SpLD (Dyslexia) with AMBDA/ATS PGCert

Develop the expertise to enhance provision in educational settings for learners with specific learning difficulties dyslexia on a course accredited by the British Dyslexia Association.

Closed to applications for September 2023.

Overview

Course length:	18 months part-time
Start dates:	September 2023 September 2024
Location:	Venues nationwide
Subject(s):	Education and Teaching
Faculty:	Education
Department:	Primary and Childhood Education

This programme enables you to investigate research and literature relevant to SpLD dyslexia and evaluate this in terms of specialist teaching and learning practice. You will gain a critical understanding of the social, emotional and community issues that may affect dyslexic learners and their families and develop your knowledge of the practice and principles involved in enhancing the learning experience for children and young people with SpLD dyslexia. Demonstrating the ability to critically evaluate and reflect upon your own practice in relation to the identification, assessment and subsequent interventions within the role of a specialist teacher forms a central part of the programme.

Please note, as an alternative to completing this PGCert, it is also possible to gain eligibility to apply to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) for recognition as a Specialist Dyslexia Teacher/Practitioner with Approved Teacher Status or Approved Practitioner Status (ATS/APS) by completing module Identification, Assessment and Intervention for Students with SpLD Dyslexia (AP) on a standalone basis. On completion of one module, you can do screening tests and teach learners with dyslexia but not do the full diagnostic report. You will also not be awarded AMBDA. To be awarded AMBDA you would need to undertake and successfully complete the PGCert SpLD (Dyslexia) including all three modules.

In addition to your tuition fees, you will be required to purchase your own diagnostic assessments. For full details and an up-to-date breakdown of costs please email [email protected] and we will send you the information you need.

Course features

Professional accreditation

What you'll study

The rationale and philosophy of the programme emphasises the key relationship between critical thinking, evaluation and practical action. This is related to your professional experiences and interests as well as the ways in which these can be synthesised.

Emphasis is placed on effective practice, particularly improving the provision that settings offer, through the teacher/tutor, for learners with specific learning difficulties dyslexia.

This will involve active exploration of a range of issues including:

Complexities of identification, assessment and multi-sensory learning environments.
Critical analysis of a range of intervention strategies and teaching approaches.
Principles underlying structured, sequential, multi-sensory teaching.
The role and impact of legislation.
Current research, theory and practice of psychometrics.
Diagnostic assessment.
Validity and reliability of testing.
Practice of other teachers supporting pupils with dyslexia within a different context.
Analysis of the potential impact of dyslexia on social and emotional development.
Analysis of potential barriers to learning.
Dyslexia and society.

Compulsory modules:

Expand all

How you'll study

You will be required to attend eight face-to-face teaching days and four online teaching days during the programme.

You will also need to carry out at least 20 hours of evaluated specialist teaching, of which twelve hours must be with the same pupil (the remaining eight hours may be with two different pupils, one of which could be taught in a group). You will be observed and assessed by a tutor who holds AMBDA for at least one hour of teaching.

The face-to-face sessions will be held in central locations such as Edge Hill University and London (subject to numbers).

For the standalone module Identification, Assessment and Intervention for Students with SpLD Dyslexia (AP), there are four face-to-face lectures and two online teaching days over the 9-month duration of the module.

You can expect to receive your timetable before enrolment. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day or evening of the week.

How you'll be assessed

Modules are assessed using case studies, diagnostic assessment reports, specialist teaching evaluations, annotated lesson plans and observations of teaching practice.

Assessments and activities on the Specialist Dyslexia Training programme give you the opportunity to analyse current practice, utilising and reflecting upon current research and debate to bring about change with clear impact.

Assessment tasks have been designed to allow choice and flexibility to ensure that individual needs are met and that impact on provision and practice within your setting is maximised. In this way the assessments form an integral part of the learning process which will be captured through portfolio evidence of impact on pupils, your own professional practice and the practice of other professionals in your school.

To successfully complete the Specialist Dyslexia Training Work-Based Practice module, you will need to have access to a range of diagnostic assessments to undertake a full diagnostic assessment of dyslexia. You will be responsible for sourcing and purchasing your own diagnostic assessments. Please contact Course Enquiries by emailing [email protected] for an up-to-date breakdown of costs.

Who will be teaching you

The modules in the programme will be taught by experienced and knowledgeable tutors, supplemented by face-to-face and blended learning opportunities. All teaching observations will be carried out by tutors who hold Associate Membership of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) status.

The University tutors have expertise in a variety of academic disciplines, including SEN / Inclusion, Dyslexia, Leadership and Management, educational research and systematic enquiry.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

You need to have a relevant degree (or equivalent).

You will require a written statement from your head teacher / manager supporting your suitability as a specialist teacher and confirming you satisfy the Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) mandatory criteria of ‘Clearance to Work with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults’.

How to apply

There is an online application form for this course. Applications for 2024 are not currently open.

Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.

Finance

Tuition fees

£2,255 + £590

for the course

Tuition fees for Year 1, studied in 2023/24, are £2255. Tuition fees for Year 2, studied in academic year 2024/25, are £590.

The cost of studying module CPD4518 Identification, Assessment and Intervention for Students with SpLD Dyslexia (AP) on a standalone basis in academic year 2023/24 is £1665.

EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.

Financial support

Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students joining postgraduate courses at Edge Hill University.

Please note: Students on this course are not eligible for a postgraduate loan.

Money Matters 2023/24

EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please see our EU student finance page for further details.

Your future career

The programme has been designed to equip you with the professional attributes, skills, knowledge, attitudes and confidence necessary to act as a specialist teacher for dyslexia.

These skills and the AMBDA / ATS status allow specialist teachers to make access arrangements for examinations as well as diagnostic screenings for dyslexia in both their own workplace and other Local Authority settings.

If you are considering developing your skills further in an alternative age phase, there is an opportunity to engage with our AMBDA CPD or AMBDA FE/HE CPD. Further information related to this can be accessed via the link below:

Dyslexia Alternative Pathway CPD (Online)

Course changes

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.

Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.