People with learning disabilities are one of the most marginalised groups within society. This course equips you with a range of transferable skills that enables you to work with any adult or child with learning disabilities in any agency, setting or environment.

The course actively engages with people with learning disabilities, through teaching, assessing and recruitment activities. The course plan is specifically designed to meet Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards of competency for Nurse Registration within this field of practice. By choosing to study at Coventry you will benefit from:

• A course that meets the professional outcomes that are identified by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as essential prerequisites for registration as a Learning Disability Nurse,
• a course with high employment rates: usually 100% of student completing the course are employed,
• a ‘leading edge’ programme in the way it involves people with learning disabilities in a number of educational activities,
• six practice placements to enhance your theoretical learning with real-world experience that prepares you for your future career,
• experienced teaching staff who bring professional or research expertise into their teaching,
• eligibility to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Course Structure and Module List

• Introduction to Nursing
• Introduction to the Profession of Learning Disability Nursing
• Context of Learning Disability Nursing
• Inequalities
• Health and Social Disadvantage
• Complex Health Needs
• Profound and Multiple Needs
• Complex Care and Professional Development
• Research and Evidence Based Project and Leadership
• Management and Service Improvement

Developments are currently being planned in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Council which will be effective in the 2013 curriculum.

Your course will be based on a series of interactive lectures, with associated seminars, workshop practical classes. In fact you will be engaged in a wide range of interesting teaching and learning activities making the challenges of learning more enjoyable. In addition, your personal tutor will review and discuss your progress with you and will be available for advice.

The course makes extensive use of learning technology to organize teaching and learning through our virtual learning environment. This gives access to course materials, documents, video and 'lecture capture' to assist in revision. In addition, most modules make use of regular online assessments to help students evaluate their own progress.

In a typical teaching week you will have up to 19 contact hours of study (classroom, online etc) and this will break down as:

Assessments on this course include formal assessments, coursework and assessments within practice placements. Below is an estimated breakdown of how your final grade is assessed:

• formal assessments: 5%;
• coursework: 45%;
• assessments within practice placements: 50%.

In a typical week you will have up to 19 contact hours of teaching comprising:

• Personal/small group teaching – 1 hour of tutorials (or later individual project supervision) every two weeks,
• medium group teaching – 6 hours of workshops or seminars each week,
• large group teaching – 12 hours of lectures each week.

5 GCSEs at grade A*–C including English Language and Mathematics, or specified equivalents.

A-Levels CCC.

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma MMM in a health subject.

International Baccalaureate Diploma: 30 points.

Applicants are normally expected to have had some experience of working with people with learning disabilities in a health, social care or charity setting, on a voluntary or paid basis. You will also need to sit a maths test as part of the selection process. Try our sample maths test here.

English as a Foreign Language: IELTS 7.0.

Applicants will be required to attend an interview. Satisfactory health clearance and criminal records disclosure required.

For details regarding equivalent qualifications, please click here.

Following registering as a Learning Disability Practitioner, your career is your own with a multitude of possibilities for you to develop and enhance your skills as a practitioner in this important field of practice.

Experienced teaching staff along with the Faculty careers advisors service will assist you to get your first choice post and also to map out a pathway of learning beyond registration to suit your own goals.

Our course has a 100% employability rating with students gaining employment in specialist NHS services, independent forensic services and multi-agency services for children.

Throughout your Learning Disability Nursing course you will have six practice placements working with colleagues from the Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Social Care and the Independent Sector. Work placements are integral to the course as an essential component to prepare you for safe professional practice and enhances your employability.

These placements are designed to allow the student to apply theoretical knowledge to practice settings and to assist in achieving nationally agreed competencies for student nurses within this field of practice. You will work closely with qualified nurses and assistants, as well as a range of other professionals who work closely in the provision of learning disability services.

In the second year students have the opportunity to design their own specific learning experience which may be an overseas trip or visit to relevant learning disability settings.

The Nursing Department enjoys a close relationship with Noorderpoort University in the Netherlands, receiving annual visits from students.