Masters in SEN for Comprehensive Support Across All Education Levels

If you are a teacher looking to upskill in the area of SEND, I highly recommend this Masters in SEN degree programme which I completed in 2018. It has given me insights, experience and opportunities that you cannot gain from just a Bachelors degree and Initial Teacher Education. It has enabled me to support learners from Early Years to Higher Education, helping them make much more progress than I could have with my ITE. And it has qualified me to take up HE teaching where I have lectured on a BA SEND programme with teachers and Learning Support Assistants as my students, who had various SENDs themselves. I highly recommend the Inclusive Education (IE) and Understanding Behaviour (UB) modules. In fact, I double highly recommend UB. As a result of it, behaviour management has become one of my strengths. I also did the module on Dyslexia as it is said that 1 in 10 people are dyslexic in the UK, many of whom will be undiagnosed, and some who may never get a diagnosis. The best thing about what you will learn in this course is that it can benefit all your learners, not just those with Special or Additional Learning Needs. Research continues to show that all learners can benefit from special needs interventions.

However, the course is not just about Special Needs, it includes Additional Needs, which I’m passionate about. Because they are often not prioritised, needs such as being a traveller, coming from a turbulent home background, living in adversity, experiencing trauma or being ethnically minoritised. These can put additional stress on the learner, impacting their ability to access the curriculum and settle into the school environment. I gained much insight on this in the UB module There are many learning needs in any given learning setting, whether in Early Years, Compulsory, Further, Higher, or Adult Education, and whether formal, informal or non-formal. I wanted to be able to support every kind of learner at any stage and in any setting, hence, I added this MA to my toolbox (and followed it up with a PhD in Technology Enhanced Learning, to further help make learning relevant, accessible and enjoyable). With these tools, I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching in Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Further and Higher Education, as well as facilitating learning with adults, and in informal and non-formal settings. I wanted it all, I chased it all, and I am thankful that I did it all!

 

And by the way, it is done through distance learning. I did visit the Docklands Campus and use the library facilities but you don’t have to. Several of my coursemates were international and never attended in person. We had an online learning portal and a great WhatsApp group! If you do enrol on the programme, feel free to let me know. Happy to help anytime!

Dr Oma Eguara (PhD, E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, Lancaster University) is an educator, educational researcher and entrepreneur based in London, UK. She is the founder of TEKSHA QQ C.I.C, a social enterprise facilitating social mobility for underserved communities through digital skills capacity building and personal development.