Primary Education (5-11) with QTS BA (Hons)
 Primary Education (5 - 11) with QTS.jpg)
UCAS Code: X120|Duration: 3 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Work placement opportunities|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Our Primary Education with Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) degree will give you the skills to engage, motivate and inspire children. The three-year degree will equip you with the depth of knowledge, skills and understanding required to become an outstanding and ambitious Primary Teacher. You will be given a range of opportunities to gain significant experience teaching in a wide range of our partner schools. As an ambitious Hope Teacher you will have moral purpose and an enthusiastic, innovative and flexible approach.
Academic and Professional Development
This module focuses on the development of your values and the professional skills required to become a Hope Teacher with a clear sense of moral purpose and a holistic view of all learners. You will explore how you can provide learning experiences so that all children can succeed regardless of social context. You will also learn how to study effectively and focus on how children develop and learn in the primary classroom.
National Curriculum
You will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding in all aspects of the primary National Curriculum. This includes the core subjects; English, Maths and Science but also all foundation subjects including; history, geography, religious education, modern foreign languages, music, and computing. All of your curriculum teaching is led by experts who will integrate the latest research and evidence into your sessions. This module will also prepare you for subject assessments and how to create a stimulating and engaging curriculum for children.
Enhanced Specialist Area
From your second year, you have the opportunity to specialise in several National Curriculum areas, or choose from a school theme, for example Special Educational Needs, Mathematics, Music, Every Child Matters, English, Physical Education, Science, or Early Years. This will develop your knowledge and understanding as well as your teaching skills and prepare you for leading this aspect of provision within a primary school.
Professional Placement
Each year you will complete a professional placement in a range of schools settings and age phases. You will also have the opportunity to complete short intensive training placements for early reading and phonics, adaptive teaching for SEND and EAL and a wider perspectives focus.
Course structure
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, and seminars of smaller groups of around 20-25 students.
As well as classroom-based study, you also spend time on placement in our partner schools. Your placements are organised in relation to your training needs and often with a school partner. This system allows you to work closely with colleagues to support each other with planning and teaching. In school, you will have the support of a dedicated school-based mentor, while at University you will also have a professional placement tutor who will be on hand to support you.
Alongside the yearly block placement you will also benefit from Intensive Training and Practice (ITAP) opportunities. These give you the opportunity to explore an aspect of pivotal knowledge/ skill in greater depth. There are six ITAPs in the UG programme. These are carefully sequenced to allow you to consolidate and develop in your craft of teaching as you move through the different phases of the course.
In addition to teaching hours you will be expected to spend a number of hours studying independently each week, as well as studying in groups to prepare for any group assessments you may have.
Assessment and feedback
Throughout your three years of study you will have a number of assessments, including a formal written exam, essays, portfolios, poster presentations, a professional viva, case studies and a dissertation.
You will be given written feedback on your assessments, and you will have the opportunity to discuss this with your tutor in more detail.
Year One
The Hope Teacher
You are introduced to policy and practice in education, as well as key educational theory and current research in primary education. You will look at child development and study the legal responsibilities for safeguarding and welfare of young children.
Initial Professional Development
This theme allows you the opportunity to study the key theories of child development and predominant theories of learning in the twenty-first century. You will look at the key debates in the psychology of education such as language acquisition, and you also study the legal responsibilities for safeguarding pupils.
Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy
This topic introduces you to key aspects of the National Curriculum subjects and the requirements of the Primary Curriculum, from the Foundation Stage through to the beginning of Key Stage 3. You also study primary teaching of foundation subjects such as Modern Foreign Languages, Art, History, Geography, Music and Computing.
Professional Placement Learning
You will have a placement in one of our partner schools. You have a six week block placement including a one week placement induction and a one week Early Reading enhancement in a partnership setting.
ITAPs
ITAPs in year one focus on pivotal concepts of Early Reading and Phonics, Early Mathematics, Curriculum Design- Planning and Adaptive Teaching- Science.
Year Two
Hope Teacher
Your second year develops your knowledge base by studying factors that affect learning processes, including learners’ background. You will look at socio-political and cultural contexts in which learning and teaching occurs, as well as wider perspectives on education, global learning and teaching pupils with different needs, including SEND and English as an additional language.
Initial Professional Development
You will look at effective learning environments and the evolution of formal and informal learning. You study the theories of effective classroom and behaviour management and adaptive strategies to support these theories. You also explore the role of planning and assessment, including methods of assessing pupil progress.
Subject Knowledge, Curriculum and Pedagogy
This theme teaches you how to identify and plan to address children’s misconceptions. You will also learn how to plan for progression in short and medium term planning. You explore subject-specific strategies for organisation and management, as well as resources to support effective educational models of teaching and learning. You also study primary teaching of foundation subjects such as Art, History Geography, Religious Education and Computing.
Enhanced Specialism area
You can select from a changing seven areas for your Enhanced Specialism Area. Your choices may include; English, Science, Mathematics, Music, Every Child Matters, Modern Foreign Languages, Physical Education, Special Educational Needs or Early Years. In this strand, you will study current research, pedagogy and their application in practice, tracking and monitoring progression, and assessment strategies relevant to the specialism area.
Professional Placement Learning (in one of Hope’s Partnership schools)
You will have a placement in one of our partner schools. You have a six week block placement, with a one week placement induction, and complete short intensive training placements for adaptive teaching for SEND and EAL and a wider perspectives focus enhanced placement in different partnership settings.
ITAPs
ITAPs in year two continue the focus on the pivotal skill of planning for progress and scaffolding for multilingual learners.
Year Three
Hope Teacher
Your final year teaches you the philosophies of education and the different notions/purposes of education. You will explore critical perspectives on the role of educators, and education within and outside of the school context.
Initial Professional Development
During this theme, you look at the theoretical underpinning and associated national policy and guidelines of education. You critically reflect on key theories, associated research and teaching strategies, as well as the nature and evolving purposes of teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. You will learn about the theoretical foundations of teaching and learning initiatives and professional ethics. You also discover how to use assessment data to inform planning, and current issues pertinent to initial and continuing professional development.
Subject Knowledge, Curriculum and Pedagogy
You gain an advanced understanding of how children develop their knowledge. You also study in-depth topics such as assessment, inclusion and PSHE. You will learn how to develop creativity in the primary curriculum, and how to take a creative and constructively critical approach to innovation. You explore innovative practice, look at strategies for developing children’s creative thinking and its relationship to developing the curriculum across the primary phase.
Enhanced Specialism Area
Sticking with the specialism area you chose in your second year, you look at contemporary leadership and management aspects of the area in the primary setting, and the nature of educational enquiry, supporting your preparation for employment.
Professional Placement Learning
You will have a 10 week block placement in one of our partner schools.
ITAPs
ITAPs in year three focus on pivotal concepts of targeted assessment to support children with SEND and curriculum design.
Entry requirements
| A-Levels | BBB |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 120 UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications. |
| BTEC | DDM |
| Access to HE | 120 Tariff Points |
| IB | 24 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 120 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| T-Levels | Merit |
| Subject Requirements | In addition, you will require a GCSE Grade C or above (or equivalent) in English, Mathematics and Science (Grade 4 or above in the new grading system). Offers will be subject to a successful interview, as well as a Health Check Statement and an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service. Alternative equivalency tests or assessments for English, mathematics and science (where required) may be considered to meet the GCSE requirements. Please contact us for further information if you hold, or intend to apply for, an equivalency test or assessment. |
Careers
You will complete assessed professional placements in each year of study. This enables you to gain a broad experience teaching across the Primary age range. Following successful completion of the programme, you will be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status. Students become teachers in a variety of school settings, ranging from those within our local partnerships to international schools abroad.
For those interested in further study there is the option to transfer to a MEd QTS course in year 2 offering the opportunity to continue studying for an additional year and obtain an MEd QTS.
All of our QTS graduates move onto Early Career Teacher (ECT), which will support you through the first two years of teaching.
Enhancement opportunities
Work Placement Opportunities
A major part of this Primary Education QTS degree is placements in our partner schools. Each year you will have at least one block of teaching placement. Each placement enables you to gain a broad experience teaching across the Primary age range.
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
Short term placements are offered in year two of the course for students to experience teaching in Europe with links to our international partners in France, Germany, Holland or Norway.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year are £9,535* for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,535*.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
*subject to Council approval.
Additional costs
On top of tuition fees, you will also need approximately £200 for travelling to your placements in Year 2 and 3. You also need approximately £200 for the purchasing of core textbooks. There is also a cost for the optional short placement abroad when available, costs vary depending on location and will be fully discussed with you beforehand.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
Visit our international tuition fees page to find out more.