Why choose the School of Education and English
In the NSS 2025, our education courses scored student satisfaction rates of 90% and over for teaching; learning opportunities; assessment and feedback; academic support; organisation and management; and freedom of expression.
Our education courses rank in the UK top 5 overall in their subject field; they rank UK 4th (tied) for career prospects (Guardian, 2026).
Our education courses rank in the UK top 10 in their subject field for teaching quality (Times, 2026).
About the course
This degree has been designed specifically for teaching assistants and those undertaking a support role within educational settings, and has a strong emphasis on employability, allowing you to put your learning into practice. It builds on your existing professional skills and competencies, giving you an in-depth understanding of educational provision for children aged 3-11 years within primary settings as well as children with special educational needs. After graduating, you may choose to apply for an Initial Teacher Training course or move into another career working with young people.
This work-based course offers opportunities to study through blended learning in which 60% is online and 40% on campus, attending Saturday study days (6 per academic year).
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Designated online classroom and learning spaces
- Forest School where you can deepen your understanding of the long-term educational benefits of outdoor learning opportunities
- Specialist sensory centre to support your understanding of how teachers teach and children learn, within early years and SEND contexts
- Multimedia space for webinars and podcasting
- For those studying through blended learning, designated study space and activity agenda for Saturday study days
Industry links
As one of the largest providers of teacher education in the eastern region, we have well-established partnerships with more than 500 schools and other associated organisations, a network that puts us at the forefront of educational developments.
Student experience
Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well.
You benefit from the support of your own personal tutor, a unit and course coordinator, and the additional support of our experienced library staff, all of whom will help you throughout your student journey and with balancing study with work and personal commitments.
Work-based learners have a unique opportunity to join our purposeful and active Work-based Learning Student Society, run through the Students’ Union.
For those choosing the blended-learning option, you attend weekly sessions online that are enhanced and supported by the independent tasks unit tutors allocate to you.
There are six Saturday study days across the academic year offering a unique mix of group work, tutor-led sessions and cross-course collaboration.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - Allyson Goodchild
I began my teaching career in 1989 as a class teacher and have taught in both inner city and rural primary schools as a senior leader and as a Headteacher.
I have also worked as an associate for Human Scale Education, visiting schools around the country to support them in developing their school environments.
Course Leader - Allyson Goodchild
I began my teaching career in 1989 as a class teacher and have taught in both inner city and rural primary schools as a senior leader and as a Headteacher.
I have also worked as an associate for Human Scale Education, visiting schools around the country to support them in developing their school environments.
Course Leader - Allyson Goodchild
I began my teaching career in 1989 as a class teacher and have taught in both inner city and rural primary schools as a senior leader and as a Headteacher.
I have also worked as an associate for Human Scale Education, visiting schools around the country to support them in developing their school environments.
Studying our Applied Education Studies BA (Hons) course will equip you with in-depth knowledge around educational provision, child development and professional practice. As an educator, curriculum is at the heart of teaching and learning. Our two units, English: Knowledge and Understanding and English: Theory and Practice will introduce you to areas critical to teaching English. You will explore language teaching theories and investigate current practice in settings, with an additional refresher on key grammatical, punctuation and spelling conventions of English. Furthermore, you will learn approaches to identifying children’s needs in reading, spoken language and writing and consider suitable interventions to support a child’s learning.
In other areas of curriculum, you will also be equipped with the concepts and skills to teach mathematics in our Mathematics Education unit. Here, you will develop your understanding of the subject with various topics including algebra and data handling. You will investigate a range of approaches to mathematical thinking and problem solving and, by reviewing theory and research, you will consider effective ways to structure content that will support pupils in developing reasoning skills to solve mathematical problems. On a broader scale, you will also be Exploring the Curriculum to learn the principles of curriculum design while questioning the aims, effectiveness and structure of the school curriculum and how it aligns with the National Curriculum for England. More importantly, you will actively consider equality, diversity and inclusion within curriculum design.
Another important role as an educator is to facilitate positive learning environments for children. This is why our Learning Environment unit aims to develop your knowledge and skills to create safe and stimulating environments rooted in mutual respect to maximise opportunities for students. In addition, you will look more closely at individual pupils in our Personalised Learning unit to assess specific needs and use this to inform the inclusion and support of all children in an educational setting. Furthermore, through examining research, theory and pedagogy, our Developing Learning unit will also provide you with the knowledge and skills to support the development of babies, children and young people.
To assist you with your learning, your first unit in Skills for Education Studies will develop your key academic skills to source and use literature effectively to link theory and practice. As you progress through the course, you will also engage with our Reflecting on Practice unit where you will be supported in identifying your strengths and areas for improvement in your academic and professional work at the midway point in your studies. In the later stages of your studies, our unit in Professional Practice will encourage you to consider ethics and policy within wider educational settings, including how professional and legal frameworks operate within settings and how roles and responsibilities are carried out by the education workforce. Following this, you will write a reflective journal and create an academic poster using your critical analysis of a given topic.
In your final year, you will complete a Research Project in Applied Education Studies where you will carry out an in-depth study into an area of interest relevant to your study and professional interest. Under the guidance of a supervisor, you will discuss and refine your research while developing key academic and investigative skills within an area of practice that is relevant to your future career. To prepare you for your research project, our unit in Research Methods will guide you in choosing your area of interest and the fundamentals of research including research approaches, methods, data collection tools, ethics and data analysis
The purpose of assessment is to provide formative feedback to you, to monitor your performance and to measure your attainment. In addition, it aims to enable you to demonstrate that you have fulfilled the objectives of each unit as well as those needed for working within education as a profession.
The assessment strategies are designed to give you the opportunity to demonstrate the range of knowledge, understanding and skills required by intending teachers and those who wish to work within education. Your learning will be assessed throughout the course in both a formative and summative way. A range of approaches to assessments are utilised throughout the course, to include written reports and essays, presentations, in class tests, preparation of lesson sequences and teaching materials, literature reviews and a final independent research project. These tools have been chosen to ensure there is a balance of assessment and are re-visited throughout the course to ensure that you have the opportunity to build and develop the attributes that are assessed in a systematic way. The aim is that by the end of the final year you are empowered to demonstrate the qualities that define a Level 6 qualification.
Oral presentations are included as a key element of your assessment and development, and a number of units include the formal assessment of these. The key importance of the development of oral presentational skills to intending teachers and those working within education is recognised by the course team and every opportunity is taken to encourage you to enhance your skills in this area.
The feedback given to you is intended to be formative in order to aid development. In addition to this, many units involve small-scale group and individual presentation opportunities within teaching sessions to enable students to develop their skills further. You are required to demonstrate that the work you submit for assessment is your own and you will be supported in this process by using a range of tools to include:
- Detailed assignment briefs and marking grids
- Engaging teaching sessions to included activities and discussions to support you in understanding assessment requirements
- Guidance in referencing and citing work correctly using the University Referencing Guidelines.
- The University Virtual Learning Environment, BREO, which includes access to a range of teaching and learning materials and interactive discussion boards where you can post questions and gain feedback on ideas related to your specific assignment.
- During independent study, the support of a research project supervisor to guide you in the research process and provide formative feedback on draft work.
Careers
Gain from a course that provides a clear route into a professional graduate role, through early-years teacher status; primary initial teacher training; or leadership and management. Many of our past students have gone on to have successful careers within education, working in a variety of roles including head teacher; SENCO; classroom teacher; and education welfare officer.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Virtual Tour
