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On this course you will:

• boost your professional development and employability potential;
• study work-based learning modules throughout your degree, allowing you to complete projects designed to support high-quality early years provision in your workplace;  
• benefit from guidance, mentoring and one-to-one supervision provided by our academic staff with support from your employer mentor;��
• benefit from learning alongside other Graduate Apprentices, who will come from different early years settings and have a range of experience. This provides a stimulating and rewarding stage in your professional and personal development, and a unique networking opportunity.

Rewarding for your employer��

The Graduate Apprenticeship programme offers early years employers a unique opportunity to strengthen their workforce while supporting staff to gain a degree-level qualification. You will bring fresh knowledge, critical thinking, and reflective practice directly into your setting—skills that contribute meaningfully to your organisation’s development and long-term sustainability. See Information for Employers.

Structure

The Graduate Apprenticeship is a full-time, work-based degree. Students enter directly into Year Two, meaning the full degree is completed in two years instead of the usual three. Most learning happens in the workplace as part of your job role, complemented by a mix of scheduled and asynchronous online learning sessions throughout each module. Online learning will include a combination of live tutorials scheduled at key points during the module and flexible asynchronous sessions that students can access at any time throughout the week. Occasional on-campus sessions will also be scheduled, where you can come together and learn alongside others on your course.

Teaching, learning and assessment

Most of the learning takes place in your workplace as part of your normal job. You also complete two taught modules per semester. Taught modules are mainly comprised of flexible self-directed activities, and we expect you to spend around 6 hours a week on these, plus about 6 hours of independent study. Each module will include two scheduled online seminars. There will also be occasional on campus days where you can come together and learn alongside other Graduate Apprentices on the course.

Your assessments are practical and directly relevant to early years practice. They’re designed to connect with the real work you do every day, giving you the chance to reflect on your approach, try out new ideas, and develop your professional skills in meaningful ways.  Assessments include observing and analysing children’s play, consulting with children to evaluate and develop the learning environment and creating resources to be shared with your wider team.   

Workplace learning

You will continue to work in your current role while you study. This will help you develop your learning into practical, real-world expertise. Your workplace learning will be supported by a mentor appointed by your employer.

Teaching staff

The course is led by Dr Caralyn Blaisdell, senior lecturer in Education. Dr Blaisdell is an experienced early childhood educator with a strong background in the theory and practice of early learning, including rights-based, Froebelian and Reggio-Emilia-inspired approaches. You can read more about other teaching staff at the bottom of the page.

This degree is subject to validation. We anticipate the modules will include the following: 

Year Two

• Developing Your Academic Voice
• Young Children’s Rights and Early Learning in Context  
• Work-based Learning 1: Being a Reflective Practitioner 
• Outdoor Spaces for Play and Learning in Early Years  
• Inclusion, Equity and Additional Support for Learning in Early Years
• Work-based Learning 2: Values-Based Professional Development

Year Three

• Supporting Young Children’s Holistic Development  
• Play-Based Pedagogy: Holistic Approaches to Numeracy and STEM
• Work-based Learning 3: Reflective Planning with Children and Communities
• Play-Based Pedagogy: Holistic Approaches to Communication, Language and Literacy 
• Working Collaboratively to Support Young Children, Their Families and Communities
• Work-based Learning 4: Toward Reflective Leadership in Early Years Practice

On graduating, you will already be employed, so you won’t suddenly hit the job market like most graduates do. You will be able to take the theoretical understanding you have learnt in your degree and apply it directly to challenges in your workplace. From there, your goal will be to use your learning to take your career to the next level. �������� graduates are active learners with strong personal and professional values, equipped to progress in their working lives, make a positive difference, and help shape a better world locally and globally. You will have strengthened your professional expertise and developed the confidence to support progression into a variety of roles with greater responsibility within practitioner-level registration.

With further study, the Graduate Apprenticeship can also support progression to a managerial role in the sector or to a range of roles in related fields such as community learning and development, primary education, higher and further education, and research and policy.  

As a �������� student, you will be supported by our Careers and Employability Service during your studies and throughout your career after you graduate.

Entry requirements 

You must be employed in an early years setting and have the support of your employer to apply for this programme. See below for other eligibility criteria. ��

The Graduate Apprenticeship begins directly into Year Two. Therefore, you must have your HNC in Childhood Practice to apply for the degree. If you are currently studying for this HNC and are due to complete before the start of the Graduate Apprenticeship, you can also apply.

We may also consider equivalent practice qualifications and relevant experience.��

Students who do not yet have their HNC can apply directly to a Further Education College, and upon successful completion, apply to �������� to enter Year Two, so long as they are employed in an early years setting at that point. Information on conditions of entry, mode of study, and funding criteria can be found on the college website.

Membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme is required.

Please register your interest, in the first instance, by completing this form. We will be in touch to discuss your options for joining the programme.

Eligibility Criteria for the Graduate Apprenticeship

Graduate Apprenticeships are open to existing employees and new recruits working full- or part-time in early years settings in Scotland.

You must also be:��

• aged 16 or over (there is no maximum age limit);
• resident in Scotland and have been living here for three years before starting your degree*;
• normally working in an early year setting in Scotland for a minimum of 21 hours per week; and,
• able to show that you have the right to work in Scotland.��

Further information is available from Apprenticeship.scot and SAAS.

*Students must be living (ordinarily resident) in Scotland on the day their course starts, where ‘ordinarily resident’ means to have 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. The Scottish Government expects someone who is ordinarily resident in Scotland to have made their home in Scotland with the intention of staying and living here, and not just to undertake a course of study.��
You can apply to do a Graduate Apprenticeship even if you have already completed an undergraduate degree with SAAS funding, particularly if it is a career change to something new.

Tuition Fees

Your tuition fees for this degree are paid by . You must apply annually to SAAS for your tuition fees. For more information about the funding for Years Two and Three, see .��

Because you are working, you are not entitled to apply for “living” costs such as a bursary, student loan, Lone Parents’ Grant or Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) from SAAS.

Am I a Widening Access student?��

We apply the minimum entry criteria to applicants who meet one or more contextual factors. To see if this applies to you, please refer to the Application and Access page.

Disability/health conditions

If you have a disability, long-term physical or mental health condition, or learning disability, it should not stand in the way of your studying at ��������. However, if you are not sure whether your disability might be a barrier in your studies or in relation to the professional standards, please contact �������� Student Services who will be able to have a conversation with you about reasonable adjustments and supports available to you.

How to apply

Please complete the form, Register Your Interest. We will check that you meet the key criteria. You may also be invited for an interview, in person or online, and we will make contact with your employer. If all goes well, you can then apply via our online application process, knowing that your application will be accepted.��

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Contact our Industry Liaison Officer today to find out more.

• The delivery of this course is subject to the terms and conditions set out in our 2027/28 Entry Terms and Conditions (Undergraduate).
• The course information on this page is correct at the time of posting (April 2026), but is subject to change following validation. Please check back here for any updates. For more information, please contact ILO@qmu.ac.uk.