Everything you need to know...
International/EU: £15,860 per year
Employability
100% of our graduates are in work or further study fifteen months after graduating, with 100% in highly skilled employment or further study (2019/20 Graduate Outcomes Survey).
Course summary
- Train to become a well-rounded and creative early years and primary school teacher.
- Understand early years teaching, and how children learn.
- Gain hands-on experience with extensive in-school training.
- Develop your interests and expertise into a specialist teaching area.
- Qualify as a teacher, and benefit from the course's very high graduate employment level.
Gain the skills, experience and training you need to enter primary teaching as a qualified professional. We help you to grow academically, while obtaining sound practical and theoretical knowledge of teaching. You graduate a qualified, experienced early years and primary teacher, with specialist expertise and professional connections.

Come to an open day
Find out more at our undergraduate open days. Book now for your place.
How you learn
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
The course aims to integrate the practical and theoretical aspects of teaching. There are placement experiences from the first year onwards. You conduct research in your specialist area, and will be taught to critically analyse key learning principles.
You learn through:
- lectures and seminars from expert tutors
- regular school-based placements and research
- one-to-one support from a personal academic tutor
- research into a specialist area such as maths, science, PE or languages
- range of e-learning materials
Your lecturer’s view
Watch course leader Jemma Monkhouse talk about the BA Early Years and Primary Education (3-7) course at Sheffield Hallam University.
Course leaders and tutors

Jemma Monkhouse
Senior Lecturer in Primary and Early Years EducationMy main duties are teaching on the undergraduate and post graduate English modules. I also teach on some professional practice modules and computing sessions
Applied learning
Work placements
You will undertake placements in all three years of the course. In your final year you will plan a research project to investigate an aspect of your chosen specialism.
Future careers
The majority of students completing the course go directly into employment as qualified teachers. A number of key transferrable skills are also developed throughout the course, allowing for alternative progression or career routes. Some of these include:
- local authority/voluntary sector worker or researcher
- non-government organisation (NGO) administrative and research posts
- enrichment work with young people
- more general graduate careers including, for example, retail management and the civil service
- academic career as researcher via Masters level study and PhD
Student success story
As part of their course, students from our early years and primary education courses had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach children English in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour | Keeping safe on Campus

Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEntry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 120
This must include at least two A levels including at least 40 points in each, one of which would normally be a primary national curriculum subject though this is not essential, or DDM from equivalent BTEC National qualifications. For example:
- BBB at A Level.
- DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma.
- A combination of qualifications, which may include AS Levels, EPQ and general studies.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
GCSE
- English Language at grade C or 4, or equivalent
- Mathematics at grade C or 4, or equivalent
- Science at grade C or 4, or equivalent
Where applicants have achieved a GCSE grade 4 or above in English literature only we will look for further evidence of a breadth of achievement in English.
• Access - QAA recognised diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3, including 20 credits at merit or above. Ideally, but not essentially, at least 18 credits at level 3 should be in a primary national curriculum subject, or sociology, or psychology. You can take GCSE equivalents for English, mathematics and science on Access courses (12 level two credits in each).
• Grade B from CACHE Diploma in Child Care and Education
Candidates who are successful will demonstrate a sound understanding of teaching and how children learn, where possible within a school setting. We encourage all candidates to evidence their understanding by drawing on related examples or experiences, such as time spent in schools or other learning settings. Demonstrating an ability to make links between experience and knowledge, and their proposed career would be desirable.
If English is not your first language, you must have an IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in all skills or equivalent. For equivalents see our English language entry requirements
We welcome applications from people seeking a career change into primary teaching. We actively encourage applications from those groups under-represented in teacher education to ensure the teaching profession represents the diverse nature of present-day UK society.
If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to a selection event and you should present a passport or photo driving license. You can present other forms of photo ID for the selection event, but if you do, you will still need to present valid identity documents required by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) prior to starting your course.
Course enrolment - professional requirements
Before enrolling you must complete all the professional checks that are required as part of entry for the course:
Suitability Declaration
You must fully declare the following information on the pre-admission suitability declaration form provided during the admissions process:
- unfiltered criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings. For further information on unfiltered offences please see the Disclosure and Barring Service website.
- involvement in disciplinary proceedings during paid or voluntary employment or education establishments
- involvement with safeguarding proceedings, social services or related organisations
- if you have ever been removed from a teacher training programme as a result of your behaviour, or would have been removed if you had not left the programme
Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Criminal Record Check
- you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record check prior to or during the enrolment week of your course. This will be provided by the University free of charge.
- you will need to present valid identity documents (PDF) as part of the DBS application process
- if you have lived outside of the UK for more than six consecutive months in the last five years you must provide an overseas criminal record check. Further information on obtaining an overseas criminal record check.
- where your DBS Enhanced Disclosure certificate contains any recorded information you must present this to the Academic Administration Team within ten working days of receipt of the certificate.
- In addition to this all those who are made an offer of a place will be checked against the DfE children’s barred list.
Occupational Health Screening
You will need to undertake occupational health screening to determine your suitability to undertake the course. This will be provided by the University free of charge. As part of this assessment you are expected to provide all relevant, truthful and accurate information to ensure a safe environment for yourself and service users.
Other background checks
All applicants that have accepted an offer will also be checked against the prohibition list to ensure you are not:
- subject to a prohibition order issued by the Secretary of State
- prohibited to teach in another country of the European Economic Area (EEA)
If your personal circumstances change in relation to any of the professional requirements, from when you apply to the end of your course, please notify the Academic Administration team immediately by emailing tedss@shu.ac.uk.
Please note the University will only admit students who are aged 18 or over at the point of enrolment.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.
Year 1
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Introduction To The Early Years Core Curriculum | Credits: 40 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Introduction To The Wider Curriculum In Early Years | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Professional Learning 1 | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Practical |
Module: Understanding Learning And Learners 1 | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Understanding Learning And Learners 2 | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Year 2
Module | Credits |
---|---|
Module: Developing Enquiry Through A Specialism | Credits: 20 |
Module: Developing The Core Curriculum | Credits: 40 |
Module: Developing The Foundation Subjects | Credits: 20 |
Module: Placement 2 | Credits: - |
Module: Professional Learning 2 | Credits: 20 |
Module: Understanding Inclusion | Credits: 20 |
Final year
Module | Credits |
---|---|
Module: Educational Enquiry | Credits: 40 |
Module: Enhancing The English And Digital Literacy Curriculum | Credits: 20 |
Module: Enhancing The Maths And Science Curriculum | Credits: 20 |
Module: Placement 3 | Credits: - |
Module: Professional Learning 3 | Credits: 20 |
Module: Values And Issues In Education | Credits: 20 |
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2023/24 is £9,250 per year. These fees are regulated by the UK government and are therefore subject to changes in government policy.
† If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2023/24 is £15,860 per year.

Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
This link allows you to view estimated costs associated with the main activities on specific courses. These are estimates and, as such, are only an indication of additional course costs. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
Additional costs for Teaching and education courses (PDF, 255.5KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.