Special Educational Needs and Disability with Foundation Year
BA (Hons)

The module will incorporate both theoretical and practical learning to enable students to apply their knowledge of the human body.

As part of the process of becoming a self-managed learner, you will begin to develop an Action Plan that considers strategies and resources, which will help you to meet specific targets that you have set yourself. Importantly, you will also identify skills/areas for future improvement and /or development.

This module will be delivered using a range of teaching activities including, lectures, structured exercises (both individual and group) to facilitate practical experience and computer based workshops to promote effective IT competences.

Key issues in the debate surrounding the contribution to learning difficulties and disabilities are also examined. You will encounter a wide range of attitudes and beliefs associated with differing perspectives and this module will allow you to not only enter into the debate, but also allow you to make informed decisions about the origins of SEND.

This module is designed to provide a foundation of knowledge within the frameworks of biology, sociology and psychology. A range of theories spanning the human life course will be examined and these will be supported by relevant research case studies.

This module puts terminology and policy into its historical, cultural, political and current context. It also explores how different ways of thinking about SEND (such as the medical model, social model, and rights model) have dominated legislation, policy and practice in various ways at various times. You will also develop a clear understanding of legal definitions in this field and how and why they are contentious or debateable.

Drawing on a qualitative approach to educational research enquiry, this module will enable you to examine and critique the theoretical and practical process of educational research design from developing an understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research methodological approaches, to consideration of research ethics, access, sample and limitation.

Additionally, you will be introduced to a selection of research methods for data collection, and mechanisms for analysis of such data with an emphasis on qualitative research methods.

This module will provide you with an opportunity to develop an informed understanding of, and insight into different perspectives on the specificity, origin, identification, consequences and educational response surrounding specific learning difficulties with specific reference to creating an inclusive classroom.

This module centres on a placement of 12 days/72 hours which aims to offer you an opportunity to develop an appreciation of a specific context in a SEND such as Education, Health or Social Care setting and the working practices of professionals who work in the sector. You will also begin to reflect on your own professional identity and profile in context.

This module will allow you the prospect of reflecting on theories and practice studied throughout your programme and the application of these theories and policies in a practical setting. You will have the chance to develop the transferable skills of professionalism, communication, time management, organisation, and interpersonal relations.

During this module, you will have the opportunity to think critically about your placement context and to explore topics relating to that setting.

You will be supported to identify aspects upon which to reflect upon current and relevant developments in theory and practice. Specific topics for reflection will be identified related to current SEND issues a current example would be to consider and critically analyse how professionals within the setting are currently reflecting on their SEND provision in the light of the current governmental direction and changes. A series of questions for you to examine within your placement will be housed in your Personal Development Portfolio, on Blackboard.

You will be critically evaluating the challenges faced by SEND practitioners and how the diverse needs of learners with SEND are met in practice.

There will be an emphasis upon embedding theoretical underpinning to practice within a specific context.

The module will allow you to understand the many roles of the professional in a SEND context and is taught alongside the placement module Practitioner Inquiry.

However, all agencies and individuals should aim to proactively safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults so that the need for action to protect individuals from harm is reduced. This module allows you to examine these aspects within a legislative and professional context.

You will be able to critically reflect on the challenges faced by SEND practitioners and how the specific needs of a heterogeneous group of individuals are met in a particular context such as Education, Health or Social Care. You will be supported to identify aspects to reflect upon in current and relevant developments in theory and practice.

This project is a multifaceted assignment that serves as a culminating academic and intellectual experience for students in their final year of their degree. The final independent study project may take a wide variety of forms, but all are long-term investigative projects that culminate in a final product or presentation.

Students select a topic, profession, or social issue that interests them, conduct research on the subject, maintain the findings or results, create a final product demonstrating their learning acquisition and/or conclusions. The final format of the Educational Independent Study will be outlined in the research proposal and negotiated with the project supervisor. Some of the final product forms could include but are not limited to, a paper, short film or multimedia presentation, or a professional portfolio. Students could give an oral presentation on the project to an audience who collectively evaluate its quality. The aim of the final product would be for students to create something meaningful for them and for their participants.

As part of their final assessment students will assess the impact of their educational experiences on their ethical perspectives and critical thinking skills. Students will reflect on and evaluate their personal and professional growth throughout the project, the benefits of the knowledge gained and evaluate the strategy employed, as well as reflect on the impact of these elements on their future.

This project is designed to develop employability and a sense of ‘graduateness’ by encouraging students to think critically, solve challenging problems, and develop transferable skills such as project management, critical thinking skills, oral communication, public speaking, research skills, media literacy, teamwork, planning, self-sufficiency, or goal setting. In some cases, the projects will be also interdisciplinary, in the sense that they require students to apply skills or investigate issues across many different subject areas or domains of knowledge.

The Educational Independent Study module is conducted in a supportive seminar environment that draws on the participant's experience and interest in order to synthesize students’ learning in the creation of a significant contribution to scholarship and/or professional practice.

It looks at these within a historical context, including aspects of identification, diagnosis, responses to this issue within the context of education or health and Social Care. You will critically evaluate myths and debates surrounding Attention Disorders, including comparative research from countries such as France.

It embraces school and further educational demands of literacy skills, the demands of family and social literacy practices, and peer demands of new literacies, such as digital literacies.

The module establishes the fundamental relationship between language and literacy in typical and atypical development. You will study literacy difficulties/dyslexia in contexts of monolingual, multilingual and multimodal discourses.

It will provide you with current knowledge and ideas about the autism spectrum, allowing you to develop skills in identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of children in a range of contexts. The evidence base underpinning interventions in autism is explored and key principles informing current practice are discussed and analysed.

Key approaches to care and therapeutic interventions for people on the autism spectrum are examined and the evidence base for each approach is considered.

It encourages you to think for yourself and use the knowledge and skills gained from the course and placements to select and research topics of relevance to your own interest. In this way, your learning directly influences practice, benefitting the professional setting and the individuals they support. The importance of the user's voice is reflected in all teaching material.

You will be taught to consider how autism theory applies to the individuals that are supported in their adult lives and what this should mean for practice. You will gain insights into the diversity of the autistic experience for adults, and learn about the range of individual and social barriers that can be experienced.

It identifies how a range of professionals/practitioners who work with children and adults with learning difficulties in educational settings across the severe and profound range (SLD/PMLD) including autism (where it overlaps with SLD/PMLD).

Most learners with SLD/PMLD use specialist services such as special schools or colleges but some use inclusive services in nurseries, mainstream schools or community education.

The term severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties refers to what is described as mental retardation, severe developmental disabilities or severe intellectual disabilities elsewhere in the world. 

The module covers the most disabled children and adults in our society. In many countries, these children and adults live in institutions and do not attend school nor join in community activities such as paid work.

There are too many types of cognitive disabilities but most have some sort of basis in the biology or physiology of the individual and this module examines the connection between a person's biology and mental processes.

A person with profound cognitive disabilities will need assistance with nearly every aspect of daily living. Someone with a minor learning disability may be able to function adequately despite the disability, perhaps even to the extent that the disability is never discovered or diagnosed.

This module will examine the EU position regarding citizens with physical disabilities. You will develop some understanding of different types of physical disability individuals may experience and the causes and types of physical impairment.

A key component is to develop a deeper appreciation and understanding gained from previous modules such as SEND and Inclusion, concerning the range of barriers faced by those with physical disabilities and ways to overcome these barriers.

The nature of these issues includes speech intelligibility, verbal comprehension, oral expression and the use of language within a social context. In this module you will examine competing theories of language development and how a disruption in language development may have consequences on a learner’s social, educational and other abilities.

You will further examine how theories of development can be related to social, emotional and behavioural diversity and difficulties which might arise. The module further develops perspectives underpinning such diversity and their potential in understanding the nature of SEBD, its potential antecedents, and interventions to meet the needs of children, young people and adults.