FD Education Studies

Course overview

What can this course lead to?

This foundation degree is designed in close partnership with local headteachers, SEND coordinators, and industry experts to place you exactly where the regional workforce needs you most. By addressing key local skills shortages and mastering essential soft skills, you will graduate as a standout candidate prepared for:

Honours Degree Progression: Step directly into a relevant BA (Hons) Top-up degree framework to complete your full undergraduate honours qualification.
Teacher Training & QTS Pathways: Lay the academic foundations to progress onto a PGCE or Initial Teacher Training (ITE) pathway to secure Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) within the region.
Specialist SEND Support Roles: Step into high-demand, “hard-to-fill” vacancies dedicated to supporting neurodiverse learners, identifying hidden barriers to learning, and dismantling inequalities.
Safeguarding and Pastoral Leadership: Work confidently within multi-agency safeguarding teams, applying statutory frameworks to protect vulnerable students and support family wellbeing.
Wider Human Services: Apply your transferable expertise in collaborative problem-solving and reflective practice to build careers within local authorities, social work, healthcare, or educational charities.

Who is it for?

Transform your passion for learning into a high-impact professional career with our comprehensive Foundation Degree (FdA) in Education Studies. Validated and awarded by Lincoln Bishop University and delivered at University Centre Peterborough (in partnership with the Inspire Education Group), this progressive two-year programme is engineered to bridge the gap between academic theory and the unique socio-economic landscape of our region.

Our curriculum explores the theories, frameworks, and policies that shape teaching and learning across the full 0–18 age range. Rather than locking you into a rigid pathway, this broad-based programme gives you the unique flexibility to align each academic assignment with your specific area of professional interest, whether your passion lies in early years settings, primary/secondary schools, or further education colleges. You will explore the psychological and sociological insights of how people develop, master inclusive classroom strategies, and build the strategic expertise to shape the future of your preferred setting.

A central pillar of this degree is its work-integrated approach. Because we believe the best way to learn about education is to be an active part of it, you will maintain a mandatory placement in an educational setting, as either a paid employee or a confirmed volunteer, for the duration of your studies. This creates an active cycle of learning: you will test classroom insights directly in a real-world environment and bring “on-the-ground” challenges back to seminar discussions, ensuring you graduate with the strategic resilience and digital fluency demanded by the regional workforce.

What is covered?

The curriculum follows a progressive "spiral" model across two levels, scaffolded to steadily build your academic criticality, professional management styles, and data-driven decision-making skills.

Level 4 (Year 1) – Establishing the Foundations

Child Development (30 Credits): Gaining an evidence-based understanding of the psychological and sociological theories behind how people develop from infancy through adolescence.
Curriculum and Context (30 Credits): Exploring the history of the English education system and the political factors that shape national frameworks like the EYFS and National Curriculum.
Global Perspectives (30 Credits): Investigating diverse philosophical, sociological, and pedagogical models that shape international education and care.
Reflective and Professional Practice (30 Credits): Mastering essential study skills, digital research, ethical professional observation, and reflective frameworks tied directly to your placement.

Level 5 (Year 2) – Deepening Professional Critique

Safeguarding & Wellbeing (30 Credits): Diving deep into trauma-informed practice, multi-agency dynamics, and statutory guidance like Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).
Supporting Individual Needs (30 Credits): Mastering proactive inclusion strategies to support neurodiversity, manage SEND Code of Practice requirements, and adapt teaching to support social and emotional wellbeing.
Leadership & Management (30 Credits): Cultivating high-level communication, collaborative problem-solving, and the resilience needed to lead teams and mentor colleagues.
Childhood in a Social Context (30 Credits): Critically examining how competing social, macro-economic, and political systems shape educational provision and impact modern families.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Traditional Route: Typically 48 UCAS points (via A-Levels, BTECs, T-Qualifications, HE Access, etc.) alongside Level 2 qualifications (GCSE Grade 4/C or above) in English and Mathematics.
Non-Traditional Route: We actively welcome applicants with non-traditional qualifications. If you have been out of formal education for a while or have built your skills through invaluable workplace experience, our commitment to “widening participation” means we look at your individual potential and drive to succeed.
Practice Placement Requirement: Because this is a work-integrated degree, you must be employed or volunteering in a regulated educational or childcare setting for a minimum of 12 hours per week for full-time students, or 6 hours per week for part-time students, across the 28 weeks of each academic year. A signed workplace agreement and a valid Enhanced DBS check are mandatory before starting.

Sam Mackey

“I am the Higher Education Course Leader for Early Years and Education, this includes the Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies and Primary Education at University Centre Peterborough. My role within UCP is to lead on the development of curriculum delivery, with a specific focus on the development and delivery of early years and education Higher Education programmes.

I have worked in the Education Sector since 2009 in a variety of roles and as a member of teaching staff I am passionate about my subject and give students opportunities to put theory learnt in the classroom into practice. In my view, one of the key roles of a teacher is to be a person who can inspire others to try out new things, test the boundaries and push outside of their comfort zone in order to make sure all students get the best possible opportunities.

In 2020 I graduated with a Master’s in Education from Lincoln University; which covered social justice, special educational needs and disabilities as well as research in education, I undertook a dissertation study around the topic of compassion and used several examples of trauma informed practice from my research to answer what compassion really was for students and what their experiences of it were really like. Prior to this I undertook a degree with the Open University in Social Sciences, which helped me to understand some of the complexities that people may have in their lives. I focused my research on children and young people and the impact that environment, crime and society have on young people in everyday life.

In order to achieve occupational competency, I started my career managing early years and childcare settings. Effectively running a business and all aspects of this including managing staff members, being responsible for health and safety and dealing with customers, parents and other professionals. In these roles it was important that I was aware of each staff member’s development and what their strengths and areas for further development were, ensuring that a clear plan was designed for each person in order for them to gain skills and knowledge in the areas that were needed in order to carry out their job role.”

Qualifications

MA Education
BSc (Hons) Social Sciences
Level 5 Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector

Course information

Location

Peterborough/Stamford

Start Date

September/January

Fees

Tuition fees are £8,500 per year for full-time students and £4,250 for part-time students, which is lower than many other universities.

Duration

2 years (1 full day a week over two semesters per year). Each semester is 12 weeks.

Validated by

Lincoln Bishop University

Tariff points

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BA (Hons) Education Studies (Top-up)