What is the Foundation Degree like?

[confusedotcom]

I agree lol. The more help the better. Although I am slightly nervous that you all seem to be taking the OU route as I am going to college full time to do mine...

[samanthagardiner]

I'm going the OU route as I work 3 days a week and have 2 children of my own. College doesn't fit into my life. The 2 days I would need to go to college are 2 of the days I work.

[Heidi]

Originally Posted by confusedotcom

I agree lol. The more help the better. Although I am slightly nervous that you all seem to be taking the OU route as I am going to college full time to do mine...

Studying your Foundation degree at university you will have support from other students, so that's a benefit, not something to be worried about.

You say you have no work experience ? You will need to be working in a setting; you need to be able to link theory/academic work to practice in a setting. If you aren't at a setting, are you doing regular placements? If not, it's a little bit like knowing what a car is, but not understanding what's under the bonnet.

I don't wish to alarm you, but fore warned is fore armed. If you work with children, you are able to continually learn and study them and this will make your assignments much easier/smoother and less stressful.

Best of luck.

[Meena]

hey confusedotcom. lol dont be nervous! im going into university to do mine too and as heidi said u will get the support of other students too...im quite excited to start, but i can imagine me stressing once i have...

[portchesterqueen]

Hi all,
I am in my last year of the foundation degree. I work 5 mornings a week and have two children, I spend 1 day a week 1-6pm at Southampton University. It is hard work and very stressful at times, but you meet a lot of people in the same boat and everybody helps everybody else. There will be times when you will feel like giving up, but this is all part of the adjustment to academic writing which is very different. Your tutors will not expect you to get straight A's for your first assignments, but will expect you to improve with each one that you do. Remember that they are not asking you to do something that you shouldn't already have experience in, just at a higher level and mainly reflective analysis to your working practice. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about working with children, think again. You will gain so much more from doing this degree. Good luck and best wishes to you all.
Portchesterqueen

[watgem]

I'm just about to start my 2nd year, and although its been incredibly hard work its also been so rewarding and given me a much deeper understanding of what good practice is. I go to uni one day a week and work as a childminder the rest of the week and have 8 kids of my own to look after. Sometimes I've felt like giving up, but I think the key is to be organised! Before I began studying a tutor from another college advised me to continually relate my studies to my practice, and to be reflective in my writing, and I found this to be very helpful, and has helped me in writing my SEF and be a more reflective practitioner. I really feel that this is one of the best things that I have done so far, and wish you lots of luck

[jocarr76]

I'm starting mine degree next week at Hopwood Hall College

Good Luck everyone

[Racheleuro]

I have enrolled for the Ou course due to start in Oct, but on looking at the course material it looks like a senior practitioner progression route and not an unexperienced beginner... Just my thought..I feel like it might not be the route for me.

Rachel

[MissHayley]

How are you guys finding it?

Whats your module topics? x

[Meena]

Hi Miss Hayley,
I started my course few weeks back. It's going quite well, im doing three modules at the moment....learn and develop, eyfs and reflective practice.
I was given one pamphlet and one essay to do last week.
It all seems ok at the moment, very different from the NVQ3!! xxxx