Learning & Teaching (SEN/D and Inclusive Provision) FdA
Program start date | Application deadline |
2025-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Learning & Teaching (SEN/D and Inclusive Provision) FdA
Key Facts
- UCAS Code: 73X3
- Level: Undergraduate
- Duration: 2 years full time
- Starting: September
- Entry Requirements: EE at A Level, PP at BTEC
- Fees UK 25/26: Full Time: £9,535, Part Time: £1,585 per 20 credits
- Location: Waterside
Overview
The Foundation Degree in Learning and Teaching SEN/D and Inclusive Provision (FDLT SEN/DIP) is designed for support staff who are currently working in specialist SEN/D and inclusive settings and who wish to gain a recognised qualification specific to their role. This Learning and Teaching SEND course aims to broaden and deepen your understanding of the context of education, inclusion and development and strengthen your ability to support children’s learning and development within the broader life of the setting.
Highlights
- You will be taught by specialists in the area of special educational needs, neurodiversity and inclusion, all of whom have extensive vocational experience in this area.
- Work-based course to fit with your schedule.
- Recognised qualification for support staff working with children, young people and adults
- You may be exempt from certain modules if you have relevant prior qualifications
- Highly experienced and supportive tutor team
- Progression to honours degrees and teacher training programmes, as well as other roles within education.
- HP Laptop and software included with this course for eligible students.*
Entry Requirements
- Level 3 qualification, for example Level 3 diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning, NVQ Level 3, A levels (EE) or BTEC Diploma (PP), HLTA status or relevant professional development courses at HE level.
- A minimum of 12 months experience working as a Teaching Assistant or other learning support role within a SEND school or SEND unit within a mainstream school or an appropriate setting that supports learning.
- Other Entry Requirements:
- You should provide a full Education history, including details of any Level 3 qualifications you may have. If you do not have a full Level 3 Extended Diploma, we may ask you to submit a written task before providing you with an offer.
- Maths and English GCSE’s are not required but are recommended, especially for applicants seeking entry into Teacher Training post-BALT.
- You will need to provide details of your current workplace and job role, it would also be helpful to get a sense of your whole experience of working in education or alternative settings with children and young people. You can also provide details of other jobs you have had.
- You should also provide a full supporting statement, detailing your professional background, why you would like to do the course and what will the course prepare you for in the long term (whether this is teaching or not).
- You will need to ask your Headteacher to provide a supporting statement. This should be a character reference and an endorsement to release you from your workplace for one day a week.
Course Content
- Course Details:
- This Foundation Degree in Learning and Teaching and a SEN pathway has a high proportion of work-based learning which is reflected in the assessments. The programme is designed to embrace the working situation of students. The structure will reflect your individual, professional and occupational context. It acknowledges the benefit that is to be gained from sharing common experiences and concerns. You will broaden and deepen your understanding of your role, set in a specific professional and social context. It also reflects the need to assess your development of the skills, knowledge and understanding, professional values and attitudes applicable to your role at work.
- The programme is designed to be completed within two calendar years, with the taught components arranged to accommodate the needs of staff working in SEND and inclusive provision.
- Stage 1:
- The first year introduces you to what it means to be an undergraduate student, where you are supported through how to construct an undergraduate assignment as well as how the technology we use at the University will aid this process. You will then be taught how to harness and respect the voice of learners who may find it difficult to voice their needs, therefore introducing concepts around social and cultural dimensions of learning needs, disability and diversity.
- To complement this, you will undertake PDT1081, which aims to provide you to be more critical regarding your own understanding of your practice in the workplace. Students will sit this module all year as your knowledge and understanding develops over the course of the academic year.
- You will be assigned a Personal Tutor and a Visiting Tutor (who is directly involved in the work-based visits) that inform your learning within the work-based practice modules across both years.
- Modules: - PDT1066 Introduction to SEND, Diversity and Inclusion (20 Credits) - PDT1076 Using Digital Technology to Inspire and Support Learning (20 Credits) - PDT1082 Social and Cultural Dimensions of Difference and Diversity (20 Credits) - PDT1083 Encouraging Voices (20 Credits) - PDT1081 Work-Based Practice: The Reflective Practitioner (40 Credits)
- Stage 2:
- To compliment the learning you have undertaken in the first year of your studies, you will sit modules that are designed around the four areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice. These modules are designed in a way to encourage discussion around how you support learners with a variety of specific needs. You will then be given the opportunity to see how purposeful collaborative working can lead to positive outcomes for learners with a diverse range of special educational needs/disabilities.
- You will be given the opportunity to lead your own research project, which aims to prepare you for your Dissertation should you choose to progress to the BA Learning and Teaching (top-up).
- Modules: - PDT2025 Social, Emotional and Mental Health Perspectives (10 Credits) - PDT2026 Autism and Class Support (10 Credits) - PDT2027 Cognition and Learning Needs (10 Credits) - PDT2028 Physical and Sensory Needs (10 Credits) - PDT2029 Collaborative Working (20 Credits) - PDT2024 Independent Research Project (20 Credits) - PDT2019 Work-Based Practice: Reflective Practices (40 Credits)
Fees and Funding
- 2025/26 Tuition Fees:
- UK Full Time: £9,535
- UK Part Time: £1,585 per 20 credit module
- Additional Costs: There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2025. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.
- Scholarships and Bursaries: For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page. For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.
Staff
- Senior Lecturer in Education (SEN and Inclusion): Nicola Preston
- Senior Lecturer in Education (SEN and Inclusion): Brenna Farrow
- Senior Lecturer in Education (SEN and Inclusion): Una Lodge
- Senior Lecturer in Education: Tereza Aidonopoulou
- Senior Lecturer in Education (ECYP): Alexia Achtypi
- Senior Lecturer in Education (ECYP): Abbie Deeming
- Senior Lecturer in Education (SEN and Inclusion): Adam Chapman
- Senior Lecturer in Education (SEN and Inclusion): Korrin Smith-Whitehouse
Careers and Employability
This Learning & Teaching (SEN/D and Inclusive Provision) course gives you the opportunity to progress onto an honours degree to gain a full honours degree. Progression to BA Learning and Teaching top-up would be suitable route. Discussions around alternate routes to graduate employment will be facilitated throughout your time on the program.
Related Courses
- Learning and Teaching (FDLT): This course aims to develop your understanding of children’s learning and build on your ability to...
- Learning and Teaching (top-up) BA (Hons): This degree is designed to follow on from our Foundation Degree in Learning and Teaching, or...
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