Foundation Degree in Teaching and Learning Support
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-18 | - |
Program Overview
Overview
Develop your skills when supporting children's learning
Study as you work
This course is ideal if you already work or volunteer in an educational setting to support the teaching and learning of children and pupils. You may be working in a nursery or as a teaching assistant in a primary or secondary school.
Whatever the age of the children you are working with, if you wish to develop your knowledge and skills further and work towards gaining a degree then this flexible study route is ideal for you.
Learn to support all learners
You’ll explore what it means to be involved in Teaching and Learning Support (TLS). For example, you may look at how to support children with autism, how children become writers and why children learn best through being engaged in innovative and creative learning activities.
As such, you will study issues to do with:
Flexible and accessible learning
The Foundation Degree is designed to provide a flexible and accessible route to higher education; it can lead to a full degree and the opportunity to train to be a teacher.
The course is run at the Bognor Regis Campus with attendance one day per week.
Why choose this course?
Program Outline
Teaching and Assessment
Feel the support of internationally recognised research staff
To complete the whole course and attain a Foundation Degree, you’ll need to be employed as a classroom assistant, or the equivalent.
Teaching
Attendance at the University is part-time (one day a week) and you’ll have up to two taught sessions on Fridays (September 2022 entry) during term time. You’ll also have tasks to complete in school between your taught sessions.
There will be tutor support to help you complete your assignments and to help your through your three years of study.
Assessment
You’ll learn through lectures, seminars, practical workshops and through directed study. You’ll be monitored by continuous assessment through written assignments, examinations and presentations.
These aren’t as daunting as they sound, as they’re based on the teaching and learning activities you’re engaged in during your daily work in schools.
The Course
Explore what it means to be involved in Teaching and Learning Support (TLS)
To complete the whole course and attain a Foundation Degree, you’ll need to be employed or volunteer as a classroom assistant, or the equivalent.
You will examine the role of the professional learning support role, as well as learn more about inclusivity in the classroom, childhood development, and the national curriculum.
Attendance at the University is part-time (one day a week), with the course being delivered over the course of three years.
This list is indicative and subject to change.
Creativity
Curriculum Matters
Inclusion, Equality and Diversity
Study Skills
Supporting Learning in Mathematics and Literacy
Understanding Child Development: Theory and Practice
Assessment and Observation
Behaviour for Learning
Children, Young People, Education and Society
Developing Learning in Mathematics and Literacy
Independent Project
Working in Partnership to Promote Achievement and Wellbeing
Creativity
Creativity
This module explores what is meant by creativity, so that you understand that being creative includes using existing knowledge and skills in an innovative way, asking questions and problem solving and is a process as well as an outcome.
Through the module, you will understand that creativity does occur in all aspects of human endeavour and will develop knowledge and understanding of how to work with children and young people. Enabling them to explore their own creativity across a wide range of subject areas and personal interests.
Curriculum Matters
Curriculum Matters
This module enables you to consider issues related to the curriculum; what we teach, who decides what we teach and how we teach it.
It will consider the learning presented in schools from the point of view of the teacher and importantly that of the child or young person. The concept of ‘personalised learning’ will be explored. Knowledge and understanding of how to promote enquiry lead and experiential learning in a wide range of curriculum subjects will be developed.
Inclusion, Equality and Diversity
Inclusion, Equality and Diversity
In this module, you will explore the terms ‘inclusion’, ‘equality’ and ‘diversity’.
You will examine current equality legislation including the Equality Act 2010 and the duties that apply to schools, as well as the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2015 and how it should operate in the work place to support children, young people and their families.
You will consider not only the principles that underpin these terms, but also how they relate to specific dimensions in the lives of children, young people and their families, for example there will be sessions focused on ethnicity, gender, social mobility, poverty and disability.
The role of the teaching assistant in promoting inclusion will also be explored.
Study Skills
Study Skills
This module provides an opportunity for you to explore the personal study skills that will support their learning and achievement throughout the programme.
You will develop skills in critical reading and researching information, effective writing, note taking, sustaining an argument using ICT and time-management strategies.
The module will also explore the principles of the different academic information presentational conventions attached to the assignment formats used throughout the programme, for example, essays, case studies, group presentations and examinations.
Supporting Learning in Mathematics and Literacy
Supporting Learning in Mathematics and Literacy
This module provides you with a secure grounding in the theories associated with development in literacy and in mathematics.
Having explored the expected trajectory of development in literacy and mathematics, the module will explore potential misconceptions and barriers to learning and how these can be overcome.
The module will also explore how children and young people may manifest giftedness in these areas and appropriate support strategies.
Understanding Child Development: Theory and Practice
Understanding Child Development: Theory and Practice
This module deepens your knowledge and understanding of a range of theories relating to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional development of children and young people. It covers key learning theorists and how their ideas have influenced pedagogy and practice. You will explore the connections between cognitive, physical and social and emotional development.
Assessment and Observation
Assessment and Observation
This modules explores theories underpinning the assessment of learning, how to observe pupils engaged in activities in schools and how to make judgements about the next steps in learning based on assessment and observation.
The module will also consider the statutory assessments undertaken in schools, target setting and methods of collecting assessment evidence, how to measure and raise standards and how to ensure children are achieving appropriately, also will be covered.
Behaviour for Learning
Behaviour for Learning
This module provides the opportunity to examine a range of theories that explore human behaviour and how children and young people learn to interact with others.
It will challenge you to explore your own notions of what constitutes ‘good/bad’ behaviour and how they have arrived at these notions.
It will openly debate the policies adopted by setting to ‘manage’ children’s and young people’s behaviour, exploring in particular the voice of the child/young person in the development of that policy.
It will also explore how self-esteem and motivation impact on how children and young people interact with others, plus discussing strategies that enable the setting environment to be a place of positive interpersonal interactions.
A study on why children are bullied is taken and the learning environment is explored.
Children, Young People, Education and Society
Children, Young People, Education and Society
This module explores the principles that underpin the notions of inclusion, diversity and equality, both in terms of requiring students to engage critically with the theory and in terms of developing personal practice in the workplace.
This module explores current literature, government policy and legislation surrounding the issues of social justice, and the dominant discourses and social norms used to discuss, identify and manage children and families. Through this process the module explores issues of oppression and control between groups in society and how these, often unwitting controls can impact on social mobility.
The module also explores, in practice, how Early Years settings and schools can seek to ensure positive learning outcomes for children, young people and their families.
Developing Learning in Mathematics and Literacy
Developing Learning in Mathematics and Literacy
This module enables you to build on the knowledge and understanding of how children and young people develop literacy and mathematical concepts and skills.
You will critically analyse the statutory curriculum expectations for learning and for assessment in these areas and explore how to work with children and young people to develop interesting and motivating activities to promote learning in the wider literacy and mathematics curriculum.
Independent Project
Independent Project
This module will enable you to develop skills in:
You will develop a clearly expressed research question, supported by a review of the current literature in the chosen field and to critically discuss appropriate research methodologies.
You will conduct field work related to your chosen research question, analyse the results, and draw conclusions that should impact on your practice.
Working in Partnership to Promote Achievement and Wellbeing
Working in Partnership to Promote Achievement and Wellbeing
This module explore the links between social policy, multi-agency working, and school support. This could manifest, for example, in an investigation into child mental health issues and an examination of in school support strategies and related multi-agency services.
The module revisits current perceptions of childhood from the perspective of the social justice agenda. Practical strategies to support children with difficulties in social and emotional development will be explored.
The module investigates the agencies that work in partnership with schools to promote learning and wellbeing and the principles of partnership working.
It equips you to become aware of the wider role of the school in accessing agencies and implementing strategies to promote learning and wellbeing for children, young people and their families.
