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Why choose the School of Education
Ofsted – we are a ‘Good’ provider with Outstanding in Quality of leadership and management across our partnerships.
95% of our Education and Teaching graduates are in employment or further studies 15 months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes, 2023)
Over 90% of students across all courses are employed within the first six months of graduation
100% of our undergraduate Primary Education graduates have secured jobs by the end of their course
Our Early Childhood Education course ranks 8th in its subject table for graduate prospects on track (Complete University Guide, 2024)
All teaching-training staff have QTS and were previously employed as teachers and/or head teachers; we also have teaching staff who are school governors or active members of their national subject associations
About the course
Become a creative innovative and reflective teacher specialising in working with the youngest children in primary schools (aged 3-7) on a course that meets the requirements for Qualified Teacher Status.
Through taught sessions on campus and supported placements this course develops your confidence in applying theory to Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 teaching practice giving you the knowledge and skills to lead learning and initiate change in educational settings
It prepares you to teach across the EYFS and Key Stage 1 national curriculum with topics including child development; early literacy maths and science; supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities; creating environments for learning opportunities; effective digital learning; and evidence-informed learning and teaching approaches.
The University of Bedfordshire is the largest provider of teacher education in the region and has a long-established history in teacher training offering a wide range of routes into teaching and successful partnerships with over 500 schools colleges and other relevant organisations from over 14 local authorities.
Why choose this course?
- On successful completion you achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) enabling you to work as an early years or primary teacher
- Our Bedford campus is a small thriving academic community where staff get to know you well and provide individual academic support
- Learn in bespoke modern facilities including realistic mock classrooms; a blended-learning multimedia breakout space for webinars and podcasting; a Forest School for training in outdoor learning and play; and a specialist sensory building for SEND and Early Years courses
- Benefit from an experienced teaching team that includes previous early years and primary teachers as well as middle and senior leaders within schools and early years settings
- Build skills that allow you to communicate effectively with learners colleagues parents/carers and other professionals
- Hone your skills of critical self-evaluation and gain confidence in analysing your own practical experience during your school placements
- Develop valuable strategies to manage your own and support others’ positive mental health and wellbeing
- Our Education courses have a high student satisfaction rating for our teaching (91%) and academic support (90%) (NSS 2022)
- The School of Teacher Education has excellent employability rates with over 95% of our graduate teachers securing teaching roles in school within six months of graduation
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
What will you study?
Studying our Primary Education (3-7) (with QTS) BA (Hons) course aims to equip you with the knowledge, skills and understanding of child development, teaching and learning at primary school level. You will be introduced to how children develop physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially in our Child Development and Theories of Learning unit while considering adapted support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Furthermore, you will study the nature of learning and development in our Leading High Quality Teaching in The Early Years unit. As an educator, it is also essential that you are familiar with primary literacy, and this is where our units in Early Literacy and Reading and Early Literacy and Communication will expose you to a range of theories on the teaching and learning of literacy and communication as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Additionally, this unit will develop your appreciation and understanding of poetry, dramatic texts and non-fiction.
It is also important that you are equipped to teach core subjects as part of the curriculum, and this is where our Exploring the EYFS and National Curriculum Core Subjects unit will introduce you to the effective teaching of English, mathematics and science. You will then specialise in the study of each of these subjects in our units in Mathematics and Science and Further Mathematics and Science that will develop your knowledge of these topics relevant to the primary National Curriculum. You will also learn about practical teaching ideas for both subjects that will allow you to self-experiment with creating learning activities, including for children with SEND. In more advanced areas, you will develop your knowledge with an imaginative approach to teaching numbers, geometry, algebra and more. In areas of teaching, you will also be prepared to plan and teach foundation subjects including physical education, art, computing and music in our Professional Studies: The Broader Curriculum in Early Years and Key Stage One unit. You will use this subject knowledge to understand how children learn from the outdoors or through art and design.
To prepare you for the long term, our unit in Professional Studies: The 21st Century Classroom will allow you to understand the ever-changing societal needs and how to manage this in classroom practice. Furthermore, to enhance your versatility, our unit in Professional Studies: Multidimensional Classrooms will support you in adopting a reflective, resilient and autonomous approach to teaching while allowing you to explore dynamic classroom practice. As an educator it is also important to consider diverse needs of children and adopt an inclusive approach in your work. This is where our unit in Meeting the Needs of Individual Children will prepare you to understand the sensitivities of inclusion in the field of socio-cultural learning theory. You will also explore how to enhance learning of pupils who may be asylum seekers or refugees while eliminating discrimination and addressing safeguarding in your work.
Finally, you will have the opportunity to complete a research project in our Research for Teaching unit where you will analyse national and local educational contexts in a topic of your interest. This will enhance your teaching practice by enabling you to understand your own development areas and pupils’ needs and interests.
How will you be assessed?
The assessment for this course seeks to support you in developing your understanding of the connections between theoretical perspectives and practice-based experience. The Profile Review Point (PRP) is the process by which the mentor reviews your progress in your teaching `practice'. The CER provides the framework by which this progress is judged at two points during a school placement to show whether you are on track to meet course curriculum expectations. Formative use of assessment is embedded throughout the course and is a principle which we would expect you to adopt in your own teaching. You will be supported to become familiar with self and peer assessment approaches and to make effective use of feedback on academic aspects of the course to identify targets for your on-going development and plan actions to address them.
Careers
You will gain experience in a range of schools and in different settings throughout your course enabling you to build a network of contacts. You will also benefit from our wider university careers services with structured guidance on preparing strong applications and attending interviews.
You may also consider undertaking further study such as the MA Education or a specialist qualification eg in literacy or behavioural difficulties once you become teacher.
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK 2024/25
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Merit Scholarship
We offer a Merit Scholarship to UK students, worth £2,400* over three academic years, which is awarded to those who can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, through scoring 120 UCAS tariff points or more.
Bedfordshire Bursary
If you aren’t eligible for the Merit Scholarship, this Bursary is there to help UK students with aspects of student living such as course costs. The Bursary will give you £1,000* over three academic years, or £1,300* if you are taking your course over four academic years (including those with a Foundation Year).
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £15,500 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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