Primary Education with QTS (SEND) BA (Hons)

In your first year, you’ll develop the knowledge and skills that will help you thrive throughout your degree and prepare for your future career. You’ll explore key concepts and legislation around Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and begin to understand how children grow, learn and develop. You’ll also start to look at different curriculum subjects and learning theories that shape effective teaching.

Your first professional practice placement will give you the chance to see these ideas in action. You’ll spend time in a school setting, applying what you’ve learned and gaining valuable hands-on experience that brings your studies to life.

In Year 2, you’ll start to build more advanced skills in research, reflection and critical analysis. You’ll explore how different curriculum subjects connect, and why it’s important to look beyond the curriculum to understand the wider factors that influence children’s learning and wellbeing.

You’ll take part in another professional practice placement, focusing on inclusive education and what it means in real-world settings. You’ll explore the legal and ethical responsibilities that come with promoting equality and ensuring every child has access to the support they need.

You’ll also begin to look ahead to your future career, developing your leadership and teamwork skills, and learn how you can play a key role in driving positive change in education.

Your final year is about bringing everything together and stepping confidently into your future role. You’ll consolidate your understanding of inclusion and SEND through critical discussions about what inclusivity really means in education, and how schools can make it a reality.

You’ll explore academic considerations of inclusion, culture and leadership, curriculum access, and the importance of pupil and parent voice. You’ll also discover how you can shape and influence the curriculum yourself, using creativity to make learning meaningful and accessible for every child.

Your final professional practice placement will give you the chance to put everything you’ve learned into action. You’ll refine your teaching approach, build confidence in the classroom, and prepare for life as a qualified teacher, ready to make a lasting difference.

How you'll study

Throughout your BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS (SEND) degree, you’ll experience a variety of engaging and supportive teaching methods. Learning takes place through on-campus lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, all complemented by our virtual learning environment. Here, you’ll find online resources, interactive activities and teaching tools that help you study independently and at your own pace.

You’ll also take part in Intensive Training and Practice (ITAP), a focused element of our teacher training curriculum. ITAP is designed to help you consolidate your understanding of effective teaching, rehearse your skills in a supportive environment, and receive expert feedback from tutors and experienced teachers. Our ITAPs are designed to utilise the latest research and technology as well as draw on the outstanding mentors, tutors, and teacher expertise from across our partnership. Over the course of your training, you will have the opportunity to participate in several days of Intensive Practice focusing on aspects of pivotal practice such as: behaviour management, scaffolding, professional behaviours and questioning.

Across your training, you’ll participate in several ITAP days that explore pivotal aspects of classroom practice, such as behaviour management, scaffolding, professional conduct and effective questioning. During these times, your timetable may vary, and you may attend campus or placement settings outside your usual schedule.

Placements

You will spend a significant amount of time undertaking professional practice placements, normally in key stages 1 and 2 in schools and other educational settings. During these experiences you will have opportunities to observe the work of expert practitioners. You will reflect on and discuss this practice with those practitioners and your trained school-based mentor. As you take on increasing responsibility for children’s learning and development, you will start by working with small groups under the direction of the class teacher, sometimes with a student teacher partner, and progress to planning for and working with the whole class for significant periods of time, managing the learning of every child.

How you'll be assessed

You’ll be assessed in a variety of ways designed to reflect the practical and professional nature of teaching. Assessment methods include portfolios of work, written assignments, in-class tests and audits, poster presentations, as well as group and individual oral presentations.

During your professional practice placements, your school-based mentor will assess your progress through reflective conversations, regular observations, and reviews of your planning and assessment records. They’ll also consider feedback from colleagues and the children you work with, helping you to develop a rounded understanding of your impact as a teacher.

In all cases, you will be given clear assessment guidance. Assessment criteria are shared with you in advance, and you’ll be given constructive feedback to help you set personal targets and take confident next steps in your development.

Throughout your degree, you’ll compile an electronic portfolio that evidences your growing knowledge, skills and professional practice. By the end of the course, this will form a comprehensive record of your achievements and demonstrate that you meet the Teachers’ Standards required for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

There are no formal written examinations on this programme. Instead, assessment is continuous and reflective, helping you to apply what you learn directly to your classroom practice.

Who will be teaching you

For 140 years, Edge Hill’s Faculty of Education has been at the forefront of teacher education. Today, it enjoys the enviable position of being one of the UK’s leading providers of education, training and research for the children’s workforce.

You’ll be taught both on campus and during professional practice placements by a team of highly qualified and experienced tutors and teachers. Each one is dedicated to excellence in primary education and committed to modelling high-quality practice, helping you develop your own professional teaching style and confidence in the classroom.

Throughout your degree, you’ll be supported by a personal academic tutor who will work with you to manage your studies, prepare for professional placements and plan for your future career.

Our lead mentors and mentor leadership team are also central to your training experience. As experts in their field, they bring deep knowledge of the trainee curriculum and provide tailored guidance on both curriculum content and assessment. Their ongoing support helps you, and your school-based mentors, to make strong, steady progress throughout your journey to becoming a teacher.