A guide to Froebel courses - All for Froebel

Certificates

A Froebel Certificate in Early Childhood is offered at Levels 4 and 6, aimed at all those working with children from birth to six and who wish to deepen their understanding of a Froebelian approach and to use this to reflect on and develop their practice. These two courses are provided in partnership with the Froebel Trust, which subsidises the course fee by 50 per cent:

Froebel Professional Practice Certificate in Early Childhood (Level 4)

What: Four full-day sessions over an academic year, as well as three twilight tutorials and six visits to relevant settings and organisations. Open to those with at least two years’ experience of working with young children.

Where: University of Roehampton. While attendance at the four sessions is a must, tutorials and visits may be arranged locally or on Skype.

Froebel Professional Development Certificate in Early Childhood (Level 6)

What: Four full-day Saturday sessions over an academic year, as well as three twilight tutorials and six visits to relevant settings and organisations. Open to those with at least two years’ experience of working with young children and prior study at Level 5 or above. The course offers progression to Level 7.

Where: As above.

Froebel and Childhood Practice CPD Certificate

What: A 30-hour CPD course providing 40 credits with a route to a BA in Childhood Practice. The aim is to develop a critical understanding of Froebelian principles through a contemporary analysis of Froebel’s work. Participants will learn about Froebelian approaches including gifts, play, and relationships in learning contexts. A course will run from autumn 2019 to spring 2020.

Where: Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh

Full degrees and above

Undergraduate

Early Childhood Studies

What: Three-year degree course taking a Froebelian approach to the study of early years, grounded in a holistic focus on children and families, the centrality of play and environments for well-being and learning, and inclusion and connectedness.

Where: University of Roehampton

Master’s

Early Childhood Studies

What: A one-year full-time, or three- to eight-semester part-time, course drawing on Froebel’s understanding of the transformative power of young children’s play on their thinking, and the way adults can either seek to assist or control young children’s creativity.

Where: University of Roehampton

MSc Education (Early Childhood Practice and Froebel)

What: A one-year full-time, or two- or three-year part-time, course for graduates and professionals focusing on Froebel and other contemporary early years pedagogies and social justice approaches. On successful completion, students who wish to progress to the MSc will complete a dissertation of 12,000 words.

Where: Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh

PhD

The Froebel Trust provides full funding for two PhD students each year and practitioner support grants of between £3,000 and £5,000 for experienced Froebelians working in early years settings.

Conferences, lectures and seminars

• The annual Edinburgh Froebel Network Conference (September 2019).
• The annual Froebel Trust Lecture (October 2019).
• The Froebel Trust Seminar Series (from autumn 2019 to summer 2020).
• The biennial Froebel Trust Conference (next in 2021).
• The biennial International Froebel Society Conference (next in 2020).
• The annual Canterbury Froebel Conference.

Online

The Froebel Trust provides a range of free online pamphlets (www.froebel.org.uk/resources/pamphlets), including:

• Outdoor Play by Helen Tovey
• Clay by Lucy Parker
• Mother Songs and Finger Plays by Jane Dyke (available September 2019)
• Cooking by Lucy Parker (available September 2019)
• Froebelian Principlesby Helen Tovey (available late 2019)
• Blocks by Jane Whinnett (available late 2019)
• A range of Froebel networks encouraging professional dialogue and support can also be found on the Froebel Trust’s social media pages.

Short courses

What: Practically focused local courses delivered in partnership with Early Education by peripatetic ‘travelling tutors’. The short Froebel courses cover:

Element 1. Introduction: Principles and Practices of the Froebelian approach to Early Childhood Education

Element 2. The Gifts (and modern wooden blocks) and the Occupations (workshop experiences)

Element 3. The importance of engaging with nature and outdoor learning

Element 4. Play and the symbolic life of the child (representation and the expressive arts)

Element 5. Lullabies and family songs, finger plays, action songs, movement games – firm foundations for later literacy.

Short courses are made up of a mandatory two-day introductory course (Element 1), and a series of four optional followthrough two-day courses (Elements 2-5).

Bursaries from the Froebel Trust are available on application to Early Education.

Where: In settings

International

The Froebel Trust has two international projects in Africa and Kolkata, India.

www.froebel.org.uk