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This degree combines theory with practice-based learning to lead you to professional registration and a rewarding career as a learning disabilities nurse.
CU Scarborough (Scarborough)
Full-time
4 years full-time
H06F
September 2026
November 2026
Our degree with foundation year could be the stepping stone you need to achieve your goals. The foundation year aims to prepare you for degree-level study and is a great way to build the confidence, skills and knowledge needed to succeed on your degree course.
Learning disabilities nurses provide specialist healthcare and support to people with a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information. They work across a range of settings including people’s homes, primary and community settings, schools and specialist services, in-patient hospitals and care homes.
This course aims to equip you to support, empower and safeguard people with learning disabilities. It emphasises the importance of involving individuals, their families and support networks in the holistic assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care.
The foundation year course helps you develop the necessary skills for degree-level study. In addition, you will also explore fundamental knowledge in areas such as anatomy, physiology and pathology, professional practice and approaches to health and wellbeing.
The course is aimed at committed and enthusiastic individuals who embody a compassionate attitude and are eager to acquire the skills to deliver professional, impactful and evidence-informed care.
If you are compassionate, enthusiastic and committed, we can support you in developing the skills to deliver professional, evidence-informed care that truly impacts people’s lives.
The degree is accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

The Learning Disabilities Nursing BSc (Hons) programme is approved by the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) for the 2026-27 intake.1
87 per cent of 2024 Nursing graduates secured employment locally before they even graduated.
Find out more about this achievement
The foundation year offers an introduction to your chosen subject and supports you to develop the skills required for degree-level 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.
We understand that everyone learns differently, so this course will consist of structured teaching sessions which can include:
The tutors at CU Scarborough are supportive and knowledgeable, the campus is small and modern. We had the opportunity to work with Coventry students within our Learning Disabilities modules. My advice for someone who wants to be a nurse is ‘Go for it!’, no matter how old you are or even if you have young children, like me.
Charlotte Gill, final year Learning Disabilities Nursing student, 2023
Take a few quick steps to see if you can apply now.
Typical entry requirements:
Got higher grades? Have you considered direct entry to the degree without foundation year?
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £9,790 | Not available |
| International/EU | Not currently available*** | Not available |
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £9,790 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 degree study6. 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.
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 UK (home) students, if Parliament permits 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.
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.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
To secure funding for a degree with a foundation year, you must complete the full four-year programme. If you do not finish the entire course, including the integrated foundation year, you may have to pay the foundation year fees yourself. For further information, please refer to the 'Tuition Fee Loan' details in the 'Funding your undergraduate course' section of our 'Fees and finance' page.
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
Our campus building is designed with your needs in mind4. As nursing students, you’ll have the opportunity to:
You’ll use facilities through timetabled teaching, practical activities and relevant independent study. Access may vary by module, activity, capacity, supervision or safety requirements. Access may change or be limited where the University needs to follow public authority guidance, decisions or orders.
There are currently over 3,000 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:
Career options for successful graduates 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 opportunity to undertake six placements in a range of service settings5. These will give you the chance to work with and alongside qualified learning disability nurses, and therefore potential local and regional employers. Upon successful graduation, you can apply for registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC), which can enable you to practise immediately (additional costs apply)1.
Local employers include:
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.
We are very proud of the nursing programme at CU Scarborough. We are continuously exploring new approaches to teaching that is responsive to our students and links to real world practice. The course team have a wide range of experience across all fields of nursing and are extremely passionate about using this to prepare the future workforce.
Smaller cohort sizes mean that we get to know our students in their journey to become a registered nurse. We have close links with our practice partners who students will learn in practice with, and many go on to secure jobs in these areas too.
Claire Barwick, CU Scarborough Nursing Curriculum Lead, 2024
This course with foundation year is not available to international students.