Studying our Primary Education (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. In core areas of study, 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). As an educator, it is also essential that you are familiar with primary literacy, and this is where our units in Literacy in The Primary School and Early Literacy and Reading will expose you to a range of theories on the teaching and learning of literacy. Here, you 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 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.  

Moreover, you will 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. To enhance your knowledge, our Primary Foundation Subjects Enhancements unit will guide you on how to effectively teach, lead and manage these subjects in a primary setting. In other areas of teaching, you will also be prepared to teach foundation subjects including physical education, art, computing and music in our Professional Studies: Planning for Learning Across Subjects unit. In addition to this, you will learn about the nature of child learning and development with a focus on the role of adults in supporting these processes in our Leading High-Quality Teaching in the Early Years Enhancement unit. In particular, you will consider how aspects of leadership and management can be applied in early years contexts while developing your understanding of high-quality practice in early years. 

To prepare you for the long term, our unit in Professional Studies: Preparing to Work with Children in the 21st Century 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 Practice: 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. This ties in closely with our Primary SEND Enhancement unit where you will look at aspects of SEND provision. 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 that will enhance your teaching practice by enabling you to better understand pupils’ needs and interests.