School of Education

BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion with Foundation Year

BA (Hons) Full-time 4 years

The BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion Studies with Foundation Year is designed to help you to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed in your studies with the University of Wolverhampton at degree level

The BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion Studies with Foundation Year is designed to help you to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed in your studies with the University of Wolverhampton at degree level

Award
BA (Hons)
Start date(s)
16 September 2024
UCAS Code
X365
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (4 years)
Campus location
Walsall Campus
School
School of Education
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

The BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion Studies with Foundation Year is designed to help you to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed in your studies with the University of Wolverhampton at degree level.

Our Foundation Year programme has been designed to prepare you for studying at undergraduate level and provide you with the required skills and knowledge to transition effectively into Level 4 study.

During your Foundation Year you will develop skills appropriate to University such as finding and using information, working collaboratively with others, challenging, and debating ideas and expressing yourself with greater confidence. The foundation year helps you to become familiar with university life and to feel at home on campus.

Ideal for those new to this area, as well as experienced staff searching for career development, you will develop the knowledge and understanding required for a range of careers working with children, young people, adults, their families and the services that support them.

We recognise that you will have a unique learning journey and we will maximise your potential through optional assessment choices such as presentations, written assessments, reflective journals, report writing, peer mentoring and written plans. 

The course at level 4, 5 and 6 offers a unique blend of theories and practices in relation to SENDIS. You will learn to identify and understand the challenges faced when trying to adopt an inclusive approach in all aspects of life, and how to meet and address these challenges in a positive way as members of a diverse global society.

You will have opportunities to consider a variety of issues and perspectives surrounding work with, and support for, disabled people and other vulnerable groups, and which as future professionals you will need to be able to recognise and address.

You will study current policies, procedures and practice in order to develop inclusive professional and social approaches. As you progress through your degree you will have opportunities to develop your critical capabilities through the selection, analysis and synthesis of relevant perspectives, and be able to justify different positions on matters relating to special educational needs, disability and inclusion.

Placements are expected as part of the course and can be negotiated in a variety of educational and community settings. An international placement may also be negotiated

This course is taught as a four-year full-time route although this this degree can be studied part-time, but you will be required to attend daytime sessions. However, if you are a practitioner with a level 3 qualification and would like to study more flexibly, for example in the evening, we offer part-time foundation degree Supporting Children in Primary Education at our college partners. After completing your part-time foundation degree, you can then top-up to a final year of a part- time BA degree course to gain your full honours degree.

This degree sits within the exciting range of Education and SENDIS courses we offer within the School of Education.

What's unique about this course?

  • Our Foundation Year programme has been designed to prepare you for studying at undergraduate level and provide you with the required skills and knowledge to transition effectively into Level 4 study
  • You will benefit from the team’s expertise, as they actively engage in research and writing
  • You will be taught in our state-of-the-art teaching buildings at Walsall Campus

What happens on the course?

At level 3 you will develop your underpinning knowledge of studying in higher education and the principles of inclusion. 

At level 4 you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and skills of special educational needs theory, disability, and inclusive practice. 

At level 5 you will begin to develop your critical capabilities through the selection, analysis and combining of relevant perspectives, and be able to justify different positions on matters relating to special educational needs theory, disability and inclusive practice.

At level 6 you will be able to reflect on your own value systems, development and inclusive practices, question concepts and theories you have encountered in your studies and interrogate the assumptions underpinning research and your own practice. 

Throughout the course you will be able to identify and understand the challenges faced when trying to adopt an inclusive approach to all aspects of life, and how they can meet and address these challenges in a positive way as members of a diverse global society.

At the University of Wolverhampton a range of teaching and learning activities help you achieve success on your course. Your sessions will have formative learning opportunities and formative feedback from your tutors which will help you prepare for your final marked assessment (summative assessment). You will also be provided with feed-forward written and/or oral feedback on your summative assessments that will help you develop your academic skills as you progress through your course.

All your modules will offer opportunities for interaction and to demonstrate practice, application, exploration, critique, dialogue and analysis of theory. In each of your modules you will be provided with a structure of scheduled learning and teaching activities (both on campus and online) combined with guided and independent learning, to enable you to fully engage to achieve specified learning outcomes. These include:

  • Active contribution to lectures, group activities, including critical debate and discussion in seminars
  • Additional online consolidation activities
  • Guided reading
  • Asynchronous discussion forums
  • Non-timetabled one-to-one meetings with Module Leader / Module Team
  • Preparation for scheduled learning and teaching activities
  • Preparation/completion of assessment tasks
  • Revision tasks
  • Non-synchronous webinars
  • Wider reading and research activity

There are also a variety of assessment types to support and test your learning and progress and to help you develop employability skills that are valued beyond your University studies and into your working life.

 

Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

We are proud of our long-standing tradition of research and study in education, special educational needs, disability, and inclusion. Staff members who teach you on this course are from a range of professional backgrounds including national and international experience in a range of educational settings, specialist provisions, health-related services and local authorities and now work in higher education.

You will benefit from the team’s expertise, as they actively engage in research and writing, including topics such as mental health and resilience, critical disability, inclusive pedagogy, social exclusion, and inclusive practice in the early years.

The SENDIS team have also engaged in international consultancy work and the delivery of international training programmes in the last few years including in Myanmar and Thailand.

Your lived experience of this course will extend beyond the classroom.  You will be taught in our state-of-the-art teaching buildings at Walsall Campus which include interactive whiteboards, lecture theatres, and classrooms as well as social learning areas such as the Students’ Union.

The campus is just a short walk from Walsall town centre and a bus ride from the centre of Birmingham and Wolverhampton. 

The Library will provide you with academic skills support via the Skills for Learning programme . You can attend workshops on campus or online or ask for one-to-one help on a range of skills such as academic writing and referencing. 1:1 online skills appointments are also available.

The University Student Support website offers advice on a variety of matters (careers, counselling etc.) You can also access these services by booking appointment with the SU, careers, counselling services, etc.

Course specific support

  • You will be allocated a personal tutor.
  • Specific assessment support will be factored into each module.
  • If you have disabilities and/or specific learning difficulties you can gain a wide range of support from Student Support and Wellbeing team at the university.
  • Higher education academic skills are embedded throughout the curriculum.

 

You will be able to:

  • develop an independent, reflective, and self-managed approach to study and utilise skills appropriate for study in higher education.
  • improve your confidence in learning, study, and approaches to finding information and be aware of your existing transferable skills and new skills and how these may be developed.
  • demonstrate the underlying values and principles relevant to the ideologies of inclusion and develop a personal stance which draws on your knowledge and understanding, including the diversity of learners and the complexities of the inclusion process
  • evaluate the societal and organisational structures and purposes of social systems, and the possible implications for all involved
  • analyse inclusion concepts, theories and issues in a systematic way
  • identify and reflect on potential connections and discontinuities between aspects of subject knowledge and their application in social policies and contexts
  • process and synthesise a range of relevant empirical and theoretical data to present and justify your chosen position
  • reflect critically on your own value system and relate this to the construction of disability and social diversity
  • demonstrate the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility, decision making in complex and unpredictable contexts
  • develop your professional and ethical practice to improve outcomes for children, young people, adults and their families

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2022-23
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2024-25
Home Part-time £3120 per year# 2022-23
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2023-24
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2023-24
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2024-25
International Full-time £13450 per year 2022-23
International Full-time £14450 per year 2023-24
International Full-time £14450 per year 2023-24
International Full-time £14950 per year 2024-25

Additional Course Costs

Mandatory Costs

  • Enhanced DBS is required after your first year, at a minimum cost of £40. The cost of the DBS is determined by the Government and further information can be found here - GOV.UK / Disclosure and Barring Service.

Further information on these additional costs will be provided prior to the start of your studies

The University is committed to a transparent fee structure, with no hidden costs, to help you make an informed decision. This includes information on what is included in the fee and how fees are calculated and reviewed

Prepare for Foundation Pathway: - We will consider mature applicants (age 21 or over) who have not achieved 48 UCAS points (equivalence) from prior level 3 qualifications, if you have a keen interest in this subject area or hold relevant experience.  You will be required to attend a compulsory Prepare for foundation assessment day where you will take part in a variety of activities which will assess your suitability for the course.  If you would like more advice and guidance about this admissions pathway, please contact Gateway to discuss and support you making an application to us.

Academic Pathway: - 48+ UCAS tariff points

Either

  • A-levels: Grade profile of DD
  • Access to HE Diploma: (60 credits) of which a minimum of 45 must be at Level 3 (48 UCAS point equivalence, minimum 45 credits at pass)
  • BTEC: Grade profile of PPP
  • T-Level: Pass grade with a core component profile less than C.
  • Tariff: Other Level 3 qualifications are accepted for entry. A minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points will be required.
  • International entry requirements and application guidance can be found here

Use the UCAS Tariff calculator to check your qualifications and points

Other Requirements: Applicants must be 18 years old or above at the start of the course.

Case Study-Joseph Haynes - Sendis FDY

What we're you doing before special needs?

I was working with autistic children in a play therapist role. I had the intentions of always being a disability paediatric nurse, so I studied Level 3 health and Social at Walsall College, I'm also autistic myself, and went to a special school both primary, secondary, and a bit of sixth form.

Why choose the foundation year?
It gives you the confidence especially if you haven't been in education for a long time, to know what you're doing before you go into the deep end of Level 4,5 and 6.
What are your career ambitions?
I want to work with the civil service especially working as a disability SEN social worker. I have the health and social care background behind me already, however I needed qualifications relating to special needs. I want to improve the system, and change it within

Why choose Wolverhampton University? and What we're you doing before special needs?
I was working with autistic children in a play therapist role. I also helped staff members also understand autism better. I had the intentions of always being a disability paediatric nurse, so I studied Level 3 health and Social at Walsall College, I'm also autistic myself, and went to a special school both primary, secondary, and a bit of sixth form.

Why choose the foundation year?
It gives you the confidence especially if you haven't been in education for a long time, to know what you're doing before you go into the deep end of Level 4,5 and 6.

What are your career ambitions? I want to work with the civil service especially working as a disability SEN social worker. I have the health and social care background behind me already, however I needed qualifications relating to special needs. I want to improve the system, and change it within. 

 

The support I received from tutors has been positive and ongoing. During the pandemic I was worried that I wouldn't be able to support myself through online learning. However, the content available and the extent of resources was great. For me personally the pre-recorded lessons were a turning Point, I was able to pause and make notes. I felt I was able to go at my own pace to comprehend with the modules. Course leaders were also positive and encouraging to my peers at any questions posed to them. This was nice to see as it made tutors relatable to their students and empathic towards them. I felt supported and heard when it came to my communication with the tutors. All my emails are answered, and I felt I was at ease when I needed to ask questions. Tutors have gone above and beyond to support students both academically and personally. The FD has enabled me to link my practice and studies together this has made me and more informed and competent professional. The course it is a commitment to myself to continue with my passion for lifelong learning and working with inspiring children. The course has developed me to have big aspirations and not limit my career options. For this reason, I have decided to continue to complete a top up to level 6. I hope not only to support children but advocate for inclusion, SEN and families. The modules have given me a purposeful outlook on education, children, society and how I play my part to advocate for inclusion in my professional role. I have enjoyed the modules and utilise them in my professional role. I believe this course will enable me to go further in my career and can do the se for my peers. No matter your age or background the course and tutors will support and guide you through whatever your academic goal may be. (Simran Rhoad)

I have developed my knowledge and working practice on safeguarding, inclusion and being able to link my daily working practice in school to theory. After carrying out various research on these fundamental origins, looking back at a variety of situations through the eyes of theorists, teachers and families has given me an unbiased view to learn from. This foundation degree has really opened my eyes to the true challenges of working in partnership with professionals, families, and pupils. I have learned more about the challenges of following legislation, whilst trying to support families and always safeguard the well-being of the child as the priority. This has led to my working practice standards being improved, my self-belief has greatly increased in making better decisions for pupil’s wellbeing and holistic development. I have enjoyed the experience and now have a renewed hunger to continue my academic and personal development. (Joshua Merchant)

 

Tuition Fees Loan (Home Fee Status):

Most students will be able to apply for a loans to pay for these subject to eligibility. To find out more information please refer to the government Student Finance website.

Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as having Overseas Fee status. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) click here.


Self-funding:

If you don’t want to take out a loan to pay your fees or if you aren’t eligible to receive a loan, you might want to take advantage of the University’s scheme to pay by instalments: See How to pay.

For more information please contact the Gateway.


Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund.

for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


Bursaries and Scholarships:

In addition the University also offers a range of Bursaries and Scholarships packages

You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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