PGCert Practice Education
- Study Mode: Part Time
- Location: High Wycombe
- Duration: One Year
- Start Date: September 2025
This course will help you to develop the essential skills to successfully support learning and teaching in contemporary professional contexts. You'll have the opportunity to tailor learning to your individual environment and graduate with a recognised postgraduate qualification that allows for further study or professional recognition.
While studying with us, you'll have opportunities to reflect on and showcase your practice in the workplace. This ‘real life’ aspect of the programme ensures that your studies support your continued professional development in a way that's relevant to your role and professional aspirations.
This intensive, full-time course enables you to qualify as social workers in just 14 months, significantly reducing the time required to enter the profession.
You could receive a tax-free bursary of £19,833 over the duration of your course, covering tuition fees and providing financial support to you.
Our course includes practical placements within local authorities, offering you real-life experience in social work roles and enhancing employability upon graduation.
Colleagues who completed the course recommended it to me, so I choose to do it myself. I feel very supported by my tutors and have access to the resources I need. We have stimulating discussions during class and I would really recommend this course because of the flexibility it allows me.Rex Lamban
Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?
This course is unique in its outward facing approach and engages with contemporary issues in practice education. BNU can draw on the significant experience of its team to deliver professional education and up to date skills, working alongside key local healthcare trusts.
Collaboration between fellow students and lecturers plays a big part in the learning and teaching strategy of this course. This way, we showcase how best to develop professional relationships and give a broader perspective on critical issues.
Professional conversations in the form of supervisory meetings with an appropriately qualified and experienced member of the course team, will also be scheduled throughout the programme. These discussions will provide you with opportunities to tailor your studies to meet your requirements and interests.
In addition to the unique benefits this course at BNU brings you, there are other benefits to studying at BNU too, such as our prime location 30 minutes from London, our apps anywhere service that allows you to work at home, and the big deal which offers you free events, trips and societies.
I chose BNU because it's a great location for me and has a good reputation with local organisations in Buckinghamshire. They really practice what they teach on this course and it provides an authentic experience which has helped me in my role already.Jade Carrick
How will I be taught and assessed?
The course is delivered via blended mode. This means that all timetabled, taught sessions are synchronous, face to face at High Wycombe Campus and online. These are followed by asynchronous guided independent study on BNU’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to enable you to continue the classroom discussions with more evidence-based conversations at your own pace, contributing towards the assessments.
The focus of your engagement with the assessment process will be negotiated with a member of the course team, this will ensure that assessed work both meets your interests as well as evidencing the programme learning objectives. Assessments are designed to provide opportunities to show off your professional development against the relevant sector frameworks.
Some of the ways you will be assessed include:
- practical and oral assessment, such as observed teaching sessions
- presentations
- professional conversations with a course team member
Lecturers are always willing to help, they are authentic, approachable and very welcoming. I've had very positive feedback from my learners utilising insights I've gained on this course.Tracy Willis
What will I study?
The Postgraduate Certificate Practice Education is aimed at you if you are working in education and taking on training responsibilities in the practice setting. Our programme is focused on learning and teaching in professional environments and may also suit you if you work in adjacent fields, including social work or allied health care education.
The course provides you with a sound understanding of the fundamental elements of learning and teaching: designing and planning learning, teaching and supporting learning, and assessment and feedback.
Important topics are explored which link directly to your current work. We explore many contemporary issues, such as mental health and wellbeing in education, and the impact the digital world has had on our practice. Inclusivity is a central theme to the programme, and you will actively consider both your responsibilities in promoting an inclusive environment and the impact of your approaches on minority and discriminated groups.
Education is a valued and recognised certificate for professional development. You will be encouraged, through your assignments, to show your own professional development and its impact on learners and your organisation. Our teaching process is designed to support you and to help you achieve your personal and professional goals.
When I was looking at courses, I really liked the blended learning and assessment methods at BNU. The course is highly rated and includes lots of student support. I studied so much more beyond teaching and I've been able to cultivate a culture of education which has been a really positive experience for me.Katherine Box
What facilities can I use?
We’ve invested in a range of state-of-the-art facilities across our campuses to support your learning.
Our library is the perfect place to find the resources you need and a quiet place to study, filled with four floors of books, journals, computer suites and study rooms. Or, if you’d rather work off campus, e-Journals and resources are only a few clicks away using our Virtual Learning Environment.
The best thing about this course is its flexibility and the approachable lecturers. The admissions department is very thorough.Steffy Sunny
What are the course entry requirements?
Individuals with an undergraduate degree, typically 2.1 or higher, with an interest in developing a career in practice education or relevant adjacent field.
Individuals without an undergraduate degree but significant experience within an appropriate profession and evidence of being prepared for L7 study will be considered. This may include, for example, qualified nurses who entered the profession prior to the degree requirement being introduced.
Modules
This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.
What are the tuition fees
Home
-
Home, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £3,000 *
Following the Government’s announcement of 4 November 2024, we will be increasing our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for UK students to £9,535 per year from the start of the 2025/26 academic year. Our part-time fees for UK undergraduate students will increase to £7,145 per annum. Please visit , on the Government’s website, for more information about the changes.
Tuition fees for Home undergraduate students (including with foundation year) may increase in subsequent years for both new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by the Government.  
Tuition fees for both new and continuing international students may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year.  
Tuition fees for postgraduate courses and CPD may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year. This increase will apply to both new and continuing students.  
We understand, and really appreciate, the significant financial commitment our students make when they choose to study at BNU. We take our responsibilities to our students very seriously, and are ambitious for each to reach their full potential and succeed in their chosen career. Our fees help us to continue providing our students with a high-quality education, and to invest in the services and facilities which create an excellent student experience at BNU.
The following factors will be considered by the University when we set the annual fees: measures of inflation such as the retail price indices; projected increases in University costs; and any changes in the level of funding for teaching received from the Government.
What are my career prospects?
A postgraduate certificate is a recognised qualification that will provide you with opportunities for further study and career development. Once you complete the PGCert Practice Education you might choose to go on to study our MA Education.
This course will prepare you for a wider range of responsibility in your current role and is really designed to push you to the next level of practice. Should you choose to pursue a different career later in your life, you will find the academic process of study and the transferable skills you gain here at BNU useful to you.
You may also use the programme as a framework to support your progression to further leadership roles within your organisation or another organisation.
I have gained so much from the course and I am confident in sending my educators to complete it.Anila Nair Practice Development Nurse, Oxford University Hospitals
I am delighted and wanted to share the news with you and encourage you that you're getting it right! Your knowledge impartation has been effective. I was able to redesign a good programme that met the framework requirements.Tapiwa Hatitye Practice Educator for Preceptorship, Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust
