Sport Coaching and Physical Education (Top up)

You care about the health and well-being of others. You love sport’s ability to transform lives and want to share your passion. Here you can discover a like-minded community of sports enthusiasts.

On our sport coaching and physical education top-up course, the knowledge and skills you'll develop will boost your qualifications to degree level with the support of our expert lecturers, allowing you to confidently step into your ideal future career.

What’s more, our sport courses are ranked 1st in the North West for continuation and 2nd in the North West for career prospects (Guardian University Guide 2023 Results).

Course Overview
You’ll examine the theory of physical education, sport and coaching science across education, leisure and community sectors. A learn-and-do ethos will see classes complemented by practical sessions, while experience in schools and community groups will provide real-world application.

You’ll benefit from the support and first-hand knowledge of professionals. Alongside this, you'll have access to numerous facilities, including our sports hall, functional fitness training room, human performance laboratories and specialist IT rooms.

Fast track your job hunt with our industry links. You’ll have numerous career options upon graduation including sport coaching, teaching, sport development, elite performance analysis and personal training.

On this course you will

• Gain academic and vocational key skills through both classroom and community engagement projects linked to specific modules.

• Be taught in small class sizes which means you get to know your class and tutors well, allowing you to feel supported during your studies.

• Have access to an extensive range of partner organisations in sport including Active Cumbria, Active Lancashire and Golf England facilitating learning opportunities, guest speakers and placements.

• Follow the successes of our graduates who have pursued careers in PE teaching, sport development, event management, high-performance coaching and community coaching roles.

• Benefit from our partnership with local leisure centre, Salt Ayre, giving you access to even more high-quality sports facilities.

What you will learn
You will examine the theory of physical education, sport and coaching science across education, leisure and community sectors, hands-on experience plays a big part in this course.

Academic learning will be intertwined with practical sessions in our purpose-built sports facilities. This programme focuses on physical education, sport coaching and sport development, blending academic rigour and vocational skills.

It links up-to-date multidisciplinary theory with practical skills. It is designed to appeal primarily to those seeking careers in sport coaching, physical education/sport teaching in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors (further post-graduate study would be required) and sport development officers within national governing bodies and local authorities.

Year one

• Independent Investigative Project
  Conduct an original research investigation of your own choice, supported by a dissertation supervisor, and communicate your findings.
• Current Issues in Sport Development and Physical Education
  Explore a variety of contemporary issues in sport development and PE and examine these issues in light of claims made for tailored cross-cutting interventions with specific population groups. Consider the challenges faced in promoting positive lifestyle behaviours to different groups in society.
• Club and Coach Development
  Develop a critical insight into issues facing community sports clubs and their contributions to local communities. Explore and critically evaluate key coach education concepts including experiential learning, communities of practice and mentoring.
• Performance Analysis in Sport
  Develop an understanding of assessing technical, tactical, and strategic performances through theory and a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. This will enable in-depth analysis of performance and appropriate conclusions to be drawn to improve the athletes' performance.
• Managing Community Events
  Working in a small team, and with the guidance of an industry mentor, you have responsibility for planning, marketing, financing, delivery, and evaluation of a local community event, with specific key performance indicators to achieve.

Modules use formative and summative assessment so that you progress and build knowledge coherently and logically.

Formative assessments are designed so that feedback on individual performance is provided before the submission of the final, summative assessment and will occur regularly to inform your progress and performance. Formative work does not contribute to the final module mark or the credit awarded. Formative tasks and assessments will feature in all modules and provide you with further learning opportunities, alongside skill development, for example, non-graded presentation skills, delivery and reflection.

A variety of assessment methods will be utilised, reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of this programme and the increasing demand for employment-ready graduates. Assessment methods are specified in each module guide and will include:

• Practical presentations
• Research reports/written assessments.
• Data analysis and interpretation.
• Class presentations (individual and group).
• Poster presentations and conferences.
• Reflective learning *portfolios (placement module).
  *Portfolios may be comprised of several pieces of work that together provide evidence of learning and demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes in a variety of modes. For example, written pieces, as well as video recordings of practical activities or presentations, PowerPoint slides, a series of reflections or online discussions, are just some of the ways you may evidence your learning.