Program Overview

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BA (Hons) Primary Education

Course Overview

A three-year, online course designed for teaching assistants in schools in England who wish to become primary or prep school teachers.

Start and Duration

• June 2025
• Full-time, 3 years

Level and Qualification

• Undergraduate
• Bachelor of Arts (Hons)

UCAS Code and Campus

• 3SPR
• Online

School

• School of Education

Course Fees

• UK: £5,000 (1st year), £15,000 (total)
• INT: £5,000 (1st year), £15,000 (total)

About the Course

This three-year BA degree course is designed for those working as teaching assistants in schools who wish to become primary or prep school teachers. To be a qualified teacher in England, you must have a degree and the most relevant degree to take is one in Education.

While the number of teachers in schools in England has remained steady over the past decade or so, the number of full-time equivalent TAs has more than trebled since 2000, from 79,000 to 262,800. Teaching assistants now comprise more than a quarter of the workforce in mainstream schools in England, rising to 35% in primary schools.

This degree has many significant advantages:

• It is designed to enable you to work in a paid job while taking the course.
• This is an online course, which enables you to do the work and complete tasks at times you can manage.
• The course materials are written by academics and leading primary school head teachers in England.
• The course is excellent value. Every student will need to find out whether their employer is happy to pay, or whether they will take a student loan.
• You will have your own University of Buckingham tutor, who will support you throughout the course.
• The degree course is integrated with your work because much of the study is based on you reflecting on your school and what happens there.
• For students living in England, the BA can be followed by the 12-month Qualified Teacher Status course at The University of Buckingham which is free of charge (at the time of writing) because it is paid, through your employer, by the apprenticeship levy. QTS is needed to teach in many schools in England.

In addition to your contracted hours of work, you should be able to commit approximately 10-12 hours per week to the necessary reading and writing for this course.

Part-time teaching assistants are welcome.

Overseas applicants should know that the course content is about primary schools in England only. You will not be eligible for the apprenticeship-funded QTS course but can apply for the International QTS course for which there is a fee.

There are a number of pathways into teaching and our work-based routes are creating opportunities for everyone at any stage of their career, including school leavers.

Why might a school-leaver consider this course?

• If you like your current school, you can stay there as you commence your studies.
• Very low cost compared to going away to university as you can live at home.
• You will achieve a degree that leads to a fulfilling and rewarding job.
• You can begin to earn money as soon as you leave school.

If my school is part of a multi-academy trust, can the trust be involved?

Yes, we are negotiating a partnership with several MATs who can offer jobs in their school and support their trainee teachers doing the BA degree.

Course Dates

• Course Welcome Webinar: Monday 16 June 2025 (online)
• Course Induction Webinar: Monday 23 June 2025 (online)
• Course start date: Monday 23 June 2025
• Course end date: July 2028

Entry Requirements

• You must be in employment in a primary school. Your school will need to write a letter supporting your application.
• You cannot have a university degree already.
• Two A-levels or other level 3 qualifications worth 32 UCAS points or equivalents, including a Foundation Degree (overseas qualifications must be checked through UK ENIC to show they are the same standard as British A-levels).
• Complete a successful interview with a member of the Faculty of Education.
• It is not a requirement for the BA (Hons) in Primary Education but to apply for a place on a QTS course in Primary, you must have evidence of GCSEs in English, Maths and Science at a C grade/ Level 4 or above.
• Overseas applicants must have a good standard of written English and have an IELTS score of 6.5 or above or have completed some of their education in English.
• Sixth formers who are taking A-Levels may apply. Any offer made will be conditional.

Teaching and Assessment

Course Structure

There are 10 modules of 30 credits each, and a final 60 credit Enquiry module. The modules are:

• Child development 1 and the purposes of education
• School organisation and regulation and successful primary schools
• The science of learning and successful primary pupils
• The role of play and creativity in primary education
• Child development 2: barriers to learning, classroom culture and managing behaviour
• Early Years learning and an introduction to oracy and phonics
• Literacy and numeracy
• Foundation subjects and statutory RE
• Teaching primary science and assessment in primary schools
• Literacy and numeracy throughout the curriculum
• Enquiry module

You will study four of the above modules per year, using the online learning platform. You will access a range of learning materials to work through and you will be assessed based on three assignments per module. These assignments will be based on your study and require you to link this to your in-school observations and experiences. The final Enquiry module is assessed will involve a longer, research-based assignment on an area of your choice from the programme. This will involve a literature review of 2,000 words and a research project of 6,000 words, written over two terms.

To aid you in your studies, students receive a free Chromebook to ensure they can access the course without obstacles. What’s more it’s yours to keep beyond they completion of the course. Students will need to return the Chromebook if they do not complete the first module.

After Your Course

If you live in England, after the BA you could proceed directly onto The University of Buckingham’s one-year apprenticeship-levy funded online teacher training course, which leads to Qualified Teacher Status. For this, there is no charge to you (unless the new government change regulations). If you do not live in England, you can take an alternative Qualified Teacher Training course with Buckingham for which there will be a fee.