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What makes Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion at Worcester special?

Our Special Educational Needs, Disabilities, and Inclusion (SENDI) degree will prepare you for a rewarding career across services that support children, young people and families. The course will enable you to pursue roles in a variety of sectors, including Education, Health, and Social Care. Graduates have successfully gone into roles such as: Autism specialist unit manager, SEND caseworker with the Local Authority, specialist support roles with Multi-Sensory Impairments, Autism, (Adult) Life skills. With further training they have also pursued roles in Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology and Social work. 

This SENDI course provides academic study and experience for those who seek to understand the importance of meeting the needs of children, young people, and families through an inclusive approach to education. This course enables students to undertake research in the field of inclusive education, to learn to think critically about policy and practice in special educational needs and to be advocates for equality and disabilities. 

Overview

Overview

Key features

  • Opportunity to explore SEN, disability and inclusion in a broad, imaginative and practical way, drawing on expertise across the university and beyond
  • There is an array of diverse career opportunities that are enhanced from doing the SENDI degree at Worcester. These include SEND caseworker and specialist learning support assistant.
  • You can go on to complete a Master's degree upon successful completion of the course, which can lead to many opportunities in Higher Education.
  • Excellent teacher training progression opportunities: a 2.2 degree classification or above will enable you to be considered for an interview for one of our PGCE Primary courses, provided you meet the course prerequisites.
  • We also offer a PGCE in FE (SEND) for those interested in teaching at Further Education
  • Opportunities to work with other professionals linked to supporting children, young people, and families such as occupational health, speech and language therapists, and social workers.
  • The University offers a wide range of opportunities to continue your studies abroad. Find out more information here: Study Abroad

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Entry requirements

Entry requirements

88
UCAS tariff points

Entry requirements

A minimum of 88 UCAS tariff points (for example, CCC at A Level)

T Levels, Cache Diplomas, and B-Tech qualifications may be used to meet the entry tariff requirements for this course. Find out more about using these qualifications towards UCAS tariff points here.

Other information

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk for advice. 

Further information about the UCAS Tariff can be obtained from the UCAS website.

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BA SENDI graduation November 2019

Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion students in graduation robes Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion students throwing graduation hats into the air
Course content

Course content

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Our modules are predominately course subject-specific, teaching you relevant historical, political, psychological, and social aspects of Inclusive provision. You will have opportunities to make links with current practice including site visits and guest speakers.

Current students say that the course furthers your awareness of SEND, inclusive practise, and enables you to learn more about the historical and contemporary educational initiatives that support our educational system. The course really allows you to explore the opportunities that are available, to learn in a very person-centred manner with small class sizes and continuous support, it offers placement opportunities, and to network with external support, with input from visiting speakers from the education, health, and care fields. They also say “you're not just a name in the classroom; the lecturer knows you. This is important as you become part of a community, and they want to see you achieve. As well as this, it allows for the opportunity to share and get to know everyone in the classroom's experiences and opinions which deeper the knowledge already provided in the lectures”.

Year 1

Mandatory

  • Introduction to SEND and Inclusion: History and Legislation
  • Understanding Neurodiversity: Enabling Inclusive practice
  • Exploring Mental Health in Childhood and Adolescence
  • Aiming Higher: Independent Learning in HE

 

 

Optional

Year 2

Mandatory

  • Global Perspectives and SEND
  • Understanding Autism and Complex Conditions
  • SENDI Enquiry
  • Becoming a Reflective Learner and Practitioner

Optional

Year 3

Mandatory

  • Dissertation 
  • Professional Roles and Contexts in SEND and Inclusion
  • Identity, Inclusion and Social Justice
  • Assistive Technologies in Practice

Optional

  • Understanding the Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs of People with SEND
  • Contemporary Issues in Disability PE
  • Education at Work 2: Placement and Work-Based Learning
  • Ideology and Education: Sites of Struggle and Stories of Emancipation
Teaching and assessment

Teaching and assessment

Teaching and Learning

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement.

A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of lectures, seminar, tutorials, guided study of current documentation including legal and policy frameworks, as well as input from visiting speakers. Each year some optional modules offer the opportunity for work-based learning in relevant settings. Multimedia presentations and use of virtual learning environment (VLE) will be utilised throughout.

Academic and personal support is available from Firstpoint. In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course. You also have an opportunity to discuss any issues that may be affecting your academic performance and discuss employability opportunities.

Contact time

In a typical week you will have around 12 - 16 contact hours of teaching. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected and in the final year you will normally have slightly less contact time in order to do more independent study.

Typically, class contact time will be structured around:

  • Interactive lectures
  • Workshops
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Student led presentations
  • Visits to educational and other relevant facilities
  • Online activities

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 20-25 hours of personal self-study per week. Typically, this will involve pre-session activities, wider reading and directed study tasks, all of which will be outlined in the module materials.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including the Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes staff with expertise as teachers, senior leaders in education settings, early year’s practitioners, educational psychologists and school governors.

Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy, many course lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or 'formative' assignments. Each module has one or more formal or 'summative' assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade.

Assessments are varied and include: essays, presentations, evaluating resources, case-studies, and reports. Examples of assessment include: student led presentations, ICT based discussions and presentations, student reflective journals, independent research activity, individual and group presentations, poster presentations, research projects and portfolios.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

Year 1: 1 x case study, 2 x resources, 2 x evaluations, 1 x presentation, 1 x report, 2 x reflective journals, 1 x portfolio.

Year 2: 1 x plan, 3 x reports, 1 x reflective log, 1 x portfolio, 1 x proposal, 1 x evaluation.

Year 3: 1 x presentation, 1 x report, 1 x reflective log, 1 x report, 1 x dissertation.

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback on examination performance is available upon request from the module leader. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.

Meet the team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course.

Jo Smith 2023

Joanne Smith

Jo has worked at the University since 2014. She also owns a local children's day nursery and was in Primary Education for 15 years, with responsibility for Inclusion for the last 7 years.

Jo has taught both at undergraduate and postgraduate level programmes within the department. She is passionate about Inclusive Education and has a variety of experience and anecdotes to share. She believes in lifelong learning and values the contributions all students make to group discussions and activities.

Alexandra Sewell

Dr Alexandra Sewell

Alexandra joined the University in 2018 and is course lead for the BA (Hons) in Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion. Alexandra is a HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist. Prior to embarking on a career in academia, she held positions as an educational psychologist and trainee educational psychologist across the West Midlands and currently maintains an independent practice. She completed her Doctorate degree in Applied Educational and Child Psychology at the University of Birmingham in 2016.

Alexandra is passionate about the application of psychology to education to promote evidenced informed, inclusive practice. She focuses her practice and research on the topic of ‘inclusive voice’ and is broadly interested in how traditionally marginalised voices can be listened to and acted upon to promote equality and diversity across a range of contexts.

Alexandra’s portfolio of educational research and publications consists of a co-written introductory textbook in Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Disability for Sage Publications and an edited book titled, ‘Diverse Voices in Educational Practice’, published with Speechmark Routledge. Her research has been published in numerous international educational research journals.

Julie Prentice

Julie Prentice

Julie joined the University of Worcester in Spring 2021. She teaches across a range of University of Worcester programmes including the BA Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion, BA Education Studies, MA Education and the recently developed Higher Education Short Courses. Her teaching and course development contributions are mostly focussed on autism, SEND and Inclusion, and research methods. Julie has recently completed a PhD, which was focussed on education and autism. Her thesis has explored how children and young people with autism are told about and supported to understand an autism diagnosis.

Julie has a background in teaching in both mainstream and special school settings and has also been a SEND coordinator. Julie has taught children across the primary age range within mainstream and special education settings. She has also taught within secondary and post-16 education. Within special education, Julie has taught children with a range of complex and additional educational needs including children with speech, language and social communication needs, physical and sensory needs, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs.

She has also worked in a specialist advisory capacity within 3 different local authorities. While working as an advisory teacher, Julie provided specialist advice related to the provision, teaching, and learning needs of children and young people with autism. She also delivered training programmes for parents of children with autism and provided professional development training for schoolteachers and other local authority staff.

Careers

Careers

Our SENDI degree provides an excellent route into many careers or further study.

You may wish to progress on to a PGCE course (to become a qualified primary teacher or to teach at FE).

We also run an MA in Education degree, and guidance is given to support you to do this successfully.

Other career options include:

  • Specialist learning support assistant
  • Community support worker
  • Youth worker
  • Local Authority SEND caseworker

With further study at the postgraduate level roles include:

  • Special needs teacher
  • Special Educational Needs coordinator
  • Social worker
  • Health professional
Two students are walking next to each other and smiling

Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential
Tom Saunders

Tom Saunders

Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion(SENDI) is close to my heart as my brother has additional needs. This and my passion for creating equal and inclusive opportunities for all encouraged me to study the course. By studying SENDI at Worcester, I have learned about the past, present, and future of educational topics and societal challenges.

The course has allowed me to develop my understanding and explore topics that I am interested in and passionate about, such as: making learners feel included, understanding various special educational needs and how important creating an equal society is, as well understanding the importance of Mental Health. These key values and concepts that are present in the learning content throughout the course. With a continual focus on creating a community built around advocating for voice, inclusion, equality and positive mental wellbeing. 

It is structured to develop personal autonomy, which enabled me to thrive in assessments because of the various choices available, such as essays, posters, presentations and reflective pieces. 

Throughout my studies here at Worcester, I have been able to look at real-life case studies, analysing past, present and future policies and legislation, hearing from guest speakers. Everything that I have learned in the classroom can be applied in real life to develop a culture of inclusion and supporting me to be the best version of me.  

SENDI has allowed me to build my graduate skills for my future career in teaching and has given me options for future study at the University of Worcester and beyond.

Megan

Megan

I had an excellent experience studying Special Educational Needs, Disabilities, and Inclusion (BA Hons). Prior to beginning the course, I worked in mainstream secondary schools in support staff positions and have always had a love for supporting the learning and well-being of young people, particularly those who identify with SEND.

I am currently working at the setting where I completed my degree work placement module, working directly with young people with SEMH needs. I'm also studying a short course called 'Therapeutic Approaches to Supporting Children Experiencing Adversity' here at The University of Worcester. I intend to learn a variety of therapeutic ways to developing young people's well-being after completing this course.

Costs

Fees and funding

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The Government has announced that it will increase tuition fees and maintenance loans by 3.1% from the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees will be £9,535 per year.

For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2025/26 academic year is £16,700 per year.

For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Halls' at £131 per week to 'Ensuite Premium Halls' at £228 per week (2025/26 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.
How to apply

How to apply

Applying through UCAS 

Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion BA (Hons) - X360

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application.

UCAS Code

X360

Apply Via UCAS

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Admissions Office

admissions@worc.ac.uk
01905 855111

Joanne Smith

Head of Department
Joanne.smith@worc.ac.uk
01905 543715

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