Masters Degrees (Learning Disabilities)

Learning disability nurses enable individuals to live their lives to their full potential within the social context they choose, through collaborative interventions across a variety of health and social care settings and by using specialist input, through person centred practice, underpinned by the concept of partnership working.

This course teaches you to promote social inclusion, good mental and physical health and self-determination through developing your skills, knowledge and attributes. All learning is grounded in a strong evidence base of integrative health and social care modelling. Our placements are varied, offering you the chance to create a future career that will be rewarding both for your personal and professional advancement.

Modules

You will be taught separately from the three-year undergraduate students and will study the following:

Year 1

Improving quality, change management and leadership
Building practice skills for learning disability nursing
Applied physiology, growth and development
Contemporary issues in learning disability nursing

Year 2

Research in health and social care
Enhancing practice skills in learning disability nursing
Complexity in learning disabilities
Advanced communication

MSc pathway

You'll follow the same modules as outlined above for the PgDip, with the addition of a dissertation:

Dissertation
Assessment methods vary within each module, mapped against the professional standards as outlined by the NMC (2010) and assessed either through course work, and/or clinical placement assessments. Written assessments include essays, case study's, and critical reviews of evidence for example. Clinical practice assessments include achievements of identified competencies, a learning assessment portfolio, and problem based scenarios.

Teaching and learning

You'll be expected to work as an independent adult learner, working alongside academic staff to expand and extend your knowledge, skills and attitudes as a critical scholar in the field of Intellectual Disabilities.

You'll be allocated a personal tutor, a cohort leader, and a course director, plus clinical mentors, and link lecturers whilst on placement.

The course makes use of the virtual learning environment MOODLE, an interactive based system for accurate and rapid information sharing, so course materials are available whenever you need them. A range of learning styles are employed, including visits from service users and their carers, to ensure the course remains contemporary and applied to real life situations.

Placements

Every student will spend 50% of the course on placement. You'll have the opportunity to work in partnership with individuals with learning disabilities and their families using a health mentoring model. Alternatively you can work in partnership with community based organisations on projects where all parties increase their awareness, understanding and valuing of their roles, using strength based approaches.

The placement aim is to provide a broad range of experiences working with children and adults with learning disabilities in a variety of settings. This will enhance your knowledge and experience of the range of challenges people with a learning disability may face on a daily basis and what can be done to assist not only the individual but also their families.

You'll also gain insight into what is available to support workers and organisations providing services in the areas of physical and mental health, complex care needs, communication, behaviours of concern, sexuality, personal care and a range of other areas.

Professional links

The learning disability nursing programmes at LSBU have a long history of partnership working with agencies in the NHS and independent and voluntary sector. The Professional Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities at the Department of Health England is a frequent guest speaker who inspires Learning Disability nurses to influence and innovate.

Learning disability nursing as a career

The course will enable you to develop a wide range of employability skills through the emphasis on a vocational approach to teaching which leads to a professional qualification leading to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

There is an increasing body of research that shows the need for learning disability nurses as a specialist resource to address health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities. The course will give you the specialist knowledge and skills to work in a wide range of services, and the confidence to work collaboratively with people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, and other professionals and agencies.

Role and responsibilities

As a learning disabilities nurse you would work with people of all ages to give them the skills and confidence they need to live as independently as possible. You'd be working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and be responsible for co-ordinating care plans with other healthcare professionals, as well as monitoring progress. A learning disabilities nurse would be responsible for making an initial assessment of a patient's health and social care needs.

Day-to-day duties would be likely to include help and encouragement with tasks such as personal hygiene, dressing, using public transport, shopping, leisure interests, making and attending appointments, and finding a job. Learning disabilities nursing also involves campaigning on behalf of those with learning disabilities, supporting the agenda for equality and trying to improve healthcare services for those with learning difficulties.

Career progression

Successful graduates of the PgDip can top-up to MSc in one year and will be qualified to study a range of further specialist postgraduate pathways. With additional experience, advanced practice is available at Masters level with the potential to progress to doctorate studies. Once you are a registered nurse browse our online CPPD prospectus to find out what courses are on offer to help with your professional development.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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The School of Psychology, University of St Andrews offers two Postgraduate Distance Learning Programmes:
• Certificate/Diploma/Master Programme in Adults with Learning Disabilities who have Significant and Complex Needs. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology/teaching/dl_complex_needs.shtml
• International Certificate Programme in Adult Support, Protection and Safeguarding. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology/teaching/dl_safeguarding.shtml
Key issues in current practice, research, evaluation and audit are covered (Challenging Behaviour, Mental Health, Profound and Multiple Disabilities, Offenders with Learning Disabilities, Older People, Vulnerability and Abuse).
Online delivery and assessment is through the Moodle System (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment.)
This is a postgraduate/post qualified programme for staff who have a degree or a professional qualification.

Features

* The School of Psychology & Neuroscience has 42 full-time academic staff, 9 technical staff, 72 research postgraduates, 18 postdoctoral researchers and 54 taught postgraduate students.

* The School has an international reputation for the quality of its teaching and research and has some of the best psychological laboratory facilities in the UK. The School of Psychology & Neuroscience has consistently been ranked one of the best research departments in the UK.

* The breadth and variety of psychology and neuroscience taught in the School are particular strengths with significant opportunities to collaborate and benefit from a range of techniques applied to understanding the behaviour of humans and animals.

* Considerable contact time with researchers occurs via tutorials and research project supervision’.

Postgraduate community

The School’s size promotes a friendly atmosphere with a crossflow of ideas while providing the depth and breadth necessary to pursue major scientific programmes at an international level. We have active links with other Schools and Departments within the University, with other Scottish universities and with research institutions outside the UK.

We have a large and thriving community of research staff and postgraduate students. We believe that good teaching and good research go hand-in-hand and we take pride in our research-based culture of teaching.

Facilities

We are equipped with modern technology to perform virtually all aspects of psychological research. Facilities include laboratories in neurophysiology, psychopharmacology, psychophysics, animal learning and cognition, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and social psychology. We have extensive computing facilities for both online control of experiments and offline analysis of data.

Careers

We see postgraduate study as part of your long-term career development. Alongside the University’s Careers Centre (see page 26), we offer advice and support in planning your career. The School provides opportunities to gain experience of working in an academic context, by being involved in tutorials, laboratory classes and other aspects of academic work.

The vast majority of our postgraduates have gained postdoctoral and lecturing positions in universities across the world while others have jobs in healthcare (as researchers and clinicians), wildlife conservation, information technology and management services.

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The MSc Community Health Studies is a natural progression route for graduate nurses who desire to develop mastery in specialist practice, in line with the Post Registration Nursing Career Framework (WAG, 2010).

The course aims to develop professionals who can independently access information and use the information to critically assess, evaluate and disseminate the evidence base for community nursing care. It will develop problem-solving skills and prepare you to take a leadership role in the community context.

The degree meets the specific requirements set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for community nursing competence. The NMC states that to achieve specialist practitioner status, graduates must have achieved prescribed standards, both core and community-specific.

When you successfully complete this degree, you will have a recordable specialist practice qualification in Community Learning Disability Nursing.

See the website http://courses.southwales.ac.uk/courses/943-msc-community-health-studies-community-learning-disabilities-nursing

What you will study

Year One:
- Fundamentals of Community Practice
- Decision Making
- Specialist Practitioner

Year Two:
Core module
- Research methods

Optional modules
- Law, ethics and nurse prescribing
- Transition
- Long-term health conditions
- Diabetes care
- Minor illness for Primary Care Nurses
- Continuing care for children and young people
- Advances in epilepsy care

After 2 years you will attain a recordable specialist practice qualification with the NMC and an option to exit the course with a PgDiploma.

Year Three:
- Dissertation

Learning and teaching methods

You will complete 40 academic days which run from September to June. Year one requires attendance every Tuesday.

In addition you will undertake 40 clinical days per year. Ideally you should be working in a community setting, however if you are not placements maybe negotiated. While in practice, you will be assigned a mentor who will assess your clinical competence.

Teaching and learning methods include lectures, tutorials, self-directed study and workshops.

If you have undertaken the Fundamentals of Community Practice Module (30 credits) within the last five years, this can be transferred to the degree.

Work Experience and Employment Prospects

Undertaking this course ensures you will graduate with the knowledge, skills, competencies and capacity to provide safe and effective nursing care in community settings. Additionally, having employees with a specialist practitioner qualification is valued by nursing managers, commissioners and the Welsh Government.

Assessment methods

You will be assessed by a range of methods including writing essays and case studies, formal presentations, poster presentations, examinations, dissertation, literature reviews and clinical practice assessments.

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A Master of Science in Developmental Disabilities is designed to prepare researchers, advocates, administrators and policy makers to be leaders in community-based or governmental agencies that address the confluence of issues associated with developmental disabilities throughout the life span. This degree program's body of knowledge will allow graduates of the M.S. program to pursue doctoral-level training in human services, counseling, and public policy, among others. In addition, this degree will provide professionals from disciplines such as nursing and education with the necessary skills to be effective leaders and advance in the field.

The successful graduate of the M.S. in Developmental Disabilities program is expected to:

• Apply knowledge of effective administrative and other leadership skills in the field of developmental disabilities through the use of case study analyses, research papers, and in-class assignments.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the different developmental disabilities and the challenges faced by these individuals across the lifespan.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of the family, the educational system, and community services on the successful integration of individuals with developmental disabilities into the community.
• Apply ethical and legal principles related to working with individuals who have developmental disabilities to real-world cases and settings.
• Apply knowledge of developmental disabilities, organizational behavior, and strategic planning to the design and/or administration of human services organizations which provide services to individuals and families with developmental disabilities. 
• Demonstrate research, analytic thinking, and writing skills when creating a program design or evaluation project on a relevant topic in the field.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of health disparities experienced by individuals with developmental disabilities and the implications for healthcare and human services organizations.

This program is designed for individuals seeking a career in or as:

• Program Director (non-profit)
• Program Coordination
• Early Childhood Interventionist
• Transition Specialist
• Job Coach
• Child Life Specialist (with Child Life Specialist concentration)
• Developmental Specialist
• Case Manager
• Vocational Counselor
• Advocate
• Behavior Analyst or Assistant Behavior Analyst (with ABA concentration)

Program Format

The master's program is offered entirely online. The online format allows for students to participate in courses from anywhere in the world where Internet access is available. In addition, it allows for the flexibility of completing your master's degree without interrupting your career.

Master's students are provided NSU computer accounts including email and Blackboard, but must obtain their own Internet service providers, use their own computer systems and have a usable web camera. Online students use the web to access course materials, announcements, email, distance library services, subscription library databases, and other information, and for interaction with faculty and fellow students. Online, interactive learning methods are based on the use of Blackboard as a course management system. Online activities facilitate frequent student-to-faculty and student-to-student interaction. They are supported by threaded discussion boards, white boards, chat rooms, email, and multimedia presentations. In addition, Blackboard enables students to submit assignments online in multimedia formats and to receive their professors' reviews of assignments online in the same formats.

Curriculum

Students enrolled in the Masters of Science in Developmental Disabilities are required to complete 18 credit hours of foundational coursework, 9 credit hours in one of the Concentrations, and 3 credit hours of a Developmental Disabilities Master's Research Project.

Foundational coursework:

• HSDD 5000: Survey of Developmental Disabilities (3 credits)
• HSDD 5100: Program Design and Evaluation (3 credits)
• HSDD 5200: Disability and the Family Life Cycle (3 credits)
• HSDD 5300: Legal and Ethical Issues in Disability (3 credits)
• HSDD 5400: Healthcare Issues in Developmental Disabilities (3 credits)
• HSDD 5500: Disability Services Administration (3 credits)
• HSDD 6000: Developmental Disabilities Masters Project (3 credits)

Concentrations

• Concentration 1: Leadership/Advocacy
• Concentration 2: Adult Services/Transition
• Concentration 3: Early Childhood
• Concentration 4: Applied Behavior Analysis Concentration Courses (18 Credits)
• Concentration 5: Child Life Specialist (18 Credits)

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This is an advanced professional development programme delivered by distance learning for flexibility and convenience. The programme aims to provide you with detailed knowledge of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through the programme you will gain knowledge and understanding of:

• definitions and epidemiology of intellectual disability
• cognitive, communicative and social characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities
• biological, social and environmental causes of intellectual disability
• behaviour analysis
• challenging behaviour and other special needs
• ideology, policy and service development
• definition and measurement of service quality
• relationships between service organisation and quality
• research methodology.

Course structure

Coursework is taught through a mixture of web-based resources, directed reading, videos, lectures, seminars and practical sessions, supported by a number of workshops, where you work with skilled professionals and have the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with fellow students.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme:

• Social psychology of autism
• Behaviour analysis and intervention
• Service issues in intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Research methods
• Case study assessment

Transferable skills

You will gain the following transferable skills:

• communication: organising information clearly; responding to written sources; presenting information orally
• numeracy: (if statistical element of research methods module taken) making sense of statistical materials; integrating quantitative and qualitative information
• information technology: producing written documents; undertaking online research
• working with others: working co-operatively on group tasks; understanding how groups function
• improving own learning: exploring personal strengths and weaknesses; time management; reviewing working environment
• problem solving: identifying and defining problems: exploring alternative solutions and discriminating between them.

Dynamic centre of expertise

This programme is taught by the University's renowned Tizard Centre. An annual seminar series runs at which staff or guest lecturers present the results of research or highlight recent developments in the field of social care. The Jim Mansell Memorial Lecture invites public figures or distinguished academics to discuss topics that could interest a wider audience. The Centre also publishes the Tizard Learning Disability Review (in conjunction with Emerald Publishing) to provide a source of up-to-date information for professionals and carers.

The Tizard Centre provides consultancy to organisations in the statutory and independent sectors, both nationally and internationally, in diversified areas such as service assessment, person-centred approaches, active support and adult protection.

Careers

This programme supports continuing professional development and enhances your opportunity for career advancement. Previous successful students have moved on to a range of professional roles in health and social care including working as psychologists in learning disability or behavioural specialists in community learning disability teams; service management of development roles; clinical psychology training or a PhD.

Why study at the University of Kent

We offer inspirational teaching and supervision alongside first-class library and IT facilities. You also benefit from our high-impact research in all subjects. Whatever you are looking to study, Kent provides a dynamic and challenging environment for your postgraduate studies.

• Kent was awarded gold, the highest rating, in the UK Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework
• Kent is ranked 21st in the Times Higher Education (THE) ‘Table of Tables’ 2017
• Kent is ranked 25th in the Complete University Guide 2018
• Kent is ranked 22nd in the Guardian University Guide 2018
• 42% of our academics are from overseas and we have students representing 158 nationalities
• In the most recent research rankings, 97% of research at Kent was found to be of international quality (REF 2014)
• Kent is ranked 17th in the UK* for research intensity and research output (REF 2014)

Find out more: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/why-kent/

* of 122 universities, not including specialist institutions

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Summary

Become a qualified music therapist to facilitate people’s move towards well-being through specific therapeutic aims using a primarily non-verbal relationship in music. Music Therapy as practised in Great Britain is largely based on improvisation, the music being the shared, and the spontaneous creation of client and therapist.

The Music Therapy programme offers training for competent, practising musicians to become therapists, bringing together their skills, education and other life experiences. On completion of the training, graduates are eligible to apply to the HCPC for registration, with the ability and flexibility to practice within the NHS, Social Services, education or private sector.

Essential to music therapy is the relationship between client and therapist. At Roehampton we have chosen to base our Music Therapy training programme on the use of psychoanalytic ideas to inform our understanding of the therapy process and the ways the client works with the environment, the therapist and the music. Broader theories and ways of working are also studied in order to equip students to meet a range of clinical need. Other styles of music, including song writing, the use of technology and pre-composed music are also used as appropriate to the need of the individual.

The course emphasises your emotional development as a practitioner, together with clinical exploration through critical enquiry. In addition to this, students must be prepared to enter mandatory individual personal therapy for one year of the training.

Music Therapists work within a wide range of clinical settings, individual and group work. They work with people of all ages; from infants and young children through to elderly adults. Music therapy can benefit people with a wide range of difficulties or challenges, including mental health problems, learning disabilities and autism, dementia and neurology, as well as people experiencing serious illness such as cancer or those who have experienced trauma.

Content

The programme aims to encourage a critical and evaluative approach to both theory and practice in music therapy. It is designed to prepare students for work with children and adults with a range of disabilities and illnesses, and placements usually include work with children and adults with learning disabilities, autism and Asperger’s syndrome and mental health problems.

After visits to a variety of workplaces which offer music therapy, you will undertake individual and group work in two contrasting settings over six months, January to June (first placement) and September to February/March (second placement).These clinical placements will provide you with music therapy work experience alongside qualified Music Therapists. You will also participate in an experiential group, which gives you an opportunity to develop your own self-awareness and examine personal and group dynamics through verbal and musical processes. In addition, it is a requirement for you to find and fund personal individual therapy outside the course.

Key areas of study include human development and growth and the clinical context for music therapy, clinical improvisation, observational studies, music therapy theory, clinical case work and supervision, introduction to research and your dissertation. Personal development and reflection on this is central throughout the programme.

We also offer introductory courses that provide a useful background to those working in related professions or anyone simply wishing to find out more about the work. No particular level of musical competence is required.

For detailed information about Roehampton's MA Music Therapy, please download and read the information pack by clicking on the 'specific entry requirements' link on the course page.

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Why take this course?

The term 'learning disabilities' is used interchangeably with 'intellectual disability' to describe those who have significant problems with learning and who need support with many aspects of life.

This distance learning course enhances knowledge and skills of graduates and experienced practitioners wishing to develop their understanding of people with learning disabilities.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Be taught by academics who are active researchers in learning disability
Participate in live web-based chat forums, e-conferencing, and individual tutorials, to discuss your work with lecturers and with other students
Tap into the Library’s vast selection of electronic resources or access library facilities and borrow books locally via the SCOLNUL scheme

What opportunities might it lead to?

This course provides an opportunity for those supporting children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families to enhance their knowledge and skills, and gain an academic qualification.

Module Details

Full-time students will study all 180 Level M credits (i.e. six units) in one full year. Part-time students will normally study three units each year, and will begin to explore potential research ideas and research methodologies in the first year. All units are Level 7, 30 credits, and are core units.

Here are the units you will study (part-time students will study these in the first year):

Critical Disability Studies and Intellectual Disability: The perspective of Critical Disability Studies (CDS) is about how society and its agents respond to the labelled person's circumstances rather than how intellectual disability inhabits the person. This unit will address the relationship between workers and disabled people that CDS might call for. Here disability and intellectual disability in particular will be a standpoint or position from which to view society, in contrast to disability as a categorisation of people.

Autistic Spectrum Conditions: A Critical Approach: this unit aims to provide knowledge about autistic spectrum conditions and promote understanding of the key issues in providing support to people with autistic spectrum conditions and their families.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods: This unit provides an introduction to experimental and survey-based research methods, and quantitative data analysis techniques. It covers qualitative methods for data collection and analysis, as well as to how to write research reports in both traditions.

The following units will be studied in the first year by full-time students and in the second year by part-time students:

Families and Systemic Therapy: This unit aims to provide you with an understanding of families including an appreciation of experiences of families with an intellectually disabled member. It aims to enhance your abilities to support families via theoretically informed, partnership-based empowering practices.

Research Project: The research project requires you to initiate, conduct and report upon an original piece of research. The work is conducted to deadlines agreed with a project supervisor and project must include empirical quantitative or qualitative research – data collection and relevant analysis must be included. Any statistical analysis must be both descriptive (e.g. means, standard deviations and graphs etc.) and inferential (i.e. statistical tests).

Communication and Investigative Interviewing of People with Intellectual Disabilities: This unit aims to promote communication skills and opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities and outline the status of the law concerning vulnerable adults as witnesses/victims. It aims to provide you with the opportunity to examine issues that arise when people with intellectual disabilities are interviewed as witnesses/victims of crime.

Programme Assessment

Despite its distance learning mode, this course is still extremely student focused. You will be given resources, materials, help and guidance to complete your studies to your full ability. Using our virtual learning environment you can participate in group discussions with other students in a friendly yet challenging online class environment. Plus real-time text based 'chat sessions' with lecturers will ensure you receive all the support you need for the topics you study.

You are assessed in a variety of ways to reflect the individual topics, however there are no examinations and all assessment is coursework based. Here’s how we assess your work:

Practice files
Essays
Wikis
Statistical analysis and reports
Literature reviews
A research project

Student Destinations

When embarking on this course, you may benefit from having completed paid or voluntary work with children or adults with intellectual disabilities.

Previous graduates of the course frequently make significant progress in their careers. Some are just in the beginning stages while others move on to senior manager positions and upwards. Past students have also progressed to advanced academic qualifications such as PhDs or professional doctorates.

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The PgDip Community Health course is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and offer you the opportunity to gain a Specialist Practitioner Qualification in Community Children’s Nursing, Community Learning Disability Nursing, District Nursing, or General Practice Nursing. The courses comprise 50% theory and 50% practice.

The programme builds on the core values of the NHS constitution and is approved by the NMC to offer students the opportunity to gain a specialist practitioner qualification in Community Learning Disabilities Nursing, District Nursing or General Practice Nursing.

Features and benefits of the course

The course incorporates specialist practice qualifications in community children’s nursing, district nursing, general practice nursing and community learning disabilities nursing.

About the Course

Mandatory core for award units are specific to the specialist pathway qualification and include:
-Principles of public health
-Contemporary issues in Community Practice
-Developing Leadership and Professional Practice
-Evidence-based Practice

If you are studying on a General Practice Nurse (GPN) or Community Learning Disability Nursing (CLDN) route you will choose an elective. To ensure that the unit is appropriate to your field of practice its selection will be determined following discussion with yourself and the seconding/sponsoring trust. Electives include:
-Community practitioner nurse prescribing;
-Collaboration and health information for service users;
-Applying Ethical and Critical Thinking to Practice Based Dilemmas
-Contraception, reproduction and sexual health.

On completion of the 40 week programme of study, you may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Health, incorporating the specialist pathway qualification.

Assessment details

Assessment strategies are devised to equip students with skills that can be used in their professional development and clinical practice (eg. written reports and journal articles, giving presentations, developing portfolios).

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This Behaviour Analysis course offers a unique opportunity to gain experience in behaviour analysis under the close supervision of a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). This course is approved by the Behaviour Analysis Certification Board (BACB), which is the international regulatory body for the practice of behaviour analysis.

The course is designed to provide you with experience in the ethical application of behaviour analytic assessment and intervention strategies across a range of settings and populations.

Students who successfully complete this course will meet the supervised practice requirements for certification as a BCBA. Certification also requires an MSc in behaviour analysis or a related field, and a passing score on the international certification exam. Visit http://www.bacb.com for more information on becoming certified and the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis for general information.

You will be taught and supervised by a team of Board Certified Behaviour Analysts who are internationally recognised for their research and clinical work in the field. They also have a wealth of experience in teaching and supervising students.

See the website http://courses.southwales.ac.uk/courses/842-pgc-behaviour-analysis-supervised-practice

What you will study

Our Behaviour Analysis course is practice-based, giving you an opportunity to apply your behaviour analytic skills in a range of settings. You will study 20-25 hours per week (full-time) or 10-15 hours per week (part-time) in a placement arranged by the supervision team, as well as attending weekly supervision meetings.

Learning and teaching methods

You will rotate placements approximately every six months, which will allow you to support people with a range of challenging behaviours with behaviour analytic assessment and intervention strategies.

Clients may include individuals with various disorders or difficulties, including autism, learning disabilities, social and emotional difficulties, ADHD, and antisocial behaviour. Placements with children, adolescents, or adults are available.

Settings may include, but are not limited to, schools, the NHS Learning Disability Service, and residential treatment centres. You also will have the opportunity to work in the University’s Psychology and Well-Being Clinic Wales (PAWB Wales), where you will assist in providing early intervention therapy to young children with autism. We are the only University in the UK to have an on-campus behaviour analysis clinic.

Work Experience and Employment Prospects

Professionals trained in behaviour analysis are in increasing demand in the UK, particularly those who are BACB-certified.

Behaviour analysts are employed in a variety of contexts, including service providers for people with autism and/or learning disabilities, the NHS, schools, and residential treatment facilities for people with challenging behaviour. Some behaviour analysts also work as independent consultants in their areas of expertise.

Assessment methods

Assessments include coursework and examinations.

Facilities

As a student in the School of Psychology, you’ll have access to the latest learning technologies, facilities and equipment, including excellent designated facilities.

These include observation and interview rooms equipped with two-way mirror, CCTV and audio and allow research and interview practice sessions to be conducted and recorded onto DVD. We also have a custom-built air-conditioned PC laboratory which provides access to specialist software for running psychology experiments and conducting careers guidance interviews.

- Cognitive suite
The cognitive psychology suite houses specialist psychology equipment. This includes eye tracking equipment which is capable of studying the eye movements of individuals whilst they complete cognitive tasks. The suite includes EEG (electroencephalogram) and ECG (electrocardiogram) facilities for recording electrical activity in the heart and scalp. There is also a driving simulator which is currently being used by postgraduate students to complete a study which examines the effects of stressors on driving performance.

- Psychology clinic facility (PAWB Wales)
As well as our excellent dedicated teaching facilities, the School of Psychology offers a wide range of psychological services to the general public. These are offered through our new PAWB Wales clinic facility and include play therapy, behaviour analysis, health and sport psychology interventions. The clinic activities support our wide range of postgraduate opportunities and undergraduate students can also get involved in some of the clinic’s work.

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This exciting and innovative course is designed to ensure that as a nursing professional you are well placed to deal with the globalised challenges arising in current and future practice. These include changes in population and demographic trends, shifts in patterns of health/illness and wellbeing, and political, professional and organisational working cultures. Currently specialist fields exist within learning disabilities, mental health and adult nursing.

Course details

The course adopts an evidence-informed nursing approach by reviewing, synthesising and incorporating contemporary professional and political drivers to ensure that the profession remains dynamic, proactive and responsive in delivering safe, confident, competent and compassionate quality care and excellence in nursing practice. This course offers you the opportunity to develop your personal and professional autonomy within your areas of practice.

The course develops:
-Leadership skills to promote the professional voice of nursing and to disseminate new knowledge and skills to enhance patient/client care
-Advanced knowledge and skills to facilitate person-centred care and to enhance the patient/client experience
-Advanced decision-making skills and application of nursing practice in complex, demanding and unpredictable environments
-Intellectual and professional independence associated with mastery
-Knowledge and skills to inform and advance nursing practice
-A critical understanding of research methodologies and evidence-based practice to contribute to the generation of knowledge for advanced nursing practice

What you study

The course consists of 100 credits of core modules and 80 credits of designated/option modules. The option modules can be a mixture of either 20 or 40 credit modules. There is an induction period to help meet your needs in relation to the demands of master’s-level study.

Core modules
-Advanced Inquiry in Nursing
-Conceptualisation of Nursing through Person-centred Care
-Enhancing the User/Carer Experience Through Evidence-based Nursing (Dissertation)

Option modules - Adult nurse working in acute medicine
-Advanced Acute Cardiology
-Advanced Respiratory Disease Management
-Supportive Care for Patients with Long-term Conditions

Designated/Option modules - Learning disabilities nurse working in their specialist field
-Advancing Health Facilitation with Learning Difficulties
-Applied Behavioral Analysis and Supportive Interventions
-Principles of Risk Assessment

Designated/Option modules - Mental health nurse working in their specialist field
-Contemporary Law and Ethics and Mental Health
-Critical and Alterative Discourses in Mental Health Illness and Mental Health
-Negotiated Learning

Designated/Option modules - Adult nurse working in palliative care
-End-of-life Care
-Psychosocial Dimensions of Death and Dying

Modules offered may vary.

Teaching

We use a range of assessment strategies depend on the module. Examples include presentations, assignments, vivas and objective structured clinical examinations.

This programme uses e-learning as a key resource to enhance your learning and support. You use the virtual learning environment, [email protected] for all the modules. We provide links to other useful online resources and web-based interactive activities related to autism. You also learn through discussion boards as well as attending keynote lectures, seminars, case study and scenario-based discussions. There is a virtual ethics committee group to enhance your learning on the second-year core module. We use debate and argument to stimulate you as active participants in your reflective and learning process. Because the programme allows you to select option modules, the different modules use resources appropriate to the topic of study. For example, if you study Advanced Clinical Skills, you have the opportunity to practice skills in preparation for the objective structured clinical examinations assessment.

Employability

The MSc Nursing (Specialist Field) award should help employers to recognise your expertise and study at master’s level.

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About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning.
It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Primary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 5-11. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Primary course is structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based.

The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I
This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.

2. Education Studies II
This module aims to develop understanding of the learning, teaching and assessment of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 & 2, in the Core (English, Mathematics and Science) and Foundation subjects (Computing, Physical Education, History, Geography, Religious Education, Art and Music).
The primary focus will be on developing approaches to maximise the impact you can make on pupil progress (TS2). This module focuses on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and ways to meet the differentiated needs of a range of pupils in relation to theoretical perspectives and real-life classroom applications and strategies are addressed.

3. Education Studies III (Curriculum Enhancement)
The following range of Curriculum Enhancements are usually offered: Bilingualism, Culture & Identities (BCI), Mathematics, Mathematical Thinking, Physical Education, Talk, Science, Computing
This unique module aims to develop curriculum expertise in the chosen area, whereby student teachers can:
research and develop innovative skills and projects within the context of their curriculum enhancement study and school setting;
apply the skills and principles of highly effective planning, teaching and assessment principles of National Curriculum focus areas, using a broad range of learning, teaching and assessment resources and approaches;
explore and develop skills in ‘specialised’ cross-curricula approaches.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs). This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006. We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

The application will cost £51.86 (this amount may be subject to change) and the University will send further instructions as part of the admissions process. For further guidance please email [email protected].

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Primary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Primary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:
Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities (Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

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The Postgraduate Diploma in SEN Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) is one of a range of special educational needs courses that are offered by the University of South Wales at postgraduate level.

This course is for you if you have at least two years experience of working with students with SpLD and are looking to gain a qualification to enable you to apply to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) for either Approved Teacher Status (ATS or ATS HE/FE) or an Associate Membership of the BDA (AMBDA or AMBDA FE/HE).

The course may also be of interest to other approved professionals, such as speech and language or occupational therapists and educational psychologists.

The Postgraduate Diploma in SEN Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) is recognised by the British Dyslexia Association for the award of Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA). It is also recognised by the Joint Council for Qualifications as the appropriate training for completing Access Arrangements in Secondary Schools.

Those who have obtained the PG Diploma in Spld (AMBDA) are eligible to assess and diagnose dyslexia.

See the website http://courses.southwales.ac.uk/courses/1280-postgraduate-diploma-sen-specific-learning-difficulties

What you study

To gain a Postgraduate Diploma SEN in SpLD you must pass four taught modules:

• Understanding Learning Difficulties and Disabilities which is taught on the campus or can be accessed via e-learning
• Specific Learning Difficulties
• Managing and Supporting Children and Young People with Specific Learning Difficulties
• Research Methodology

Both SpLD modules focus not only upon specific difficulties in literacy and numeracy, but address the wider spectrum of potentially associated conditions eg. Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome.

The course enables participants to gain knowledge of:

• The vast range of differences within the SpLD continuum
• Current research on the identification of learners experiencing problems with literacy and numeracy
• Assessing individual learning needs, using both standardised and non-standardised methods
• Planning programmes of work for individual pupils based on initial and on-going assessment
• The effects on learning, self esteem and behaviour of SpLD
• Monitoring the progress of learners who may show uneven or intermittent standards of achievement
• A variety of strategies and resources, including ICT and technical aids, for assisting pupil organisation, drafting and presentation of work
• The monitoring, evaluation and auditing responsibilities within school or service, in respect of the quality of provision for pupils with SpLD.

Learning and teaching methods

Students undertake two modules in year one, and two modules in year two. Both SpLD modules are taught on Monday evenings for three hours on campus over a period of 12 consecutive weeks.

Assessment methods

The first module is assessed on the basis of a written assignment of 5,000 words (or equivalent).

The second module is assessed in two ways:
- For students seeking a professional award, the successful completion of 30 hours of teaching experience and assessment of relevant files (equivalent to 5,000 words)

- For other participants, one 5,000 word assignment, or the equivalent

Employment Prospects

Most students proceed to the MA dissertation, in order to achieve the award of MA SEN.

Following successful completion of the course, some students have gained posts as school and college SENCOs, specialist tutors in SPLD services, set up their own SpLD consultancies, or become LEA Advisors. Others have published books and papers on the subject and gained doctorate awards.

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This is an advanced professional development programme for psychology and social science graduates and professionals. Through this programme you will undertake analysis of issues appertaining to the care and progression of individuals with developmental disabilities. You will assess different types of interventions and will have the opportunity to engage with disability service providers and users. You will gain detailed knowledge and understanding of:

• definitions and epidemiology of intellectual disability
• cognitive, communicative and social characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities
• biological, social and environmental causes of intellectual disability
• behaviour analysis
• challenging behaviour and other special needs
• ideology, policy and service development
• definition and measurement of service quality
• the relationships between service organisation and quality
• research methodology and basic statistical analysis

Course structure

Coursework is taught through a mixture of web-based resources, directed reading, videos, lectures, seminars and practical sessions, supported by a number of workshops, where you work with skilled professionals and have the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with fellow students. You will also undertake practical work placements which are assessed by written reports as well as having the opportunity to complete a piece of original research with your Research Project.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme:

• Social psychology of intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Behaviour analysis and intervention
• Service issues in intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Research methods

Knowledge and understanding

You will gain knowledge and understanding of:

• definitions and epidemiology of intellectual disability
• cognitive, communicative and social characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities
• biological, social and environmental causes of intellectual disability
• behaviour analysis
• challenging behaviour and other special needs
• ideology, policy and service development
• definition and measurement of service quality
• the relationships between service organisation and quality
• research methodology and basic statistical analysis 

Transferable skills

You will gain the following transferable skills:

• communication: the ability to organise information clearly and respond to written sources
• numeracy: if you are doing the statistical element of the research methods module, you will make sense of statistical materials and integrate quantitative and qualitative information. You will also become familiar with ways of summarising and presenting data
• information technology: the ability to produce written documents, undertake online research
• working with others: the ability to work co-operatively on group tasks both within the virtual learning environment and during the residential workshops
• improve your own learning: the ability to explore your strengths and weaknesses, time management skills and review your working environment
• problem-solving: the ability to identify and define complex problems, explore alternative solutions and discriminate between them.

Dynamic centre of expertise

This programme is taught by the University's renowned Tizard Centre. An annual seminar series runs at which staff or guest lecturers present the results of research or highlight recent developments in the field of social care. The Jim Mansell Memorial Lecture invites public figures or distinguished academics to discuss topics that could interest a wider audience. The Centre also publishes the Tizard Learning Disability Review (in conjunction with Emerald Publishing) to provide a source of up-to-date information for professionals and carers.

The Tizard Centre provides consultancy to organisations in the statutory and independent sectors, both nationally and internationally, in diversified areas such as service assessment, person-centred approaches, active support and adult protection..

Careers

Our postgraduate courses improve employability prospects for both those with established careers and new entrants to the field. Many of our students already work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in professional, management or supporting capacities.

Our programmes support their continuing professional development and enhance their opportunities for career advancement. Other students, who are at the beginning of their careers, move on to a range of professional roles in health and social care including working as psychologists in learning disability or behavioural specialists in community learning disability teams; service management of development roles; clinical psychology training or a PhD.

Career destinations include working as a consultant behaviour analyst, carer co-ordinator, service care manager, special needs teacher, quality officer, ABA tutor and research assistant in various health care organisations such as Dimensions UK Ltd, Care Management Group, Consensus Support Services, Mencap and Ambitious About Autism.

Why study at the University of Kent

We offer inspirational teaching and supervision alongside first-class library and IT facilities. You also benefit from our high-impact research in all subjects. Whatever you are looking to study, Kent provides a dynamic and challenging environment for your postgraduate studies.

• Kent was awarded gold, the highest rating, in the UK Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework
• Kent is ranked 21st in the Times Higher Education (THE) ‘Table of Tables’ 2017
• Kent is ranked 25th in the Complete University Guide 2018
• Kent is ranked 22nd in the Guardian University Guide 2018
• 42% of our academics are from overseas and we have students representing 158 nationalities
• In the most recent research rankings, 97% of research at Kent was found to be of international quality (REF 2014)
• Kent is ranked 17th in the UK* for research intensity and research output (REF 2014)

Find out more: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/why-kent/

* of 122 universities, not including specialist institutions

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Overview

The MSc Nursing graduate entry programme is aimed at highly motivated graduates who wish to become a registered adult nurse and achieve an MSc in an accelerated two year timeframe. Nursing is an exciting and rewarding career choice. It’s one in which you can make a real and positive contribution to people with long and short-term health problems who are facing some of the most challenging experiences of their lives.

The programme will utilise an enquiry based learning approach which will build on your existing graduate skills for learning and will be underpinned by a student centred philosophy. It will also encompass shared learning with other disciplines and professions, developing your clinical leadership skills and preparing you for professional adult nursing practice.

The programme will focus on quality care, clinical skills, leadership and will be designed to be both research intensive and research informed. You will learn the pivotal roles of nurse and client, while developing your nursing skills and building your knowledge of professional and ethical practice.

Successful completion of this innovative programme will ensure you will meet the registration requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

During our stimulating and intensive 2-year course to become a Keele, person-centred, graduate entry adult nurse, we aim to facilitate your development to become one of the best post-graduate nurses in the country. To achieve this you will develop a skill set which includes:

- Deliver safe, competent, evidence-based nursing practice
- Adopting professional values, attitudes and behaviours,
- Developing your interpersonal skills,
- Effective team-working,
- Improving management and leadership skills
- Demonstrate competence in research and be able to successfully manage a project

Subject to Validation and sufficient numbers

See the website https://www.keele.ac.uk/pgtcourses/adultnursingmsc/

Course Aims

Preparation for nursing practice encompasses learning in the spheres of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours. It is recognised that evidence based knowledge is required for safe and effective nursing practice and as such programme content is driven by the NMC Standards for Pre-registration Nursing Education, QAA Academic and Practitioner Standards for nursing alongside the QAA Master’s Degree Characteristics (NMC, 2010; QAA, 2010). The programme builds in terms of academic skill sets, professional responsibility and technical complexity throughout the two years.

Upon successful completion of the programme, students will be able to:
- Consistently utilise a person-centred approach to nursing care based on partnership, which respects the individuality of people and families, to ensure high quality care.

- Have a systematic understanding and critical awareness of the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours to become a thoughtful, compassionate and effective nurse who provides high-quality care based on best evidence.

- Demonstrate excellent self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems making sound nursing judgements and communicate their conclusions clearly.

- Have the ability to independently engage in critical inquiry and implement research findings that makes a significant positive difference to nursing care and clinical effectiveness.

- Apply clinical reasoning and decision-making skills to enable them to safely manage complex healthcare, risk and ‘uncertainty’ both systematically and creatively.

- Be responsive to innovation and new technologies and innovative practice that promotes safe adoption and dissemination of better quality service delivery.

- Develop a transferable skill set required for independent reflexive learning and research for continuing professional development and post- graduate nursing careers.

- Consistently demonstrate emotional expressiveness, self-confidence, and self-determination in effective leadership and communication.

- Promote equality and demonstrate courageous, ethical and anti-discriminatory practices that support empowerment, advocacy and safeguarding in nursing practice.

- Work effectively in teams to collaborate and work in partnership with people, professionals, communities and other agencies and work flexibly across changing healthcare economies.

Entry Requirements

The MSc Nursing, Graduate Entry Nursing (GEN) programme recognises that prior learning and experience is integral to the student’s learning.
Academic Entry requirements:
- A first degree (2:1 or above)

- Applicants must have English and Maths at GCSE or equivalent qualification at grade A - C

- Evidence of recent study (within 5 years)

- We accept applications from candidates who meet residency requirements of UK students. Any overseas qualifications should be equivalent to UK qualifications which meet our entry requirements. If you have completed your degree outside the UK, we will require a clear copy of your degree documentation to ensure NARIC comparability. Please note that all applicants who are invited to interview will be required to present their original degree documentation. IELTS tests will be accepted as an equivalent to GCSE English at grade C. We request IELTS with an overall score of 7 (and a minimum of 7 in all sub-tests).

- Please note that you will be required to have obtained the academic entry requirements before applying.

Teaching & Assessment

The programme utilises an enquiry-based learning approach which builds on your existing skills for learning and is underpinned by a student centred philosophy. It also encompasses shared learning with other disciplines and professions, developing your clinical leadership skills and preparing you for practice.

As with all our courses, you can expect to experience a stimulating blend of learning activities, from practice learning, simulation, problem based learning, tutorials, lectures and clinical skills workshops through to innovative web-based activities and inter-professional learning.

Each module will encourage you to demonstrate deep learning that includes subject-specific knowledge and transferable skills. Service user involvement in the programme will ensure that the concept of person-centeredness is explicit.

We have a wide variety of innovative assessments that will develop and enhance your graduate skill set. These may include report writing, simulated activities, an MCQ exam, case studies, presentations, designing a renewable learning resource, reflective writing, developing a research proposal to undertaking a Masters dissertation

Additional Costs

Currently course fees are paid for all students who meet the NHS student bursaries eligibility criteria. Currently eligible students will receive a non-means tested grant of £1,000, a means-tested bursary. Additional allowances may be available for students with disabilities and dependents, but you will not be eligible for the Reduced Rate student loan. Information on NHS bursaries is available here NHS Bursary Scheme and Professional and Career development loans is available here Loans

Disclaimer:
Students and prospective students should not rely on the current NHS Bursary rules and allowances when planning for subsequent academic years. These rules may be subject to review in the future and as a result may change.

Find information on Scholarships here - http://www.keele.ac.uk/studentfunding/bursariesscholarships/

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This Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) fulltime, campus- based programme is designed for educational and health practitioners that work with, or have an interest in working with, children identified as having special educational needs and disabilities. It provides opportunities for participants to reflect on their practice, to critique the conceptualisation of disability within culture and society, and to be analytical as to SEND practices and policies.

This course is internationally focused, and examines SEND practices around the world. Students will, however, be given opportunities to experience UK schools and to engage in research at both the UK and international level.

Awards available on the SEND programme
PG Cert – 3 modules (60 credits at M Level)
PGDip – 6 modules (120 credits at M Level)
MA – 6 modules plus a 15,000 word dissertation (180 credits at M Level)

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programme will enable you to deepen and extend your knowledge and understanding of educational and social theories which are related to working with children and young people with a range of special educational and individual learning needs.

The programme utilises lectures, seminars, tutorials, school visits, practical tasks, and discussions. Lectures and seminars are facilitatedby academics who are leaders in research in the field of SEND.

The programme has been designed to allow opportunities for individualisation of content to ensure that it is relevant to your professional and personal needs. As a student on the programme, you will be expected to be self-directed in your learning, and propose projects that can be practical, theoretical, or both. If you choose to pursue the MA award, you will have the opportunity to design and implement research that will allow you to gain skills in research design and methodology.

This programme is designed to supplement professionals already working in the field, or those seeking a general introduction to topics within special educational needs and disabilities. In general, this includes educators already working with students with special educational needs and disabilities, support workers in places such as a university or workplace disability service unit, a social worker or nurse providing care for persons with disabilities, someone working for a non-governmental organization dealing with disabilities issues, or a staff member of a Ministry of Education or Ministry of Health, amongst other things. This programme is not intended to be a training programme for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), nor will it provide specific teacher training to directly work with students with disabilities in education or health settings.

About the School of Education

The School of Education has a long-standing reputation as a centre of excellence for teaching and research in a wide range of areas of educational practice and policy. It is an international leader in education with a history of top rated research. In the 2016 QS World Rankings, it was ranked 28th in the World and joint 7th in Europe/UK.
The School employs over 100 academic staff who teach more than 2,500 students. It is home to a number of departments and research centres with a history of top rated research and is an international leader in education.
School of Education ranking:
- Ranked 6th in the Guardian University League Tables 2017
- Ranked 10th in the 2017 Complete University Guide
- In Top 3 for HEI provision in the Good Teacher Training Guide
- Ranked 28th in the World in the 2016 QS World Rankings
- Ranked 9th overall for Research in the 2014 REF (with more than 82% of research rated as ‘internationally excellent’ (3*) or ‘world leading’ (4*).
- Rated 'outstanding' in latest Ofsted inspection (2013) for its Teacher Training programmes
- Ranked third for Education in The Times Good University Guide 2017

Funding and Scholarships

There are many ways to finance your postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham. To see what funding and scholarships are available, please visit: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding

Open Days

Explore postgraduate study at Birmingham at our on-campus open days.
Register to attend at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/visit

Virtual Open Days

If you can’t make it to one of our on-campus open days, our virtual open days run regularly throughout the year. For more information, please visit: http://www.pg.bham.ac.uk

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