NCI Course Details

During the course you will cover a range of subjects to gain a deep understanding of the holistic learning and development of babies and children from birth to six years of age. As such, this course will give you professional, practice-based knowledge, values and skills to work with children and their families during their crucial early childhood years. A specialised ‘Education play-lab’ at NCI will provide opportunities for ‘hands on’ student learning. The programme also has a strong component of supervised workbased professional practice during the four years of study.

The course incorporates key topics including Holistic Child Learning/Development; Early Learning in a Digital world, Child Health, Nutrition and Wellbeing; Essential Legislation and Regulatory Practices; Music, Movement, Art and Drama; Creativity and Play; Core Pedagogies and curricula in ECEC; Working in Multi-Professional Environments; Parent/Family Participation; as well as aspects of leadership, management and governance in the sector. Students are encouraged to critically engage, reflect, inquire and investigate a range of theoretical and practical pedagogical approaches to learning, development and care in early childhood.

• NCI has a tradition of working with educators. In CELL we believe that learning is lifelong and starts at birth. NCI has a long history of working with children and families through the Early Learning Initiative (ELI). Much has been learned through this initiative which has supported the development of this programme.
• A well-designed progressive professional practice experience, which allows you to hone your skills in working with children.
• A specialised play lab which allows you to investigate and experiment with resources and teaching materials in a safe environment before introducing them to children.
• The teaching team is multi-disciplinary and brings to our learners Irish and International experts delivering up-to-date core knowledge and practice in early childhood as well as much required building of academic, digital, and technological skills.
• This programme is approved by the Qualifications Advisory Board (instituted to review Level 7 and Level 8 Degree Programmes for the Early Learning and Care Sector) as meeting the requirements of the Professional Award Criteria and Guidelines standards.
• View our taster session to get a feel for the course.

Year 1

• Holistic Child Learning and Development
• Foundations of Early Childhood Education and Care*
• Music, Movement, Art and Drama
• Academic Foundations and Scholarship
• Essential Legislation and Regulation in ECEC
• Child Health Nutrition and Wellbeing*

*Field visits to diverse early childhood settings will be integrated within these theory modules

Year 2

• Core Pedagogies and Curriculum in ECEC
• Dispositions and Dynamics of Behaviour in Children
• Managing your Learning and Academic Practice
• Supervised Professional Practice Placement: Observation and Reflection in ECEC Practice
• Play and Creativity in ECEC
• Diversity and Pluralism in Learning Language and Literacies

Year 3

• Quality Assurance in ECEC Environments
• Early Learning in a Digital World
• Inquiry Learning – Design and Evaluation of Curriculum in ECEC
• Supervised Professional Practice Placement: Application of Strategies in Learning Environments in ECEC Practice
• The Child Family and Society – Stakeholder in ECEC
• Leadership and Governance in ECEC Environments

Year 4

• ECEC Research Methods and Inquiry
• Social, Political and Cultural Contexts of ECEC
• Working in Multi Professional Contexts
• Personal and Professional Identity
• Capstone ECEC Practice based Project

For information on the modules taught on this course view our module descriptors.

The Bachelor of Arts Honours in Early Childhood Education and Care is a four-year honours degree, awarded by QQI at level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

The programme includes three related exit awards:

• BA (Ordinary) in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 7 on NFQ) (180 credits)
• Higher Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 6 on NFQ) (120 credits)
• Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 6 on NFQ) (60 credits)

Students may exit after Year 3, Year 2 or Year 1 and receive the relevant awards.

The course will be delivered over four years. Each year has two semesters for a duration of twelve weeks of teaching per semester. Year 1 includes field visits to early childhood settings and from year 2 students will gain practical experience through supervised professional high quality practice placements.

This course is ideally suited to those who would like to work with or for babies and young children and their families from birth to six in the ECEC sector. You should apply for this course if you want to work as a setting-based educator, a manager in a crèche, if you’d like to work in a Naíonraí, special needs environment, as a childminder, home visitor, or work in early childhood intervention programmes, or if you’d like to be an inspector/evaluator, mentor, curriculum trainer for the Health Service Executive, DES or TUSLA (the child and family support agency and curriculum trainers).

Minimum Entry Requirements

Minimum entry requirements for the programme are H5 in two subjects, and O6/H7 in four subjects in the Leaving Certificate or equivalent, which must include English and Mathematics. Applicants who successfully complete a Major QQI Award at level 5 may apply through the CAO’s Higher Education and Links Scheme (HELS).

The minimum entry requirement for this programme is a level 5 qualification in any discipline, including three distinctions, ideally with professional involvement in the delivery of learning in Early Childhood Education and Care.

For applicants whose first language is not English, please note the English language entry requirements.

Mature applicants, applicants with a disability or those applying through the DARE or HEAR access schemes can find out more information on the application process.

Please note that exams can be scheduled during the morning, afternoon or evening Monday to Saturday.

QQI Level 5/6 Requirements

Students must obtain a minimum of 3 distinctions and a full award and meet the CAO points requirements to apply for this Level 8 course. 

Visit our QQI Applicants page for further information.

Applicants with a Major Award in Early Learning and Care/ Early Childhood Education and Care at NFQ level 6 may be eligible for an advanced entry into Year 2 of the programme. Advanced entry applicants should email admissions directly for the application link admissions@ncirl.ie or on 1800 221 721.

NCI strongly advises that all students should have access to a suitable laptop for their course. A student Laptop Loan Scheme may be available for certain eligible students.

The College recommends the following laptop requirements for students joining this course:

Processor:

Intel 7th (or higher) generation processors (Core i-3, i-5, i-7,i-9-7x)
or AMD Ryzen 3rd generation processors, running at 2.0GHz and above (Intel Atom/Celeron or AMD Athlon/Sempron Processors may cost less, but may not meet your requirements)

Random Access Memory (RAM):
8 GB minimum

Solid State Drive (SSD) Capacity:
256 GB minimum

Wireless Card:
802.11 a/b/g/n compliant with Bluetooth Capability (incompatibilities have been noted with the Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Adapters and software device drivers)

Graphics Card:
Direct X9 or later

Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 10 Home/Pro

This degree is recognised by the Department of Education (DE) as Initial Professional Education (IPE), to practice as professional Early Childhood Educators in ECEC also called the Early Learning and Care sector in Ireland. This programme is also on the list of approved programmes by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) Early Years Recognised Qualifications for practice; meeting the requirements of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 and DCEDIY Childcare Programme Contracts.

An essential and hugely beneficial key element of the programme is the strong emphasis placed on supervised professional practice placement in diverse Early Childhood settings.

More than 1,000 hours are specially allocated to supervised-placement-related activities. Among other skills, such as observations and ethical practice, application of strategies in learning environments, the placement includes planning and developing curriculum for young children. Field visits are an essential component within year one, supervised Professional Placement are key modules within year 2 and year 3, while year 4 provides an opportunity for students to combine their experiences and skills in a practice-based/led capstone project.

Download the Placement Booklet for further information.

On completion, you will possess the skills to work as a room leader or supervisor, working directly with children, as a setting-based practitioner or manager, in advisory, mentorship, training and leadership roles such as Early Childhood Inspectors, Specialists in Better Start.

Government strategies have set out a vision for a graduate-led workforce in ECEC and the ECCE Scheme (free preschool years) also offers a higher capitation fee to providers where all leaders are degree qualified. These changes highlight the opportunities for graduates from this programme

Recently, the Irish Govt. has restated their commitment by launching 'First Five'- a whole of Government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families, over the next 10 years (2019-2028). This strategy aims to move progressively towards a graduate led professional workforce.

Upon successful completion students may progress to the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Practice in Teaching for Further Education at NCI or the NCI Master of Arts in Educational Practice or other postgraduate programmes. Alternatively, you may progress into specialised graduate study areas such as, policy development, childhood studies or therapeutic applications of play, for example, play therapy.

Incoming students on the BA(Hons) in Early Childhood Education and Care programme must undergo Garda Vetting. The completed Vetting Invitation Form (NVB1) and supporting documentation must be submitted as soon as an application is completed. Download our Guidelines on the Garda Vetting Process for further information.

Programme offers will remain conditional until part 1 of the Garda Vetting process is completed. 

Note: Students will not be permitted to begin their placement until their vetting application is processed and approved in accordance with NCI’s Student Vetting policy.

The points for this course in 2022 were 230.

The CAO course code is NC030.

This course was listed under CAO’s Available Places facility in 2022. All applicants who met the entry requirements could apply for the course regardless of points achieved. To find out more about Available Places visit cao.ie

Did you know you can apply for a Sports Scholarship at NCI?

Watch this video to hear from our current sports scholars Stephen Achukwu (basketball) and Adam Leonard (football):

The BA (Honours) in Early Childhood Education and Care is a self-funded course that does not qualify under the Free Fees Initiative.

The fee for this course is €3,080 per annum which is equivalent to the normal student contribution fee. However, to allow for the government's once-off fee contribution announced in the budget, the fee will be €2,080 for the academic year 2023.

Students on this course may qualify for the Student Grant Scheme.

The fees for this course for international students is €10,000 per year.

For domestic students applying through the CAO, there is a different fee structure as this is a self-funded course. View the course fees information on this page.