Transition into Higher Education will help you to find your feet as an undergraduate student teacher. Your tutors will help you to secure the foundational skills that will ensure you are successful in your studies – identifying and using appropriate and reliable sources; effective reading and note-making; and planning, drafting, editing and proofreading skills for academic writing. You will consider how you might manage a demanding workload while identifying and developing positive personal mental health and wellbeing strategies. Teaching is a complex and highly skilled profession; even as a student teacher you will need to exercise sound judgement, articulate your own developing philosophy and make principled decisions about teaching and learning. This module will begin to prepare you for the rewards and challenges, both personal and professional, of teaching in the 21st century classroom.

Children and Childhood will guide you to consider your own perceptions of children, childhood, families and children’s communities, and the factors that have influenced these perceptions. You will examine a range of cultural and international perspectives and will reflect on how and why current values have become embedded and are realised in practice. For example, you might consider images of childhood in the media and their impact on children’s experiences; children’s rights as individuals, as citizens and as active members of their communities; children’s social and cultural identities; risk and risky play; and the common challenges of childhood.

Teaching, Learning and Child Development links directly with your first professional practice placement in school. In university-based sessions you will begin to develop your understanding of the complexity of primary teaching and the professional roles and responsibilities of a primary teacher. You will consider children’s social and emotional development; positive approaches to classroom behaviour management; contemporary theories of learning; basic principles for planning, teaching and assessment; and schools as communities of learners. During your professional practice, you will work with school-based colleagues to begin to put these into practice and to build a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate your ongoing professional development. You will observe lessons, plan well-structured small group and whole class activities, and reflect on your development as a student teacher, setting targets and action planning accordingly.

Introduction to Primary English, Mathematics and Science is one of three curriculum-focused modules in the first year of your programme. You will focus on the subjects of English, Mathematics and Science separately and begin to develop the professional subject knowledge that is the essential foundation for effective teaching and ensures that children make progress and enjoy learning. Working with experienced specialist tutors, you will explore the expectations of the national curriculum for England and approaches to teaching and learning appropriate to each subject. Tutors will model aspects of primary classroom practice using practical teaching workshops with the aim of building your confidence and enthusiasm for each subject in the national curriculum.

Introduction to Primary Computing, History, Geography, RE and Languages broadly considers the humanities subjects and explores subject-specific approaches to teaching, resourcing and classroom management. Tutors will ensure that you experience and reflect on approaches to learning that take children outside the classroom, for example fieldwork, visiting museums and places of worship, and using the local environment, historical maps and other artefacts.

Introduction to Primary Music, Art, DT, PE and PSHE broadly focuses on the creative and performing arts but also engages you with the importance of physical and mental health and children’s personal, social and emotional development. As in the other curriculum modules, you will work with specialist tutors who are passionate about their subject. The practical teaching workshops in the curriculum modules provide you with opportunities to experience subjects from a learner’s perspective. Tutors will ask you to reflect on the teaching and assessment strategies they model in these sessions, to identify the sequences in learning that they create, and to make connections with the planning and preparation that underpins successful teaching and learning.

Understanding Educational Research enhances your academic skills as you continue to develop as a scholar of primary education. You will explore the significance, implications and impact of educational research in relation to practice in primary education and you will be introduced to the research process. You will develop a research proposal for a small-scale research project that you may use in your final year.

Schools, Schooling and Curriculum: Values in Education introduces you to historical perspectives on the values underpinning current policy and practice in primary education. You will critically analyse values that are commonly assumed to be fixed and immovable and develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to recognise and challenge injustice and inequality in your advocacy for children.

Diversity and Inclusion in Primary Education enables you to learn about inclusion and diversity in the school context and how it is affected by societal factors. You will ponder legal and ethical considerations and begin to understand your role as an educator in providing inclusive education and attempting to establish greater equality between differing groups. The module will encourage you to reflect on how you can create the conditions necessary for stakeholders to support the education of children effectively. You will undertake a developmental professional practice placement as part of this module to gain first-hand experience of inclusive education and practical approaches to valuing diversity in the classroom. You will add to the electronic portfolio that you started in your initial professional practice and use it to demonstrate your ongoing professional development.

Bringing the Curriculum Together considers how subjects can enhance and complement each other. This module will further develop your subject knowledge across all curriculum areas and ask you to consider how a broad, rich and holistic curriculum can be achieved. You will gain understanding of the value of a rich curriculum that supports children’s social, physical, moral, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic development. You will be introduced to cross-curricular and thematic planning through the modelling of approaches in lectures, seminars and workshops and begin to consolidate your personal philosophies of education through university-based sessions and reflection on your professional practice.

Beyond the National Curriculum: Beyond the Classroom considers approaches to teaching and learning that go beyond the English national curriculum, as well as examining the impact and value of taking learning into alternative educational settings. Schools are increasingly taking control of their own curricula and considering alternative approaches to supporting children’s social, emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual development. The module provides you with experience of some of these approaches, such as Philosophy for Children, and provides opportunities to reflect on how you might include them in your own developing practice as a student primary teacher.

Focused Subject Study will support you in selecting one ‘subject’ from the current national curriculum (Department for Education, 2014) to explore in more depth. Using your own subject experiences and perceptions as a starting point, you will consider the ‘identity’ of the subject, including the associated knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and values. You will consider the impact of your own experiences, associated perceptions and biases on your ‘intent’ for the subject as a novice subject leader. This deeper, wider knowledge will contribute towards your ability to affect appropriate change in, and have a positive impact on, the curriculum in your chosen specialism as a subject leader.

The Research Project enhances your understanding of practice-based research through planning, implementing and presenting a small-scale, practice-based research project. You will develop critical and analytical skills in reviewing both literature and research methodology in education. Drawing on your subject knowledge and understanding, as well as your school-based experiences from the programme, you will identify a specific focus and research question to explore. This project will enable you to demonstrate your ability to conceptualise, problematise, plan, organise and make ethical judgements in the creation of a research study set within a short timeframe. The module will also enhance your employability by giving you an additional specialist focus to offer to an employing school and serve as a useful foundation for postgraduate study.

Values for Leadership enables you to consider your own potential for leadership. The module will explore how you can influence and effect change in the culture, values, curriculum, policy and practice of primary education as a student teacher, newly qualified teacher (NQT) in your first post, recently qualified teacher (RQT), or as an educational specialist in other settings. You will consider models for school improvement and innovation and examine research-informed development in your chosen primary curriculum specialism. You will continue to develop as a practitioner who has sophisticated and robust opinions, derived  from engagement with leading theories, policies and practice, about how your chosen primary curriculum specialism should be taught, assessed and experienced by children.

Preparing for Employment: The Reflective Practitioner encourages consideration of the importance of reflective practice for continuing professional development. You will evaluate how working with other adults secures positive outcomes for all children and reflect on your own employability. The module involves a final, consolidatory professional practice placement as you reflect on your continuing professional development and prepare for your Newly Qualified Teacher induction and engagement with the Early Career Framework (Department for Education, 2019). You will add to your electronic portfolio that will become a body of evidence that demonstrates your ongoing professional development and your ability to meet the Teaching Standards.

Approaches to Curriculum Design asks you to consider national and international approaches to curriculum design, exploring historical, social and political influences and the impact of theory and research on curriculum design and policy. Recognising that curriculum is in a constant state of change, the module will examine how you might influence curriculum design locally in your own professional contexts. Recognising that curricula are in a constant state of change, the module will equip you with research-informed knowledge and theory-informed insights so that you understand the elements involved in curriculum design. This will give you the confidence to contribute to curriculum change and innovation in your school.

Creativity and Curriculum explores definitions of creativity and notions of creative approaches to teaching. You will examine historical and contemporary definitions of creativity and begin to consider your own professional position in relation to creativity and how it might impact your practice. The module will encourage you to engage with fundamental questions in relation to the aims, values and outcomes of education. You will consider how creativity might be assessed, for example, and whether this is in fact appropriate. Exploring creativity across the whole of the primary curriculum, you will examine how a curriculum based on principles of creativity can promote inclusion, celebrate diversity and challenge bias and stereotypes.

Elective Special Study enables you to tailor your degree to pursue areas of relevant personal interest and/or new aspects of research or practice. You will be offered a suite of options for potential topics. This module will enhance your professional CV and provide you with resources on which to draw during interview for your first teaching post.

Example offers updated to include the Education and Childcare T Level with an overall grade of Merit.

PED1019 Transition into Higher Education (20 credits), PED1020 Children and Childhood (20 credits), PED1021 Teaching, Learning and Child Development (20 credits), PED1022 Introduction to Primary English, Mathematics and Science (20 credits), PED1023 Introduction to Primary Computing, History, Geography, RE and Languages (20 credits) and PED1024 Introduction to Primary Music, Art, DT, PE and PHSE (20 credits) replace PED1012 Partnership Led Curriculum – Foundation Subjects (20 credits), PED1013 Minor Specialism (20 credits), PED1015 Academic and Professional Development 1 (20 credits), PED1016 Academic and Professional Development 2 (20 credits), PED1017 Curriculum, Teaching and Learning – English and Computing (20 credits), PED1018 Curriculum, Teaching and Learning – Mathematics and Science (20 credits) and PED1111 Primary Professional Practice – Phase 1A (20 credits) as compulsory modules in Year 1.

PED2023 Understanding Educational Research (20 credits), PED2024 Schools, Schooling and Curriculum: Values in Education (20 credits), PED2025 Diversity and Inclusion in Primary Education (20 credits), PED2026 Bringing the Curriculum Together (20 credits), PED2027 Beyond the National Curriculum: Beyond The Classroom (20 credits) and PED2028 Focused Subject Study (20 credits) replace PED2016 Partnership Led Curriculum – Inspiring Learning Experiences in Foundation Subjects (20 credits), PED2019 Academic and Professional Development 3 (20 credits), PED2020 Academic and Professional Development 4 (20 credits), PED2021 Curriculum, Teaching and Learning – English and Computing (20 credits), PED2022 Curriculum, Teaching and Learning – Mathematics and Science (20 credits) and PED2222 Primary Professional Practice – Phase 1B (40 credits) as compulsory modules in Year 2. Optional modules PED2012 English Specialist Subject (20 credits), PED2013 Mathematics Specialist Subject (20 credits), PED2014 Science Specialist Subject (20 credits) and PED2015 Modern Languages Specialist Subject (20 credits) have been removed from the programme.

PED3019 The Research Project (20 credits), PED3020 Values for Leadership (20 credits), PED3021 Preparing for Employment: The Reflective Practitioner (20 credits), PED3022 Approaches to Curriculum Design (20 credits), PED3023 Creativity and Curriculum (20 credits) and PED3024 Elective Special Study (20 credits) replace PED3010 Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (40 credits), PED3011 Developing the Reflective Practitioner (40 credits), PED3016 Minor Specialism (10 credits) and PED3333 Primary Professional Practice – Phase 2 (40 credits) as compulsory modules in Year 3. Optional modules PED3012 English Specialist Subject (30 credits), PED3013 Mathematics Specialist Subject (30 credits), PED3014 Science Specialist Subject (30 credits) and PED3015 Modern Languages Specialist Subject (30 credits) have been removed from the programme.

All students joining the programme from September 2021 entry will graduate with the award title of BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS on successful completion of the programme.

This is instead of an award title which reflects the subject specialism chosen, for example BA (Hons) Primary English Education with QTS, as was previously the case.