BEd (Hons) Education

When can you start this course? | UCAS code | Fees | Course length | Entry requirements

Why choose this course?

• We've received 'Outstanding' results from the most recent Ofsted reports for our BEd course so you can ensure you'll receive an excellent teaching experience.
• Our current students gave Initial Teacher Training at Derby a 97% satisfaction rating in the 2011 National Student Survey - the best overall in England for the primary initial teacher education sector.
• We've been placed in the top ten for primary education teacher training in the Good Teacher Training Guide 2011. Find out more.
• You're on the threshold of making one of the most exciting decisions of your life - to teach! By choosing teaching as a career, you'll have chosen an important and satisfying profession as well as a challenging and rewarding journey through life.
• We're one of the major providers in the East Midlands for Initial Teacher Education with a committed and friendly team. We provide a broad range of placements and opportunities to extend and develop your role as a teacher in today's society.
• The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has confirmed that our BEd qualification can be counted in the qualified staff ratio at level 6 if gained in the Foundation Stage or Key Stage 1.
• You can tailor the course to suit your personal and career interests, by having a large choice of specialist modules to study.
• We've got great links with local schools so you'll experience a broad range of placement experiences. This will help you to develop your skills and enhance your employability when you graduate.

About the course

This course leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), so you'll be able to go straight into your first teaching job when you graduate. The course is delivered by an experienced, lively and caring team and is matched to the needs of teachers in Key Stages 1 and 2.

Because we're passionate about making sure you're ready for your new career in teaching, you'll have the opportunity to undertake a placement at each stage of the course in a different school. You'll work with an experienced mentor to help you prepare for lessons and manage the learning environment. This will help you to build your skills and experience whilst working with different year groups. We'll help and support you during your placements to make sure that you understand the demands and needs of primary school environments.

As part of the course we like you to engage in various projects within the local community to help give you a wider experience. Some of our previous students have worked with local charities, museums and galleries. We think that it's important that you appreciate, and can respond to, the diverse needs of the children you'll be teaching, so you'll have the opportunity to complete a placement at a special school.

At each stage of the course, you'll have the opportunity to:

• develop your subject knowledge and academic knowledge in all of the National Curriculum subjects;
• broaden your understanding of the different theories and perspectives of Primary Teaching;
• become a highly reflective practitioner through mentor support in school and through a dedicated module in university;
• expand your professional skills through focused school placements;
• enhance your academic abilities through carefully planned support right from when you arrive in stage one through to undertaking your own research in your final stage.

There are opportunities to personalise your degree:

• you can choose a specialist pathway. Current options include Language, Maths, Science, Humanities and Creative Arts;
• there is the opportunity to undertake additional experiences in different environments such as teaching beyond the classroom, in special schools, alternative schools or early years settings;
• you can also undertake an Independent Study in your final stage which allows you to research into an area of your own interest.

Values which run through this course include:

• working with our community and charities;
• working with children in settings outside school;
• providing you with a range of teaching experiences in university and beyond the classroom;
• appreciating and responding to the diverse needs of children;
• enabling you to make informed choices, in order to become the teacher you aspire to be;
• aiming for excellence - placing the child at the centre of all you do..

There's an opportunity for you to complete this course in four years rather than the standard three years. This will be in negotiation with tutors and dependent on previous experience and academic profile.

Find out more about what subjects and modules you'll be studying...

Your career

By choosing teaching as a career, you'll have chosen an important and satisfying profession, as well as a challenging and rewarding journey through life.

The 2011 National Student Survey found that 99% of our students were employed with a graduate job six months after graduating, with more than half having jobs with our partnership schools. There is also the option to continue studying with us by taking one of our postgraduate courses.

What our students say

Aamar Arshid, current student
"Teaching was a passion I had since a very young age. I believe that this is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. The lectures are very engaging and interactive, and the lecturers themselves are very fun and approachable, all are dipping in and out of schools, so therefore, have frequent school experiences."

To find out more about Aamar's story read here.

Chelsey Laban, current student
"As Derby offers many routes, each person's development is different and that is what makes us unique. I feel that Derby has helped me to develop into the good teacher that I am; the confident person that I wasn't and the individual that I have grown to be. The university doesn't push us to have one character throughout the cohort; they encourage individuality and offer unique experiences to each of us to ensure that no one teacher they produce is the same."

Jodie Morris, current student
"As a single mum, this was the best decision I have ever made and honestly I have never looked back. I have found the open door policy the teaching team at Derby have is one of the biggest assets to the university. It really helps to know that you can knock on any door at almost any time of the day and speak to any one of the teaching staff about anything, however big or small the problem is."

Lisa Beech, current student
"The highlights of being on the BEd course at the University of Derby are that every single day is completely different and you learn something new in every session. There have been so many memorable moments so far over the past few years that have made my course so unique, such as charity weeks, making the best of friends who will be with me for a lifetime, placement and random university sessions that seem to stick at the back of my mind are the things that make every moment a pleasure to be part of such an incredible university course."

Andy Sparks, recent graduate.
Andy is a mature student who decided to change his career after attending his daughters 'take a parent to work day'. He was a welder for 18 years when he decided to become a primary school teacher. He finished with a first class degree and has now secured a post at a local primary school.

"The University staff I met were incredibly encouraging and helpful, outlining the route I could take from an access course to newly qualified teacher, and showing me that even though I would be over 40 when I graduated I would have 25 years to enjoy my new profession."

Read his full story here.

Jess Millward, recent graduate.
Jess was awarded the Tara Abbott Award for Success in Challenging Circumstances upon graduating. Despite many personal disruptions to her study, Jess had the determination to pull through and complete her degree.

Read more about Jess' story here.

Hear what our recent students think of the course. Watch their videos.

How you'll learn

Throughout the course you'll learn through lectures, seminars, tutorials, visits from previous graduates, and guest speakers from schools, agencies and creative partners. You'll also have the chance to conduct some of your own research through the independent study module where you'll complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

How you're assessed

There are no exams, so you'll be assessed using your reports, essays, presentations, personal reflections, tests, audits and school based activities on placement.

Work placements

During this course, you'll spend between 28 and 32 weeks on placement in a number of different schools. This will include a mixture of placements in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The final placement you complete, you'll get to choose which key stage you would like to be placed within to give you further experience in your preferred area. You will also complete a placement in a special school to help build your skills of working with diverse groups.

Anything else?

More information on applying

Once you've applied for this course, we'll keep in touch with you through emails to ensure you receive all of the necessary information during the application process. So, please make sure you provide us with the correct email address or let us know if it changes, and remember to check your emails (and spam folder) regularly.

BEd events

Our BEd current students organise a range of activities and events each year. Take a look at what they have achieved recently.

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