FdA Learning Support
Please see Guidance Notes in the Programme Approval Guidance for Programme Teams to assist in the completion of this template.
Awarding Institution/Body / TeessideUniversity [TU]Teaching Institution / LeedsCityCollege
Collaborating Organisations
(include type) / N/A
Delivery Location(s)
[if different from TU] / Technology Campus, Leeds City College
Programme Externally Accredited by (e.g. PSRB) / N/A
Award Title(s) / FdA Learning Support
LeadSchool / School of Social Sciences and Law
Additional Contributing Schools / N/A
FHEQ Level
[see guidance] / Level 5
Bologna Cycle
[see guidance] / Short Cycle (within or linked to the first cycle)
JACS Code and JACS Description / X100
Training Teachers: The training of others to impart, explain and disseminate knowledge, skills and learning to a third party.
Mode of Attendance
[full-time or part-time] / Two-years P/T
Relevant QAA Subject Benchmarking Group(s) / Foundation Degree Qualification Benchmark (QAA, 2010)
Relevant Additional External Reference Points
(e.g. National Occupational Standards, PSRB Standards) / National Occupational Standards
Skills for Care and Development
QAA Benchmarking for Foundation Degrees
Date of Production/Revision / January 2013/June 2013
Criteria for Admission to the Programme
(if different from standard University criteria) / The award adopts the College admissions policy.
Essential: Relevant Level 3 qualification. Level 2/3 (in relevant subject area; for example, Level 2/3 Supporting Teaching and Learning (STL), or Children and Young People’s Workforce at Level 2/3).
Essential: Hold or be working towards an English and Maths NVQ Level 2 qualification or equivalent.
Essential:Recent enhanced, employer-specific Disclosure Barment Service check.(DBS)
Essential:Candidates must be employed in a learning support context for the equivalentofone full day a week.All candidates will be required to provide a letter from their organisation (school, college, prison education service, etc), confirming that the candidate will be employed in that workplace, on either a paid or voluntary basis, for the equivalent of one full day a week.Contexts may include lifelong learning locations, prisons,Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), Special Inclusive Learning Centres (SILCs), nurseries, primary and secondary schools and childcare centres. To widen recruitment, applicants working in a voluntary capacity will be considered. All potential applicants will be invited in for an information session and interview.
Non-standard entry requirements:
In the absence of formal learning qualifications applications are welcomed from persons who can demonstrate relevant work experience, including work in a voluntary capacity. The course structure actively supports claims for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) and Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).
Applications will be accepted from those who have few or non-standard qualifications but a wealth of work and life experience, including appropriate experience in a relevant field, commitment and ability. Applicants in this group will be invited to interview and will be asked to provide a portfolio of evidence to support their application.
International qualifications will be assessed against these criteria. Speakers of other languages will need to possess an IELTS band score of 6.0 (with no-less than 5.5 in any one element) or a recognised English Level 2 qualification.
Educational Aims of the Programme
The FdA Learning Support is a challenging and relevant vocational programme which explores all aspects of the learning support practitioner’s role. It isaimed at professionals who support learning and teaching in a number of educational settings and across a range of ages(e.g. TAs, HLTAs, behaviour support assistants, learning support assistants, learning coaches, Assistant SENCOs).These settings might be school-based (e.g. Special Inclusive Learning Centres (SILCs) and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)), or withinthe Education and Training or post-compulsory sectors(e.g. FE colleges, prisons, HEIs).
The programme recognises the changing role of the learning support professional and acknowledges the rise in the number of learning support practitionerswho are undertaking a specialist rather than generalist role, including those who are responsible for co-ordinating the work of others. The programme is aimed at learning support practitioners who are seeking to advance their career by improving their qualifications.The programme aims to:
- Instil an appreciation of the complex and challenging nature of the learning support practitioner’s role, including the variability of the support role.
- Develop an integrated understanding of the occupational-specific standardsand role-relative ethics that underpin the support role, including an appreciation of social and educational inclusion for marginalised groups of students.
- Enable students to apply their knowledge and skills to solving problems in a variety of learning support contexts, with the support of employers and mentors.
- Develop graduates who have an analytical and reflexive understanding of the support profession in the workplace today and can respond to the progressive and changing demands of the learning support context.
- Ensure students have the opportunity to apply their learning in the workplace and appraise its impact on their practice.
- Develop graduates who have strong transferable skills such as open-mindedness, adaptability, teamwork and partnership working that are necessary for employment and progression to other qualifications.
- Promote appropriate professional values, including those relating to anti-discriminatory practice and equality of opportunity.
- Facilitate progression to Qualified Teacher Status (QTLS/QTS) where appropriate, or direct entry into a range of suitable accredited professional development opportunities.
- Support employment in a range of educational settings and with a wide range of learners including mainstream and special schools, educational and behavioural support services, as well as those offering support for adult learners.
Knowledge and Understanding
K1 / Demonstrate a detailed working knowledge of the organisational structures and systems associated with their role.
K2 / Plan, undertake and critically evaluate a negotiated, self-managed major project.
K3 / Analyse and critically review the impact of policies and legislation relevant to learning support, including relevant values and codes of behaviour.
K4 / Critically evaluate key concepts underpinning professional skills and occupational competencies as an aid to improving performance in the workplace.
Cognitive/Intellectual Skills
C1 / Analyse, apply and interpret data/evidence from a variety of sources.
C2 / Employ balanced, logical and supported argument in a range of contexts.
C3 / Demonstrate intellectual flexibility and openness to new ideas.
C4 / Identify key areas of problems and choose appropriate tools/methods for their resolution in a considered manner.
C5 / Analytically apply theories and processes associated with teaching and learning to effectively support teachers and learners in a variety of learning support contexts.
C6 / Demonstrate significant critical understanding of own progress and performance; self-management; and identify opportunities for personal progression.
Practical/Professional Skills
P1 / Plan and execute authentic and innovative work-based projects demonstrating appropriate levels of negotiation and collaboration with peers, mentors and managers.
P2 / Operate autonomously with limited supervision or direction within agreed guidelines and/or constraints.
P3 / Operate within the legal, ethical, political and policy boundaries of the learning support context.
P4 / Demonstrate skills in critical thinking and problem solving.
P5 / Adhere to standards of ethical practice and professional conduct, including research protocols involving human subjects.
Key Transferable Skills
T1 / Reflect systematically on performance to further develop learning.
T2 / Demonstrate both employment potential and ability to manage future professional development.
T3 / Select and use a range of communication methods appropriate to the context.
T4 / Prepare, deliver and evaluate presentations to an audience.
T5 / Apply numerical and statistical skills in more complex disciplinary contexts.
T6 / Use a range of specialist software appropriate to the discipline.
T7 / Adopt a range of roles within a team and contribute to the effective working of the team.
Programme Spec – FdA Learning Support – Version 5 – Aug 2015
Key Learning & Teaching MethodsThe contact hours for this P/T programme amount to 30 hours per module. Each module specification provides details of teaching and learning methods. Acquisition is through lectures, discussion groups, tutorials, directed tasks, presentations, own reflections and assignment feedback.
The aim of the programme is to encourage lifelong learning by providing sufficient opportunity for Self-Directed Learning (SDL) and reflection. The student is encouraged to develop an awareness of the complexities of the educational process and the range of different roles learning support practitioners have and may have in the future.
Students will be encouraged to develop realistic action plans to plan what they wish to learn throughout the course both within and outside the classroom. Tutors and placement supervisors will discuss the content of the action plan with the student. Self-directedness and self-management of learning will also be encouraged through the use of learning contracts.
Teaching strategies are designed to promote transfer and are therefore underpinned by cognitive constructivist theories of instruction. Students will be encouraged to relate their new learning to existing cognitive structures and to make meaningful, purposive links to the workplace. Strategies such as scenario/case study, video analysis and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) will encourage autonomy, independent thinking and real-life problem-solving. Teaching and learning strategies must acknowledge the problems that students will encounter in the workplace. Where possible, pedagogic interventions will foreground the importance of affective outcomes – particularly at HE level.
The learning trajectory will be different for each student. The work based project will exploit the teaching and learning opportunities that this difference affords. The setting of mutually agreed goals and formative feedback – integral to each module - will be a central part of the learning process. Learning journals will document the ongoing personal construction of meaning.
Throughout the programme learners will engage in observational learning in the workplace and collaborate with peers. Learning will involve a process of scaffolding to promote independent problem-solving. Since the students will form a Community of Practice (CoP), pedagogic strategies will focus on promoting interaction in the c/room. Group discussion – through which students will be encouraged to reflect on practice in their individual educational environments - will be an integral part of this process. To promote transferable skills, such as interpersonal communication, students will be encouraged to form Collaborative Learning Groups (CLGs) and/or Critical Friendship Groups (CFGs).
Where possible, an integrative approach will be adopted to encourage deep rather than surface learning. The teaching and learning process will foreground the inter-relatedness and inter-connectedness of certain topics.
The teaching and learning process will also rely on constructivist approaches which draw on students’ current understanding and promote active engagement. Teaching and learning activities will encourage students to make connections to what they already know and to apply new information, methods, theories and ideas to existing constructs (via concept mapping, for example).
Throughout the programme, students will be encouraged to demonstrate research literacy and to undertake critical reflection by undertaking independent reading to support individual modules as well as to broaden their knowledge and understanding. The students will be expected to apply skills related to the analysis and synthesis of information to evaluate, interpret and apply educational concepts and theories to practice. There is an emphasis on the acquisition and development of academic skills in keeping with equivalent undergraduate programmes.
Since the programme will introduce students to a considerable amount of new terminology, instruction will aim to disambiguate this new language and provide intellectual scaffolding. Additional support will be available through the college’s VLE. Students will receive initial guidance on how to identify, locate and use learning materials in libraries and elsewhere. Aspects of Higher Education pedagogy will become directly relevant to the first, Academic Study, module.
Non-work based modules will draw upon tasks that students are engaged in outside the learning environment and occupational requirements. Instruction will focus on contextualised topics and skills and on issues that directly impact upon professional ethics and occupational competencies.
Teaching and learning strategies will promote situated learning and the development of CoPs in the workplace and outside it. In the WBL modules students will reflect on their ability to work with and lead and manage others. Learning as situated social practice is ongoing throughout the programme as is the importance of developing a contextualised understanding of learning. C/room discourse will facilitate the development of language associated with the discipline.
Throughout the programme guidance, advice and practical techniques to support the student learning experience and enhance student preparedness for lifelong learning and employability will be given.
Key Assessment Methods
Assessment methods are detailed in each module specification. All students are required to play an active role within their respective organisations so that the full spectrum of personal, team and organisational opportunities are utilised for the benefit of individuals and employing organisations.
The integration of theory and practice is an important feature of assessment, together with the recognition and elucidation of diverse perspectives in Learning Support. All module assignments have a written component which is assessed. Other appropriate assessment techniques are used to enable students to demonstrate their intellectual development (e.g. oral presentations, academic posters and negotiated work based project assignments).
Key Transferable Skills are embedded in each module and their assessment is interwoven with the module outcomes. All students will have opportunities for practising communication and presentation skills. An assignment will provide evidence of research, written skills and time management. Oral presentations, in the form of an academic poster, will give students the opportunity to practise their speaking and listening skills. As well as a specific module on ICT, students will also have the opportunity to continually develop their understanding of ICT-related pedagogies.
Programme Spec – FdA Learning Support – Version 5 – Aug 2015
Programme Modules(additional copies to be completed for each named pathway)
Level 4 Year 1
Code / Title / Credits / Status / Non-Compensatable / Compensatable
Developing Professional Practice / 20 / Programme Core /
Academic Study / 20 / Programme Core /
Work-Based Learning (WBL) / 20 / Programme Core /
Understanding Specific Learning Differences and Disabilities / 20 / Programme Core /
ICT in a Learning Support Context / 20 / Programme Core /
Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) / 20 / Programme Core /
Level 5 Year 2
Code / Title / Credits / Status / Non-Compensatable / Compensatable
Advanced Professional Practice / 20 / Programme Core /
Curriculum Studies and Education Policy: Contemporary Issues in Curriculum / 20 / Programme Core /
Managing Challenging Behaviour / 20 / Programme Core /
Reflexive Practice / 20 / Programme Core /
Becoming a Researcher: Work Based Research Project / 40 / Programme Core /
Programme Spec – FdA Learning Support – Version 5 – Aug 2015
Programme StructureThe programme is offered in a part-time mode: at foundation (Level 4) and intermediate levels (Level 5). The programme consists of 11 compulsory modules. Each single module is worth 20 credits with the exception of the final module of the second year, which is worth 40 credits.There are two semesters per year and students will take three modules per semester, with the exception of Semester 2 in Year 2 when students will undertake one 20 credit and one 40 credit module.
Upon successful completion of two years’ study (240 credits), students will be awarded the Foundation Degree. Students completing 120 credits and leaving the programme at the end of year one will be awarded a Certificate in Higher Education.
Level 4:
Year 1 studies consist of sixLevel 4 modules which seek to develop students’ understanding of areas such as disability and specific learning differences, Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) and ICT-related pedagogies.
Level / Module / Credits
Year One / Semester One: / 4 / Developing Professional Practice / 20
4 / Academic Study / 20
4 / Work Based Learning (WBL) / 20
Semester Two: / 4 / Understanding Specific Learning Differences and Disabilities / 20
4 / ICT in a Learning Support Context / 20
4 / Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) / 20
Level 5:
Year 2 studies consist of five Level 5 modules which aim to promote a critical understanding of thecurriculum, education policy and becoming a researcher.
Level / Module / Credits
Year Two / Semester One: / 5 / Advanced Professional Practice / 20
5 / Curriculum Studies and Education Policy: Contemporary Issues in Curriculum / 20
5 / Becoming a Researcher: Work Based Research Project / 40
Semester Two: / 5 / Reflexive Practice / 20
5 / Becoming a Researcher: Work Based Research Project / 40
5 / Managing Challenging Behaviour / 20
Support for Students and Their Learning
Support for students and their learning will include the following:
- Induction Programme.
- Student Handbook with module guides and procedures for accessing the VLE.
- Leeds City College Handbooks relating to support services and IAG (Student Services, Library, Careers etc).
- Leeds City College VLE.
- Extensive library and other learning resources, as well as resources available in centres.
- Access to student support services.
- College Counselling Service.
- Welfare.
- International Student Information.
- Disability Information.
- Tutorial provision when appropriate.
- Mentorship arrangements with work based employers.
- Liaison arrangements in place between course team and work based mentor.
Distinctive Features
In this programme work and learning are closely interlinked. Academic knowledge integrates with and supports the development of work-related skills and competencies. Students must reflect on their own role, the organisation and demonstrate that they can apply learning in one environment to the other. The assessed and identified learning outcomes are explicitly relevant to the employees, employers and the wider professional sector.
The course is intended to equip its graduates with an awareness of the changing nature of the learning support context, particularly in terms of extended provision, including the expansion of Specialist Inclusive Learning Centres (SILCs). The course is anchored within current legislative and policy frameworks and is underpinned by the notion of social inclusion, a theme which is central to the module entitled Curriculum Studies and Education Policy: Contemporary Issues in Curriculum.
Students will be encouraged to make meaningful and purposive links to the workplace in two modules in particular: Work Based Learning in Year 1 and the module entitled Becoming a Researcher: Work Based Research Project in Year 2.
To encourage high quality work based learning, it is recommended that students should wherever possible have access to a work based mentor. In some settings a senior member of staff can be readily identified by the student as a mentor. They will be able to offer support, encouragement and guidance and help to reinforce the link between theory and practice.
Students will be encouraged to form critical friendships within the group. This will provide students with opportunities to reflect on their practice and, if appropriate, advise one another on professional strategies and developments. Students will be encouraged to visit each others’ organisations and develop a supportive network and Community of Practice (CoP).
Programme Spec – FdA Learning Support – Version 5 – Aug 2015