Further Education and Skills University Higher Diploma in Teaching
Aiming to pursue a career teaching in Further Education? Want to teach your specialism in Further Education colleges? This course will develop your knowledge and understanding of current theory and practice in Further Education and prepare you to pursue Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status.
Overview
| Course length: | 1 year full-time 2 years part-time |
|---|---|
| Start dates: | September 2025 September 2026 |
| Location: | Wirral Metropolitan College (Hamilton Campus) |
| Subject(s): | Education and Teaching |
| Faculty: | Education |
| Department: | Secondary and Further Education |
The University Higher Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) supports your career progression into teaching your specialism in Further Education colleges. Delivered only at Wirral Metropolitan College, this course is ideal if you are working in industry and wish to take up a role as a trainer in your profession. To join this programme, you should have sound knowledge of your specialist subject, and have a keen interest in discovering how people learn and how they can best be supported in developing their knowledge and skills.
You will be supported in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and professional confidence to ultimately take control of your own classes within FE colleges and settings.
Wirral Metropolitan College has links with a wide range of third sector, NHS and Social Services which offers opportunities for you to work with a broad range of students including those engaged in the probation service.
Following graduation, you will be ideally placed to pursue your QTLS certification from the Society for Education and Training. This is the most desirable professional certification for those teaching within the Further Education sector.
As part of our work to ensure that we support those who are training to teach as a specialist in the Further Education phase, for 2025/2026 we are able to support applicants who wish to train to teach in the following subjects for the University Higher Diploma in Teaching:
Based at Wirral Metropolitan College, Hamilton campus only:
- Hair dressing and beauty therapy
- Health and Social Care
- Early Years
- Public Services and Sport
- Art School (media, photography, visual art)
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Sociology
- English
- Maths
- SEND / Prep for Life
- Business
If you are unsure if we would be able to support the subject in which you wish to train, please contact [email protected] for further information.
Wirral Met College
Since 1855
Course features
-
Professional practice placements
What you'll study
If you choose to study full-time, this programme will be delivered in one year. You will complete two academic modules and an extended professional placement (divided across two modules). This will help you to expand the knowledge and skills required to develop and teach both individual lessons as well as design and deliver an extended curriculum of instruction for various age-groups and phases of learning. You will also gain the confidence and skills required to source and interpret the latest thinking and practice emerging from the cutting-edge research being published in the field of further education today. This will ensure that you are prepared not just for the classrooms of today, but also for the classrooms of the future.
For full-time students, all modules are taught in one year.
For part-time students, the following modules are all compulsory in first year of this two-year course, and there are no options:
Teaching my subject
Module code: FED2000
Professional practice 1
Module code: FED2001
For the second year of the part-time course, you will study:
Learners and learning
Module code: FED2002
Professional practice 2
Module code: FED2003
How you'll study
For full-time students, sessions will usually be on campus for three days every few weeks.
For part-time students, the University Higher Diploma in Teaching will typically be delivered in a late-evening session, one day per week, with professional practice taking place during specific days of the week.
How you'll be assessed
You will be assessed through a combination of practical, written and portfolio assignments. You will be supported in practising the design and delivery of course curricula, developing portfolios to evidence your own learning and development, and also creating responses to and reflections upon some of the latest research relating to Further Education policy and practice.
Who will be teaching you
You will be taught by Wirral Metropolitan College staff who are experts in their field.
Staff bring with them a blend of expertise in the design and delivery of FE and HE curricula, as well as professional experience in the subjects and specialisms that they teach.
All staff engage in continuing professional development to ensure that they keep abreast of the latest developments in the knowledge and practice of their specialisms.
Entry criteria
Entry requirements (2025 / 2026)
To join this University Higher Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) you will be expected to have:
- Appropriate and relevant L4 qualifications (such as the first year of a Bachelor’s degree) or equivalent, or significant appropriate industry experience.
- 5 GCSEs at Grace C or Grade 4 and above or equivalent as a minimum qualification, to include English.
- GCSE English Language and GCSE Mathematics at Grade C or Grade 4 or above (or equivalent, including Level 2 English and Level 2 Mathematics) are required
- Have an A-level (or other equivalent level 3 qualification) in your teaching subject specialism.
Candidates may also be considered where they have industry experience with Level 3 in a subject relevant to teaching practice.
Applicants intending to teach vocational subjects should be expected to have professional/industry qualifications and experience in their sector.
Please note, for the purposes of initial teacher training, level 2 literacy and numeracy qualifications are not considered as equivalent to GCSE Grade C or Grade 4 in English Language and Mathematics.
Applicants should have basic fundamental skills in Information and Communications Technology competence: for example, using MS Office products, using emails and message boards, conducting web searches, navigating through a VLE.
A commitment to, and understanding of, Further Education, demonstrating the personal attributes, values and motivation required to train as a teacher.
An interview determining suitability to teach is a necessary part of the selection process.
‘Suitability’ to teach includes consideration of:
– Intellectual and academic capabilities
– Health and physical capacity to teach
If you accept a formal offer from Edge Hill University you will be required to meet the Department for Education’s standards for physical and mental fitness to teach and clearance to work with children. Further information, including a Declaration of Health questionnaire and details of how to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure will be sent to you after you have firmly accepted an offer.
English language requirements
Applicants are expected to have English language proficiency (IELTS) minimally equivalent to overall 6.5 with no element below 6.0. Equivalent qualifications can be found on the EHU website.
If your current level of English is half a band, one band, or one-and-a-half bands lower, either overall or in one or two elements, you may want to consider our Pre-Sessional English course.
How to apply
There is an online application process for this course.
Please choose the application form for your preferred mode of study:
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.
If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.
Discover our accommodation
Facilities
Wirral Metropolitan College (Hamilton Campus)
All campuses at Wirral Metropolitan College include a broad range of vocational and academic subjects, delivering 16-18, adults and Higher Education.
The College has invested a huge amount of resource into the facilities and learning resources for students.
It also offers family friendly timetables, and use online tutorials to fit around work and home life as well as facilitating 24hr access to all resources.
You’ll find the College campuses are open 4 evenings per week until 9pm, facilitating evening study in tailored, quiet, and networked spaces.
Wirral Metropolitan College is currently graded “good” by Ofsted with areas of “outstanding” for Supported Entry Education. All departments offering placements for student tutors are graded “good” or “outstanding”.
If you decide to study at Wirral Metropolitan College you will have the opportunity to visit Edge Hill University Ormskirk campus to use the facilities and access support services.
Finance
Tuition fees
UK Full-Time
£9,535
a year
UK Part-Time
£4,740
a year
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
Subject to eligibility, UK students joining this course can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the Government to cover the full cost of tuition fees.
Scholarships
We offer a range of scholarships, which celebrate the determination, commitment and achievement of our students. Many of our scholarships are awarded automatically. There are some however, where you will need to be involved in an application or nomination process. To find out more about our scholarships and check your eligibility, please visit our dedicated scholarships pages.
Money Matters
Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students.
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
After successfully completing the University Higher Diploma in Further Education and Training you will be ideally positioned to pursue careers in teaching in FE. The skills and knowledge that you will acquire as part of the course will also be transferrable into other careers relating to education, such as pastoral roles within schools and colleges, education roles in cultural and historical organisations (museums, galleries, historic properties, etc.) and also education roles within large corporations.
While this qualification is not a school teaching qualification there may be employment opportunities in some schools, particularly for teachers of vocational subjects.
On achieving this qualification, trainee teachers will be able to begin the process of achieving Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status (QTLS). Please see the following website for further information on QTLS: Gaining QTLS.
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.
