Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Primary Education (work-based two year foundation degree)

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE grade C/4 or equivalent in English Language is required

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

2years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Primary teaching

Primary Education is a work-based teaching foundation degree. You will attend St Mary's University one day a week whilst employed in work with children and young people for at least half of the week (in either a paid or voluntary capacity).

- St Mary’s graded ‘Outstanding’ in all areas of teacher training (Ofsted 2019)

- Successful completion of the course allows the opportunity to progress on to either BA Hons in Primary Education QTS (Work-Based Route) (Two Years) or BA Hons in Primary Education (Work-Based Route) (One Year)

- Recognised qualification for HLTA status

- 100% satisfaction rating in the National Student Survey 2021.

This foundation degree provides opportunities for people working directly with children to build on their knowledge and experience through study at higher education level (one day a week).

We offer an established vocationally-based degree that prepares you for working in schools and other educational settings.

The programme allows you to build your knowledge and experience through study at higher education level. The programme will help enhance your understanding of your current professional role. It can be completed within two years studying one day a week during term times.

Students completing the programme have found that they have become more confident in their ability at work and at home, and have been offered opportunities to develop their role in a variety of ways. The current emphasis on the development of the school workforce as a whole has been one of the driving forces behind this degree.

Our partnership office will help you to find a placement. Though we will try and place you near to where you live, you may be required to travel up to one hour each way.

**Why St Mary's**

This foundation course is suitable for anyone working with young children, such as teaching assistants, learning support assistants, higher level teaching assistants, or early years or special educational needs practitioners.

Primary Education - Foundation Degree is an extremely popular and flourishing course. It gives you the unique opportunity to continue to work within the education sector whilst studying for a foundation degree.

This pathway into teaching can be completed in a minimum of two years study (one day a week during term time). It also provides a stepping stone on to our undergraduate programmes:

- BA (Hon) Primary Education (Work-based Route) (one year)

- BA (Hon) Primary Education (Work-based Route) with QTS (two years)

The QTS programme also allows you to specialise - if you wish - in one of the following subjects:

- Early Years

- Physical Education (PE)

- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Modules

First year modules include Professional Development One; How Children Learn; Communication, Language and Literacy; Mathematical Thinking; Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and Collaborative Practice

Assessment methods

All assignments are designed to develop your knowledge, understanding and use of transferrable skills in teaching children, linking theory with practical.

A range of assessment methods are used, these may include both group and individual presentations, practical visual presentations (posters, leaflets, 3D display, use of green screen) essays, case studies and portfolios.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£6,900
per year
England
£6,900
per year
EU
£16,320
per year
International
£16,320
per year
Northern Ireland
£6,900
per year
Republic of Ireland
£6,900
per year
Scotland
£6,900
per year
Wales
£6,900
per year

The Uni


Course location:

St Mary's University, Twickenham

Department:

School of Education

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

92%
Primary teaching

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Teacher training

Teaching and learning

96%
Staff make the subject interesting
97%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
96%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

91%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
89%
Course specific equipment and facilities
89%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
14%
Male students
86%
Female students
82%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Teacher training

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£24,000
high
Average annual salary
100%
med
Employed or in further education
99%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

98%
Teaching and educational professionals
1%
Childcare and related personal services
0%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

The stats above mainly cover teaching degrees for training and qualifying in primary school education. These tend to be three or four-year courses — check with course tutors about how long you will need to study to get your Qualified Teacher Status. Most graduates go into teaching roles — usually primary school teaching, so these courses have good employment rates and starting salaries. We have a shortage of teachers of all kinds, which is deepening, and whilst many of the most severe are at secondary level, the prospects for this degree are not likely to take a downturn any time soon.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Teacher training

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£25k

£25k

£29k

£29k

£33k

£33k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here