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Primary Education Studies (Accelerated)

Entry requirements


112 UCAS Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).

112 UCAS Tariff Points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

5 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English Maths and Science. Please note that in order to progress onto a Postgraduate Initial Teacher Training programme after this course, you’ll be required to have GCSEs in English, Maths and Science at grade A*-C.

UCAS Tariff

112

Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).

About this course


Course option

2years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Primary education

Do you dream of educating the next generation? If you’re passionate about helping children to reach their potential, our Primary Education Studies degree is for you.

Our accelerated option allows you to study for the entire degree in just two years.

You needn’t be limited to primary school teaching, though. You might have your sights set on a career in the wider education sector, cultural institutions and NGOs, or related fields such as health and social work. On this degree course you’ll develop your understanding of primary education, and gain the knowledge and skills to work collaboratively in a range of settings.

Our Education courses ranked 7th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2024.

If you’re looking for a career working with children aged 3-12 and their families, or you already work in education but want to learn more and progress your career, our BA Primary Education Studies is a great option.

We focus on education history, policy and the way children are taught today. You’ll graduate with a thorough understanding of classroom management, lesson planning, National Curriculum subjects, and the three Key Stages in primary education. We’ll also touch on special educational needs provision.

Throughout the course there’s a strong focus on the core subjects that all primary-aged pupils study: reading, writing, maths and science. You’ll become familiar with teaching approaches and how to make adjustments to suit learners of all abilities.

Of course, anyone working with children and families knows that it’s important to support the ‘whole child’ and so, as well as looking at education and teaching, we’ll explore related areas such as health, welfare, child psychology and children’s rights.

While studying at ARU, you’ll have opportunities to observe teaching in local schools. We offer our Primary Education Studies course as a three-year degree or an accelerated degree, which you’ll complete in two years. When you graduate, you’ll be ideally placed to join a postgraduate teacher training course with one of our partners and return to us to complete your PGCE.

Our course will prepare you to join postgraduate Initial Teacher Training. You'll also take part in live briefs to gain work experience and important contacts, like our recent partnership with Chelmsford Museum, Fitzwilliam Museum, and Scott Polar Museum.

**Careers**

Our BA (Hons) Primary Education Studies is the first step on your career path to working with primary-aged children and their families.

If you’re interested in teaching, our degree will also prepare you for postgraduate initial teacher training programmes. We work with local ITT providers who actively recruit our students to School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITTs) and you’ll be prepared for interviews throughout your degree.

**Employability and personal career development**

Informed by employers, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they are looking for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules.

To amplify your career ambition, you will need to actively dedicate time outside of your studies, whether you choose to explore placements, internships or volunteering. Or you could make a social impact by collaborating with our partner organisations through our volunteer scheme Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE). These all give you an edge, providing you with experience that you will be able to evidence on your CV and talk about in interviews.

Our Employability and Careers Service offers a range of expert advice and support to build your unique professional profile, including tailored career appointments, advice on writing your CV, and help to complete job applications.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules: Key Paradigms 1: History and Philosophy of Primary Education; Perspectives on the Child 1: Childhood as a Construct - Physical and Social Development of Children; Primary Pedagogy 1: The Curriculum and Primary Teaching, Research Foundations; Subject Knowledge for Teaching 1: Early Language, Reading and Writing and Early Mathematical Concepts; Subject Knowledge for Teaching 1: Science and Technology 1; Perspectives on the Child 2: Childhood Cognitive and Language Development; Subject Knowledge for Teaching 2: English and Mathematics 2. Year 2 Core modules: Primary Pedagogy 2: Creativity, Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods; Key Paradigms 2: Sociology and Politics; Subject Knowledge for Teaching 3: The Wider Curriculum; Key Skills for Effective Primary Teaching; Primary Pedagogy 3: Contemporary Issues in Education, Specialist Focus Project; Perspectives on the Child 3: Inclusion, SEND and Developmental Difficulties; Key Paradigms 3: International and Global Perspectives in Education; Ruskin Module. Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location.

Assessment methods

Your progress will be assessed using many different methods, including poster presentations, group presentations, essays, reflective logs or commentaries, reports, and your Specialist Focus Project (dissertation by literature review). There are also opportunities for informal (formative assessment) to give you the necessary support and opportunities to be an active learner and to make contributions to our learning community in lectures, seminars or online groups. Your tutors will monitor individual, group and cohort learning in order to personalise teaching approaches so that you learn in the way that is most suited to you.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£11,100
per year
England
£11,100
per year
Northern Ireland
£11,100
per year
Republic of Ireland
£11,100
per year
Scotland
£11,100
per year
Wales
£11,100
per year

The Uni


Course locations:

ARU Peterborough

Cambridge Campus

Chelmsford Campus

Department:

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.

91%
Primary education

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.

Education

Teaching and learning

94%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
83%
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

78%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
90%
Course specific equipment and facilities
84%
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
12%
Male students
88%
Female students
80%
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.

Education

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.

£17,500
med
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education
59%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

39%
Childcare and related personal services
16%
Teaching and educational professionals
10%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

What about your long term prospects?

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

Education

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

£18k

£18k

£23k

£23k

£24k

£24k

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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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