Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons)
Study level: UndergraduateProfessionally Accredited Programmes

Learning disabilities nursing is a great career choice if you are compassionate and keen to support people with learning disabilities and/or autism who face physical, mental and social challenges.
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
CU Scarborough (Scarborough)
Study mode
Full-time
Duration
3 years full-time
Course code
B761
Start date
September 2023
Course overview
Fully accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) providing eligibility for registration as a nurse on successful completion of the course (additional costs may apply).
- Ranked 11th in the UK for Nursing and Midwifery in the Guardian University Guide 2022.
- All home students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the Government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs6.
- Study in the state-of-the-art Alison Gingell Building4 which features hospital wards, operating theatre, critical care settings, community housing and other real-life nursing environments relevant to practice.

Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects
Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2023Why study this course
The Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons) emphasises the value of people with learning disabilities as equal citizens. It is designed to enable people who have a real contribution to make to work collaboratively towards the development of compassionate, innovative and autonomous professional nursing practitioners, upon successful completion.
You will be offered the opportunity to study and develop specialist skills in communication, comprehensive person-centred health assessment, and professional skills to enable you to work in specialist areas in the field of Learning Disabilities nursing practice following graduation.
In modern health and social care settings nursing students are increasingly required to work towards becoming autonomous practitioners, taking a leadership role in decisions regarding patient care within multi-professional settings. They routinely have frequent and what can be intense contact with service users and so must be competent in recognising changes in the patient’s condition so that appropriate action can be taken.
This course offers thorough preparation to help graduates make a valued and professional contribution to the dynamic and rapidly changing health and social care landscape.
Opportunities are provided to gain hands-on experience under supervision from qualified mentors, with 50% of the course spent in clinical practice placements5 across a wide range of healthcare environments including community and hospital settings, both within NHS and independent services.
You will have the opportunity to work and study in collaboration with other health and social care students, with the chance to work together to explore specific issues and challenges, designed to broaden the knowledge and professional expertise of nursing and health professionals.
You’ll have the opportunity to make use of our extensive simulation facilities4 – from basic life support manikins to high-tech simulation dummies, which emulate patient responses. You will have the chance to use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices to assist with all elements of care and especially medication administration. You will also have the opportunity to take part in our Mask-Ed character learning scenarios.
Accreditation and professional recognition
This course is accredited4 and recognised by the following bodies:

Nursing and Midwifery Council
The course is accredited by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the 2023/24 intake and, providing you also meet the NMC requirements, on successful completion you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (subject to additional costs).
Simulating real-life situations
Our students use a persona-led teaching and learning tool to simulate scenarios they will encounter when qualified. See how this enables students to develop the soft skills which are vital to working in healthcare.
Training to be a Learning Disability Nurse has been a phenomenal experience. The versatile and transferable skills that are acquired whilst on the course are invaluable. Not only are you trained to care for service users across the lifespan but the communication skills that I have developed ensure that I am equipped to care for a variety of service users with many diverse needs. Overall, I cannot praise the Learning Disability Nursing course enough and would encourage anyone thinking of going into nursing to seriously give Learning Disability Nursing real consideration.

Nursing at Coventry University
We have an excellent reputation for the quality of the education provided to trainee and qualified nurses.
Learn why you should study with us

What you'll study
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
This course is designed to use a wide variety of approaches to teaching and learning to suit individual learning styles. This includes a series of interactive lectures with associated seminars and skills lab activities. All modules are mandatory so that upon successful completion you should have the knowledge, values and skills to be able to work within integrated care settings and enhance the delivery of care for service users, their families and carers.
With the chance to gain experience using simulation across a range of care settings, this is designed to build your confidence and knowledge about how to act in these situations and is a central part of the course. It is designed so that you have the opportunity to practise and develop your clinical and interpersonal skills in a safe but realistic environment. We also use actors, so that you have the chance to enhance your exposure to these experiences in scenarios such as breaking bad news, demonstrating emotional resilience, conflict, aggression, teaching, child protection conferences, relationship issues in learning disability, alternative communication (e.g. Makaton, communication aids etc.), consent and capacity, ethical issues in caring for vulnerable people, and counselling individuals, parents and staff.
As 50% of the course is practice based, this requires approximately 40 hours per week in placements5. In a typical teaching week, you will have up to 21 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally includes:
- Personal tutorial/small group teaching
- Medium group teaching
- Large group teaching
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
Assessment
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
- Assessments within practice placements
- Formal examinations
- Group work
- Coursework
- Vivas (oral tests)
- Individual Assignments
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes.
International experience opportunities
Throughout the course, we aim to provide key insights into cultural diversity and global issues of significance to public health and in most fields of nursing practice2. For example, we look at what it means to be culturally competent within healthcare today. Some of this is supported by guest lecturers or simulation facilitators and others through topical issues covered within the course (subject to availability).
Students and visiting lecturers from other countries can provide an input into the course, previously from areas such as Hong Kong, Hungary and USA. We have also previously participated in a number of senior staff exchanges, for example, from India and China, which has provided additional insights for past students into international issues.
The academic staff have vast knowledge supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health. The team have worked closely with the criminal justice system as well as working with individuals with profound learning disabilities.

Entry requirements
Typical offer for 2023/24 entry.
Fees and funding
2023/24 tuition fees.
Student | Full-time | Part-time |
---|---|---|
UK | £9,250 per year | Not available |
EU | Not available | Not available |
International | £19,850 per year | Not available |
A non-repayable grant of £5,000 and extra payments worth up to £3,000 may be available to eligible home students for each year of study. Read more about this in the NHS Learning Support Fund information booklet.
For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.
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How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.
If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.
Facilities
Careers and opportunities
There are currently around over 3,500 learning disabilities nurses within the NHS and demand for these specialist nurses is high. Typically, past final year students have been offered a range of posts within the NHS and the private sector prior to qualifying.
As a learning disability nurse, you will have opportunities to support people of all ages with learning disabilities in a range of settings, which may include hospital wards such as epilepsy and palliative care; mental health trusts; adult education; residential and community centres; patients' homes; workplaces; and schools. Career options, upon successful completion, may include working in specialist areas such as education, sensory disability or service management or moving into areas such as management, teaching or clinical research.
During your three years on the programme, you will have the opportunity5 to undertake six placements in a range of service settings, with the chance to work with and alongside qualified learning disability nurses, and therefore potential local and regional employers. On graduating successfully from this course, you can apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which can enable you to practise immediately (additional costs apply). Please see the Accreditation and Professional Recognition section for further information.
Where our graduates work
The majority of our graduates find employment as qualified nurses in the NHS with a growing emphasis on community settings, in acute hospitals, military nursing or within the private and independent healthcare sector, in private hospitals, nursing or care homes. As your career progresses, a number of options are open to you as a lecturer or specialist practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner, consultant nurse or manager.
Recent graduates have gone on to roles such as working in forensic services, generic and specialised children’s services, end of life care (adults and children), neurology services, dementia services, prison and court diversion, police diversion, schools, research and many more.
The course at Coventry University offered me the opportunity to gain an in-depth experience and the academic staff were supportive and encouraging throughout. The skills and knowledge gained have allowed me to develop and become a compassionate Learning Disability Nurse.

How to apply
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UK students
Full-time students applying to start in September 2023 can apply for this course through UCAS from 6 September 2022. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
Part-time students should apply directly to the university.
If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form
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International students
International codes:
HLSU197Full-time students applying to start in September 2023 should apply directly to the university.
How to applyFor further support for international applicants applying for an undergraduate degree view our International hub.
You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.
Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form
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Disclaimers
1Accreditations
The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.
2UK and international opportunities
Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.
3Tuition fees
The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For Home Students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.
For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
4Facilities
Facilities are subject to availability. Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
5Placements
Satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal record disclosure is also required. As part of the health clearance checks you will be required to provide information about your immunity and vaccination status. You will also be required to provide information about your COVID-19 vaccination status. We therefore recommend that you are fully vaccinated including the COVID-19 vaccine. The information you provide will be used to determine your eligibility to go on placement(s). Placements are provided at the placement provider’s discretion. The University is therefore unable to guarantee the provision of placements or the location and type of placement offered.
6NHS payment
The rules may be subject to review by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in the future and as a result may change. Please therefore check the NHSBSA website for up-to-date information before applying.
Student Contract
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2023/24 contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
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