School of Education

BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion

BA (Hons) Part-time 6 years, Full-time 3 years

The BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion Studies is designed to help you to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to work in special and inclusive education and support other disadvantaged groups in society

The BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion Studies is designed to help you to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to work in special and inclusive education and support other disadvantaged groups in society

Award
BA (Hons)
Start date(s)
13 January 2025,16 September 2024
UCAS Code
X363
Course specifications
Course length
Part-time (6 years),Full-time (3 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 (SENDIS) is designed to help you to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to work in special and inclusive education and to represent and support other disadvantaged groups in society. The course is Ideal for those new to this field, as well as for experienced individuals seeking further professional development. During your course, as a SENDIS student, you will help you develop the understanding and competence required for a range of careers working with children, young people, adults, their families, and services that support them. 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.

The course at level 4, 5 and 6 offers a unique blend of theories and practices in relation to Special Educational Needs, Disability, and Inclusion. You will study current policies, procedures, and practice 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.

We recognise that you will have a unique learning journey and we will maximise your potential by targeted academic and pastoral support and by taking part in a range of learning activities and assessments, such as presentations, essays, reflective journals, report writing and peer mentoring, some of them optional. Work placements are part of the course and can be completed in a variety of educational and community settings. In some circumstances, an international placement may be negotiated with a host institution. These placements will allow you to develop and enhance your professional skills, such as organisation, time management and communication, and to strengthen your confidence in supporting children or adults with additional needs.

The BA (Hons) SENDIS can be studied PART-TIME which includes daytime sessions. However, if you are a practitioner 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?

  • 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 4 you will begin to cultivate understanding of key concepts, such as disability, diversity, and inclusion. You will examine the relevance of these to changes in professional, social, and educational practice for disadvantaged groups, with particular concern for the voice and representation of disabled people and those with special educational needs.  

At level 5 you will have opportunities to engage with modules about specific impairments and social and educational processes. You will interrogate the impact of a range of barriers which people with impairments and other additional needs may experience in everyday life and explore societal, physical, attitudinal, and educational changes, which can bring about a more inclusive society for all.

  • At level 6 you will interrogate your own value systems, outlooks, and aspirations in relation to more inclusive professional practice. You will question concepts and theories which you encountered earlier in your studies and will critically examine assumptions underpinning inclusive research and your own practice. You will continue to develop your critical capabilities through the selection, consideration, and evaluation of relevant perspectives, including the views of disabled people, and be able to justify different positions on matters relating to theory around disability, special educational needs and inclusive policy and practice. As you progress through your degree course, you will also have opportunities to develop your critical thinking by carrying out a small-scale research study, in which you investigate a critical, challenging, or intriguing issue relating to social or educational inclusion and children and/or adults with special educational needs and disabilities.

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, in the School of Education, a range of teaching and learning activities will help you to achieve success on your course, and formative feedback will shape your thinking. Assignment writing workshops will give you opportunities to prepare for your assessments where you can develop your academic thinking with support from your lecturers. 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 with peers so you can strengthen your understanding of key issues and explore, apply, critique and contrast different theoretical perspectives, ideas and dilemmas related to inclusive social and educational practice. In each of your modules you will be provided with a structure of scheduled learning and teaching activities (in some modules you can choose to study online), combined with guided and independent learning, to enable you to engage fully in achieving 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

A range of employability skills is built into this programme in order that you develop and refine attributes that will be beneficial to you in the workplace, such as leadership, and professional learning using critical thinking, and skills of reflection. You will also develop and consolidate a range of employability and transferable skills, including sharing information, presenting information and digital literacy.  Employers are also interested in the broader skills you acquire, such as:

  • Written communication, developed through essays and reports.
  • Oral communication, gained through reasoned debates during seminars and presentations.
  • The ability to work as part of a team, through collaborative group work.
  • Research and analytical skills with the ability to judge and evaluate information.
  • Organisational and time management skills, by prioritising tasks to ensure academic, social, and work commitments are completed on time.
  • Negotiation, informally with peers and formally with staff.
  • Problem solving
  • Digital Literacy  

A degree in SENDIS is an excellent foundation for a career in special education working with children, young people and adults in a range of organisations: including special and inclusive education, early years, schools, colleges and social care.

Many of our students go onto further study.  The most popular option is the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Primary Education, Secondary Education, or Post Compulsory Education, as many graduates go on to work as primary, further education or special education needs (SEN) teachers. Other popular courses include a postgraduate Masters in Education or other professional SEN programmes, including the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordinators. 

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 all actively engage in research and writing, including ‘mental health and resilience,’ ‘critical disability,’ ‘inclusive pedagogy’ ‘social exclusion’ and ‘inclusive practice in the early years.’

The Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion Studies team have also engaged in international consultancy work and the delivery of international training programmes in the last few years including 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, just a short walk from Walsall town centre and a bus ride from the centre of Birmingham and Wolverhampton.  Our provision includes buildings which are fitted with interactive whiteboards, lecture theatres, and classrooms as well as social learning areas which include the Student Union.

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, student union advice, 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 Well Being team at the university
  • Higher Education academic skills will be embedded throughout the curriculum.

You will be able to:

  • You will be able to 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
  • Become digitally literate
  • 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

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

September intake

Typical entry requirement: 96 UCAS points

  • A Levels - grades CCC / BCD
  • BTEC L3 Extended Diploma or OCR Cambridge L3 Technical Extended Diploma - grades MMM
  • BTEC L3 Diploma - grades DD
  • NCFE CACHE L3 Diploma in Childcare and Education or NCFE CACHE L3 Technical Diploma in Childcare and Education - grade C
  • Access to HE Diploma (60 credits) of which a minimum of 45 must be at Level 3 (96 UCAS point equivalence, minimum 45 credits at merit)

Use the UCAS Tariff calculator to check your qualifications and points

Please note that the January intake is only available for Level 6 (Year 3) entry

Applicants should hold a Foundation Degree in Supporting Children in Primary Education or other equivalent level 5 qualifications which will be considered on an individual basis.

Other Requirements

Entry to this course requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.

Free Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational Health Check:

Due to the professional nature of some of our courses you may also be required to complete a Declaration of Health and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.  We will coordinate both of these non-academic conditions with you should your course require this and you receive an offer from us

There will be no cost for the DBS this is free to applicants who have secured an offer and have chosen to study at the University of Wolverhampton.

Students must usually have studied for a minimum of two years post GCSE level. However, we will consider applications from mature students who do not have two years of post-16 study, where they have relevant work experience. Please see http://wlv.ac.uk/mature for further information.

Tabitha, 2nd Year BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies

“I have worked with autism and SEN for a few years now, and I decided to further my career and education by coming to university. It’s really useful and interesting to hear about the theories behind the practices I now use and the ones I will use in the future. I am hoping to go on to a postgraduate degree in Speech and Language Therapy”  Tabitha, 2nd year, BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies and Deaf Studies

 

Anneka,  2nd Year BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies

''I chose this University because I wanted to further my knowledge on SEND after working in the field for 13 years. I am enjoying the  ‘Exploring Autism’ module the most as it is the main area of SEND that intrigues me” Anneka,  2nd Year BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies

 

Thea, 2nd Year BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies

“ I chose this university because of the course. Of 10 universities that I looked at – only one stood out!  I enjoy the variety of practical and theoretical knowledge”
Thea, 2nd Year BA (Hons) Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies

 

a BA (Hons) in Special Educational Needs, Disability student

Meet Jade and Jagdip, 2nd years studying for a BA (Hons) in Special Educational Needs, Disability, Inclusion Studies. Jade “is currently enjoying socialising and the Autism module”. She wants to become a SEND teacher in a primary school. Jagdip “enjoys the lectures and the teaching “and states that “face-to-face is so much better than online learning”.

 

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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