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Accessibility statement
This module is appropriate for anyone with an interest in the lives and learning of young children including current early childhood practitioners who want to develop their knowledge and understanding in preparation for professional roles linked to careers in education, health and social care. You'll explore how children learn, the importance of play, children’s rights, and their physical and emotional well-being. You'll also consider how provisions such as preschools, nurseries, or childminders can support children's learning experiences. This key introductory module will help you acquire key skills to support your further study in the field of early childhood.
This module is appropriate for anyone with an interest in the lives and learning of young children including current early childhood practitioners who want to develop their knowledge and understanding for professional roles linked to careers in education, health and social care.
This module aims to help you develop an understanding of early childhood from a range of perspectives, highlighting the central importance of the child’s voice and the participatory nature of young children’s experiences in different contexts. The module is divided into three blocks of study:
Block 1: Starting with the child
In this block you develop your knowledge and understanding of children’s learning, development, emotional well-being, play and fundamental rights.
Block 2: Responding to the child
In this block you consider how we as adults can build learning relationships with children. How can we ensure they are listened to and involved? How can we observe, guide and plan to ensure that learning is a rich and meaningful experience for them? How can we create environments that encourage exploration and discovery and which can include all children?
Block 3: Making provision for early childhood
In this block you explore how policy and practice can have an impact on children’s experiences. You will think about how children’s learning experiences are supported by provision such as pre-schools, nurseries and child-minders as well as local and national policies.
This module aims to provide you with insights into many aspects of children’s learning experiences and how adults can support these. The module draws on examples and studies both from within and outside the UK, for example from New Zealand, Italy and Scandinavia. By using such a wide range of resources, the intention is to broaden your perspective and extend your thinking beyond situations that may be more familiar.
During this module you will compare and contrast practice that you observe in early childhood settings with the ideas about working with children that you study. You will be encouraged to reflect on the practice and experiences that you see and how these might be adapted or changed, with a focus on the significance of equity, diversity and inclusion in early childhood. You will explore these different areas through studying the module materials, which include printed books, audio and video recordings and on-line activities.
There are no formal academic or experiential requirements to study this module.
However, it’s essential that you have an interest in young children’s lives and learning. If you're not already working or volunteering in an early childhood setting, it would also be beneficial for you to arrange access to one. We recommend you visit a setting weekly/fortnightly.
Note: Access to schools will require you to meet the ‘fit person’ criteria in your country to work with children. You and your setting are responsible for ensuring you meet these requirements, not the OU.
The study of the module is not limited to the UK. Students anywhere within Continental Western Europe can study this module.
If you’re not sure you’re ready, talk to an adviser.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
The module is organised into three study blocks and you will receive a printed book for each block. You will also have access to the module website which includes: online activities to support your studies; film and audio material; details of the assignments; and links to online forums for you to interact with fellow students and your tutor.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying E109 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Exploring perspectives on young children’s lives and learning (E109) starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2031.
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