Why study this course
This programme allows you to continue working or volunteering while pursing your degree, providing you with valuable practical experience alongside your academic studies.
Blended learning delivery small number of days on campus and remote face to face sessions.
National Student Survey 2025 revealed an impressive satisfaction rate of 98.04 among students on Professional Practice programmes, highlighting the quality and effectiveness.
A stepping stone toward a teaching career, with many students employed as Teaching Assistants. Clear progression opportunities within the education sector, including the option to pursue top-up degree programmes, enhancing your career prospects.
Course summary
Have you ever thought about working towards a degree, but decided against it as you are already in employment or volunteering and don’t want to give that up? Our FdA Teaching and Learning course is designed for you if you are a TA who want to continue working while beginning a route into Teacher Training.
Key facts
|
Award |
FdA |
|---|---|
|
UCAS code |
X131 |
|
Duration |
2 years |
|
Mode of study |
Full time, Blended |
|
Start date |
September 2026 |
|
Award |
Lincoln Bishop University |
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Institution code |
B38 |
Apply for this course
When you're ready to apply, the route you take will depend on your personal circumstances and preferred method of study. Click the relevant button below to start your application journey.
About this course
The Foundation Degree is a blended, work-based programme that combines practical learning with live online teaching and occasional campus sessions. You will attend online classes twice a week in real time, with five in-person teaching days across the academic year, making it possible to continue working or volunteering while you study.
Over the two-year programme, you will build on your existing experience of working with learners and apply it to your studies. In your first year, you will explore key learning principles to support your transition into higher education. You will also examine how your practice links to theoretical concepts, helping you to understand the needs of learners and to reflect on and support your professional development. In your second year, you will study important topics such as inclusion, equality, diversity, learning, and assessment. You will also learn about different approaches to teaching (pedagogy) and how to reflect on your own practice.
Throughout the two-year programme, you will also have opportunities to collaborate with students from other related courses, such as early childhood and youth. This collaboration will help you broaden your understanding of working with learners across a range of ages and settings and strengthen your future career prospects.
Students on the programme work in a range of settings that support learning, including Early Years Foundation Stage classes, primary and secondary education, further and adult education, or in support-based roles, including special educational needs and disability (SEND). The programme welcomes applicants from across these diverse contexts.
This Foundation Degree is a recognised qualification that can help you progress in your career. It can support your development towards becoming a teacher, advancing in your current role, or taking on more senior or specialist positions. The course also offers a number of progression routes to help you achieve your career ambitions.
Please note this course replaces and combines the FdA Primary Teaching Studies and FdA Education in Practice programmes.
What you will study
Students on this course currently study some or all of the following modules:
This module provides an induction to higher education and supports the development of academic literacies. The underpinning foundations for professional learning are the focus of ‘Tools for Learning’ including reflection. The module also introduces well–established traditional and contemporary learning theories in relation to higher education and supporting children and young people’s development.
The module will include an induction to the range of learning resources available to facilitate the development of higher education academic literacy skills.
You will practice and develop your study skills, and you will evaluate and reflect on your personal learning and professional practice. You will consider the tools and principles relating to supporting your own and others learning development and achievement.
This module introduces you to key philosophies, concepts, policies, and forms of provision that underpin educational practice. It provides a historical and contemporary overview of education and social provision, enabling you to critically explore how different educational and social philosophies, policies, and legislative frameworks influence practice across diverse settings.
You will engage with the work of key thinkers and social reformers, examining how these ideas continue to shape provision for children, young people, and families.
Through reflection on your own practice contexts and comparison across different sectors, you will begin to understand and articulate the relationship between theory, policy, and everyday professional practice.
Although developmental theories of education and learning are used throughout the programme, this module ensures you have a secure grounding in a range of perspectives to enable exploration of theories, principles and policy relating to the
development of the individual in society. The module explores the influencing factors on development and how children and young people may be supported.
The module enables you to evaluate the impact of development and will include a range of theories and perspectives based in sociology and psychology. There will be opportunities to develop the understanding gained in prior learning of how development can impact on children and young people’s learning. The module introduces you to contemporary concepts and principles of supporting children and young people in a range of practice settings.
This module introduces you to the concept of working together in practice, with a focus on how professionals collaborate to support children, young people and families. You will explore what effective collaborative practice looks like within teams and when working with other organisations such as education, health, social care and community services.
The module considers both the benefits and challenges of working with others to safeguard children and young people, promote well-being and support positive behaviour. You will examine legislation and guidance, reflect on your own workplace experiences and consider how collaborative working can either support or create difficulties within professional environments.
This module provides an in-depth exploration of equality, diversity, and inclusion, supporting you to critically engage with a wide range of theories and models that underpin inclusive practice across educational and care settings. While inclusive practice is embedded throughout the programme, this module offers a dedicated opportunity for you to deepen your understanding and apply theory to address complex societal inequalities.
Building on foundational knowledge from year one, you will extend your appreciation of how socio-political factors, inequality and power influence participation. You will examine your own values and beliefs in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion and consider how these may affect yours, and others, professional behaviours
This practice-based module is designed to enable you to explore your professional practice working with children, young people and/or families. This module is concerned with ensuring the continued success and quality of provision within the education, early childhood and youth sectors.
The key aspects of quality, effectiveness and success are dependent upon a workforce who is reflective, competent and skilled within their subject specific areas. The overall aim of this module is for you to gain a practical and theoretical understanding of the importance of reflection, particularly in challenging personal and professional practice.
This module will also analyse principles of practice including competence frameworks, which aims to support you to develop your capacity to engage in informed, constructive reflection.
This module explores the theoretical and practical foundations of supporting learning and assessment within educational settings. It integrates key themes from both pedagogy and assessment, offering you the opportunity to develop professional knowledge and skills that reflect contemporary practice and debates.
You will critically examine pedagogical approaches and assessment strategies (both formative and summative), and their application to a range of learning contexts including alternative provision. This module supports you to consider how to adapt and differentiate support and assessment practices in response to complex needs and settings beyond the mainstream.
The Practitioner Research module provides students with the opportunity to design a research project. You will be introduced to the broad principles of research design, by engaging with the process of a literature review, you will develop subject knowledge pertinent to the area of inquiry. Ethical issues will be addressed, including the key principles of informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality. You will be introduced to a range of data collection methods and techniques for analysing and presenting research findings and this will be supported through lectures. You will be expected to collect primary data from your fellow students within the class and then be guided to write up in scholarly way specific elements of their project for the assessments.
Entry requirements
Typically, a minimum of one year’s experience in practice and a minimum of two days a week (minimum of 12 hours per week accumulating to 360 hours per year of study in a relevant role, either as an employee or a volunteer).
Typically a Level 3 Diploma, NVQs, access to HE programmes, subject/vocational qualifications and written support from the head teacher/workplace manager in which the applicant works or volunteers.
How you will be taught
There is no one-size-fits-all method of teaching at Lincoln Bishop – we shape our methods to suit each subject and each group, combining the best aspects of traditional university teaching with innovative techniques to promote student participation and interactivity.
You will be taught mainly through online teaching on two evenings per week.
On five days each academic year, you will come onto campus for a face-to-face learning evening. You will be required to continue working or volunteering for at least two days per week, and this will allow you to continue to learn from your home school setting
Academic staff
Assessment
Typically, a variety of assessment methods are used including presentations, discussions, debates, poster presentations, essays, portfolios of work, case studies and reflections. All assessments allow you to reflect on your practice and theory as you evidence your learning, building on your personal strengths to develop clear communication skills to share your knowledge and understanding.
Careers & Further study
Graduate opportunities have enabled our students to attain managerial positions within their sector, to lead practice with their setting. The majority of students advance onto our Top Up Degrees to take their qualifications to honours degree level. Like the Foundation degree, these Top Up Degrees allow you to study and continue to work.
Many go on to further study to become teachers through our PTS/QTS routes, or go onto the BA (Hons) Teaching and Learning. Others take on professional roles in areas such as special educational needs, mentoring, subject support, school, family and welfare liaison roles in the wider educational community and with local authorities working with the full range of age groups and sectors.
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