Award in an Introduction to Neuroscience in Early Years

This thought-provoking NCFE CACHE qualification combines two highly topical themes within

child development and early years provision –neuroscience and self-regulation.

Neuroscience is an exciting field of research that has huge significance to anyone who supports

babies or young children. This qualification is designed to give learners an introduction to the subject, and to share with them some of the remarkable insights it has given us in terms of how

the infant brain develops, and how this is affected  by a range of external influences.

For example, advances in technology mean we can now see the damaging effects that stress,

trauma and a lack of adult care and affection can have on the developing structures of the brain

and how these can detrimentally affect learning and behaviour. Conversely, we can also see the

powerful and positive effects of affectionate and responsive caregiver relationships and of nurturing

care environments.

This qualification also explores the topic of self regulation in early years. These are a critical set of

skills that help children to remain calm, attentive and able to deal with powerful emotions such as

fear, anger and sadness.

 Children are not born with these skills; they develop them over time when

they are supported to understand their feelings and actions by caring and responsive adults. This is one of the reasons why, for the first time, self-regulation has been included as an early learning goal in the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

As well as explaining the theory behind the science, this course will provide learners with

practical advice in terms of how to promote healthy brain development in the critical first seven years of  life, and how they can support child