Special and Inclusive Education (National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators) PG Cert
1 Year Part-time | September Start

The programme is offered on a part-time basis to accommodate professionally qualified individuals, particularly teachers based within the UK, who wish to undertake study on a part-time basis.

You will complete two compulsory 30-credit modules. No Accreditation for Prior Learning (APL) or Accreditation for Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) is allowed on this programme.

This course offers you the flexibility of attaining the qualification without commitment to a full Masters, although the modules can also be taken as part of a Masters qualification. You will be presented with the opportunity to draw upon your workplace practice and to consider challenges and successes of inclusion with peers, exploring and critically evaluating your own and your organisation’s practice. The key aim of the programme is to initiate rigorous critical enquiry and discourse to extend the criteria for judging taken-for-granted assumptions underlying SEN/Inclusion policy and practice. You will develop an increasing respect for evidence and the capacity to lead change in your own practice within your professional context.

The assessment will engage you with challenges facing learners in your organisation, how these can be identified and addressed and the opportunity to apply these solutions in a targeted way in your practice. You will draw upon education theory, research, policy, professional standards to develop such skills as collaboration and leadership as well as a deeper understanding of how change can impact on people. These attributes are critical in the role of the SENCo, and those tasked with the job of empowering others to embrace the responsibility to work inclusively.

University attendance will be on a weekly basis and will comprise a mixture of teacher-led discussions, group and individual presentations and workshops. In addition to tutorial support, your learning group will, in itself, form an important learning network.

The teaching staff on the programme are passionate about the subject of SEND and Inclusion.

The team are qualified teachers and education practitioners, with diverse experience. They have taken it upon themselves to continue developing their knowledge and understanding of SEND and how it impacts on outcomes for learners. They will support you throughout the course with their knowledge and expertise.

At our base on Coach Lane Campus you will benefit from modern teaching facilities, and from being immersed in an environment dedicated to the study of education.

You will also enjoy the benefits of technology-enhanced learning, as each module has its own e-learning area. Here your tutors will share learning materials with you in a flexible way, giving you the choice to revisit learning materials in your own time. In this learning space you can have online discussions with your fellow students to develop ideas and critique practice. You will also be equipped with the ability to challenge your personal and professional development, applying planning tools and career advice through the UseMYAbility website.

Research-rich learning is embedded into the whole programme, with the aim of equipping you with critical and independent enquiry skills that will last a lifetime.

You will develop/enhance your skills of intellectual autonomy, collaborative working, critical and independent enquiry, discipline specific knowledge, creativity and leading change. The two modules on the programme are designed around these key principles. Intellectual autonomy is developed by facilitating an examination of your practice in relation to key education concepts. You will work as an autonomous learner as well as participate in a professional community of learning and practice. You will be encouraged to read around key concepts and ideas which are the focus of the modules.

Further understanding will be through action/practitioner research activities, critical discussion with university peers, work colleagues and tutors. The principles of critical enquiry run through the programme, so you will be encouraged to critically examine, compare and contrast different world-views and their impact on issues pertinent to your sector. Through this engagement, you will demonstrate your ability to take responsibility for your own learning and development, deal with complexity, act with initiative, communicate and defend your work effectively to a wide range of audiences.

Designed to cater for Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinators and those working in similar positions in FE and Early Years, this programme will enhance your career development.

You will graduate with knowledge of the very latest in education research, with particular reference to special needs and inclusion, policy and practice. You will also be able to reflect upon and challenge your own practice, which is a valuable skill to demonstrate to your current and future employers. You will develop skills in theory and research informed approaches to teaching, which in turn will build your confidence to support others to embrace different ways of working with learners with diverse needs. You will be confident in your knowledge and abilities, empowered to make change in your own organisation and ready to go to the next level in your career.