Masters in Pastoral Care in Education

Add real value to your educational setting

• Bring expertise in-house and save money.
• Develop practical skills, tutored by experienced professionals.
• Access a wealth of practical resources, academic research and interactive materials to support you.
• Develop your confidence to support the most vulnerable and complex children in your school effectively.
• Start implementing improvements to provision and practice from the start of the course by following our practice-led learning approach.

Develop real competence

• Use efficient and effective online learning with embedded activities that relate to actual case studies.
• Take part in self-paced study time of up to 25 hours based on HCPC proficiency standards.
• Embrace a supportive online community with tutor-supported learning.

Enhance professional expertise

• Demonstrate your competence with confidence.
• Develop a good working knowledge of the law in this area.
• Work effectively alongside families and professionals to support young people.
• Make a firm contribution to developments and initiatives.
• Build your own knowledge and skills, which you can then share with colleagues and implement across your setting.

Learn on the job

• Harness your day-to-day professional experience and work with your tutor to develop your skills.
• Theories, reflection, and activities will help you to explore aspects of your own and others’ practice.

Engage with flexible e-learning

• Study online and integrate your learning into your working day.
• Fit your studies around work and life commitments
• Take part in engaging modules that draw on a broad range of learning tasks and practical experience.
• Work closely with your peers and dedicated tutors online.
• Experience mentoring and work placements that really complement your learning.
• Access Campus Online, our sophisticated online learning platform which offers the latest technologies: video and multimedia content, case studies and problem-based scenarios, directed reading, structured learning logs, online discussion, online questionnaires, peer evaluation and student forum.
• Attend optional webinars with subject matter experts. These are recorded and uploaded for you to access at a later date if you aren’t able to attend live.

Study modules in your own time and pace

• Benefit from total flexibility for your studies. There aren’t any live sessions so you won’t need to interrupt your working schedule or arrange cover.
• Access your course materials anytime, as long as you have a good internet connection.
• There aren’t any internal assessment deadlines (just a final submission point), so you can organise your workload according to professional and personal commitments.
• Choose to book for just one module initially, or map out your entire programme, it’s up to you.

Connect with your peers

• Interact with your peers using our advanced learning platform and our unique student forum.
• Share best practice and seek advice from your peers and tutors online.

We will ensure that you never feel lonely or unsupported in your studies.

Liaise with experienced tutors

• Enjoy dedicated specialist support from a broad range of experienced tutors, many of whom are working in educational settings so are familiar with the challenges you face.
• Work with a learning coach, professional tutor and received dedicated support from the tutor team — made up of experienced SENCOs, SEN consultants, school leaders and educational psychologists (EPs).

This programme is suitable for a wide range of staff members, but would be particularly suitable for those working as an Inclusion Manager/Lead, a Pastoral Care Lead, a Head of Year or the Senior Mental Health Lead.

Choose from our core, recommended and optional modules to achieve the required number of credits for your chosen qualification.

• To achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in SEND and Inclusion: Pastoral, you’ll need to gain 60 credits 
• To achieve a Postgraduate Diploma in SEND and Inclusion: Pastoral, you’ll need to gain 120 credits
• To achieve the Master of Education in SEND and Inclusion: Pastoral, you’ll need to gain 180 credits

Explore our modules

For all exit awards from the Pastoral Care programme, delegates will need to complete at least 60 credits from the following core modules:

• Leading Inclusive Practice (60 credits) – coming January 25
• Leading Inclusive Practice (30 credits) – only available with 30 credits of RPL from a leadership NPQ – coming May 25
• Cross-cultural Issues in SEND (30 credits)
• Senior Mental Health Lead Advanced Award (30 credits)
• Migration and Language Acquisition (30 credits) – coming January 2026
• Social Emotional and Mental Health (30 credits)
• Evidence and Pedagogy for Inclusion – with pastoral as your chosen specialism (30 credits)

If you’d like to achieve a Postgraduate Diploma or MEd in SEND and Inclusion: Pastoral, your 120 credits must include one of our enhanced application and reflection modules which are:

• Auditing and Leading Improvement (60 credits)
• International Award in SEN Coordination (iSENCO) (60 credits)
• National Award in SEN Coordination (NASENCO) (60-credits)
• Leading Inclusive Practice (60 credits) – in development
• Evidence and Pedagogy for Inclusion (30 credits)

To complete the full MEd, the Enquiry-Based Practice (60 credits) needs to be your final module and your chosen research project for this module must have a pastoral focus.

Optional modules, which can be chosen for this programme, up to 60 credits:

• Autism Spectrum Conditions (30 credits)
• Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (30 credits)
• Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements (30 credits)
• Coaching and Mentoring in Education (30 credits)
• Cognition and Learning (30 credits)
• Dyslexia – Leadership and Intervention (30 credits)
• Dyslexia – Professional Report Writing (30 credits) – please note there are additional eligibility criteria for this module
• Mathematical Understanding and Teaching Methods (30 credits)
• Maths Teaching and Intervention Planning (30 credits)
• Psychology for Education (30 credits)
• Speech, Language and Communication Needs (30 credits)

Our courses are delivered through Campus Online, our unique provision for online learning.

Campus Online allows you to study at your own pace, without the need to travel, or commit to particular dates or times. Log in to access your study materials, contact your personal tutor for support, connect and network with other delegates and make use of the extensive resource library.

You can easily track your progress throughout the course and submit your work and evidence of assignments for feedback.

CCET

You will need to produce:

• Multiple-choice questionnaires on the purpose and types of assessment and statistical principles.
• A paper on the statistical principles that underpin psychometric tests.
• A critical review of an educational test in line with European standards.
• A test paper on intelligence testing and discrimination.
• Video evidence of test administration competence.
• A comprehensive written report of an assessment, including test scores from at least 2 administered psychometric tests.
• Video evidence of competent oral feedback to a client or the client’s parents/ carers.

AAC

You will need to:

• ​View content to familiarise yourself with the JCQ regulations and the Equality Act, Form 8 and file note completion and online application for exam access.
• Complete multiple-choice questionnaire on JCQ regulations, principles, exam access application and the Equality Act.
• ​Complete a practice, formative Form 8 assessment for one of two given case studies.
• ​Assess a suitable student without a medical need or EHCP using appropriate test/s, anonymise and upload correctly completed and scored examiner forms.
• Complete and upload a summative, anonymised Form 8 for that student.

• You will need to hold an undergraduate degree to study the Masters in Pastoral Care in Education .
• You will need to be working in an educational setting for this programme. If you aren’t currently working in an educational setting you will need written permission from a senior member of staff to regularly access a setting.

Please note: Some of our modules have specific eligibility requirements. Please check the course pages for more information.

Are you based in an international setting?

This programme is available online and can therefore be completed anywhere in the world. The programme content is designed and written with both UK and international settings in mind.

Please click here for advice on payment options and other information relevant to those studying outside of the UK.

Cohorts begin in January, May and September.

The next cohort begins on 15 January 2025. Book and register before 15 January 2025 to join our next cohort.

We offer a flexible range of fees to suit your finances. Please refer to the module pages to see the cost of each individual module.

The cost of a PGCert with Real Training (made up of 60 credits) varies, typically you could expect it to cost between £2,495 + VAT and £2,990 + VAT.

The cost of a PGDip with Real Training (made up of 120 credits) varies. Typically, two 30 credit modules and one 60 credit module will cost approximately £5,485 + VAT.

The cost of a Master of Education in SEND and Inclusion: Pastoral with Real Training (made up of 180 credits) varies. Typically, two 30 credit modules, and two 60 credit modules – including the obligatory Enquiry-Based Practice module – will cost £7,980 + VAT.

To find out the exact cost of your chosen pathway, visit the module pages linked above.

Speak to us on +44 (0)1273 358080 or make a booking.

It depends. Most delegates tend to complete the programme within 3-5 years. It usually takes a year to complete a module, however some delegates will choose to study 2 modules at a time. It also depends if a delegate has existing credits that they can bring into the programme.

Delegates may be able to bring in credits they have achieved with another provider. If you think this could apply to you, find out more about Recognition of Prior Learning.

You are able to take breaks between the modules if need be, however, as long as you return to complete the programme within 5 years, your credits will remain valid.

We offer a number of Masters programmes, enabling you to develop specialist skills in SEND, pastoral care or leadership:

• Masters in Autism
• Masters in Educational Assessment
• Masters in Inclusive Educational Leadership
• Masters in SEND and Inclusion