching their services can be. I was treated with respect, honesty and welcomed, I was put in situations that allowed me to explore my own views and absorb new concepts. Most importantly this placement has reignited my passion for undertaking this degree; manging time, assignments and lectures can at times become the only focus, where my original goal was to undertake a degree that enabled me to work within the health and social sector supporting service users and this experience has placed this back in the forefront of my drive and determination to continue and succeed.” Amy Annis, 2nd Year BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care Student. When asked about the benefits of having a student, the Neighbourhood team representative Nicola Stimson replied: “It has been a pleasure to be able to have students out with us as a team. To be able to show the diversity of our role and to be able to show the student all the different opportunities of community roles and what jobs are about / services they could work in. We also enjoy being able to show what Neighbourhood Teams is about and how working collaboratively, we can put that patient at the centre of what matters to them." -
Local primary school children visit BGU campus library for interactive reading session
Our undergraduate Early Childhood Studies (ECS) students welcomed children from Mount Street Academy in Lincoln to a reading session at our on campus library. -
BGU's Psychology Degree Receives Accreditation
The popular Psychology degree course offered at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has been awarded accreditation by the British Psychological Society. BGU introduced Psychology as a new subject course in September last year, and it has proved to be a highly popular choice among students.The university aimed to recruit 20 first-year students but actually enrolled 37, almost double the target figure. BPS accreditation is essential for any student planning to pursue psychology-related further study or professions. Accreditation takes effect immediately so both current students and those starting their course this September will benefit. Graham Meeson, Head of Education and Learning at BGU, said: "This has been a fantastic year for the subject, beginning with excellent recruitment and ending with this well justified recognition. "We were all taken aback by the popularity of the subject as the student interest and intake exceeded all our expectations." The Psychology course at BGU is offered as a combined honours degree, allowing students to study the subject alongside a range of other subjects such as Special Educational Needs and Inclusion, or Early Childhood Studies. The university will be offering Psychology as a single honours programme for 2015 entry, specialising in area of the arts therapies, community engagement and wellbeing. Dr Olivia Sagan, Academic Co-ordinator for Psychology at BGU, said: "I am delighted Bishop Grosseteste University has received the BPS stamp of recognition and approval, but this is just the beginning. "Our focus is now set on maintaining the excellent standards we have set, growing our student body, developing a national reputation for the development of student-centred psychology learning and developing a research profile." The launch of the new course brought a number of new facilities including a PsychLab and interview area, high-end computers for carrying out quantitative and qualitative analysis and facilities for digitally recording, editing and analysing observation and interviews. The British Psychological Society (BPS) is the national representative body for psychology and psychologists. Its accreditation is a mark of educational quality recognised by students and employers. The university went through a year-long process with the BPS before being awarded the official accreditation. To download the news release and high-res images please visit shootingstar-pr.co.uk/Newsroom/popular-psychology-degree-receives-accreditation/
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