Primary Education 5-11 with QTS

A Brighton Primary Education (5–11 years) degree prepares you to teach children in Key Stage 1 and 2, where you’ll have an early impact on children’s learning and development and help lay the foundations for their academic success and personal growth.

This course leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – the professional qualification for teachers – enabling you to teach in schools in England. Brighton is graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for its primary initial teacher education, with the report stating that ‘the quality of education and training in the primary phase is exceptional’. Of the students on this course who filled in the National Student Survey 2025, 98% said that teaching staff are good at explaining things and 97% said teaching staff often make the subject engaging.

You’ll be part of a community that helps you grow, no matter what your background. In each year of the degree, you’ll spend time in schools on placement gaining hands-on professional experience. At university you’ll develop your skills, knowledge and confidence in practical activities in our specialist facilities, labs and classrooms. Our inclusive approach to learning will help you go further; we’ll make sure you play to your strengths and learn in ways that suit you best.

Brighton teaching graduates are highly sought after and known for their creative and innovative approaches to teaching – they benefit from excellent employment rates that are consistently above the sector average. We also offer support after you qualify through our ECT programme to help you develop and thrive in your early career.

Top reasons to choose this course

• You’ll train to teach with an Ofsted ‘outstanding’ provider.

• You will learn with a team who have all been teachers themselves.

• School placements in each year of the degree with opportunities in large, small, urban and rural settings.

• Gain knowledge and understanding of the full primary curriculum, with option modules to develop your expertise in the subjects that interest you most.

• Learn in specialist classrooms that replicate those used in schools as well as our curriculum centre with its 30,000 resources for student teachers.

• Our teaching graduates benefit from excellent employment rates that are consistently above the sector average.

• There are no written exams.

Why Brighton is a great place to study Primary Education
Brighton is less than an hour from central London and has been named one of the 50 best cities in the world and the happiest city in the UK by Time Out.

Year 1
In your first year, you’ll explore how children learn and develop across key subjects including English, maths, science and computing, while gaining a strong foundation in teaching theory and practice and curriculum planning. You’ll begin your school-based training, applying theory to practice and developing your professional identity as a teacher. This year introduces the foundation subjects, giving you a broad understanding of the primary curriculum.

Core modules
Education Studies: How Children Learn
English and Language Acquisition
Exploring Learning and Teaching in Mathematics and Computing
Teaching Primary Science
Introducing the Foundation Subjects
School Based Training 1

Year 2
In your second year, you’ll strengthen your teaching practice through extended school-based experience and deepen your understanding of how to support children’s learning in English, maths and the wider curriculum. You’ll explore inclusive education and curriculum design, with opportunities to specialise through a variety of option modules such as art and design, storytelling, PE, PSHE, science and humanities. These choices allow you to shape your learning around your interests and develop expertise in areas that matter most to you.

Core modules
Education Studies: Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Teaching English, Principled Practice and Current Policy
Deepening Subject and Pedagogic Knowledge to Impact on Children's Mathematical Understanding
Curriculum Design and Enhanced Practice in Foundation Subjects and RE
School-based Training 2

Options*
Developing Expertise in Teaching and Learning in Art and Design
Story: How We Use Language to Imagine, Entertain and Understand
Developing Curriculum Expertise in Primary History and Geography
Developing Mathematical Thinking
Developing Expertise in Primary Physical Education
Developing Expertise in Primary Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
Science, Scientists and Working Scientifically

Final year
In your final year, you’ll take a leading role in your school-based training, refining your teaching skills and preparing for life as a qualified teacher. You’ll carry out an independent research project based on a topic that interests you and explore current curriculum developments and educational issues to shape your professional identity. A wide selection of option modules – ranging from computing and English to outdoor learning, science, art and citizenship – gives you the chance to specialise and build confidence in areas that reflect your strengths and passions.

Core modules
Contemporary Curriculum Studies and Professional Development
Education Studies: Leading Children’s Learning
Individual Professional Project
School-based Training 3

Options*
Teaching Primary Computing
Processes and Practice: Developing a Rationale for Art, Craft and Design in the Primary Classroom
Contemporary Developments, Theories and Practices in Primary English
Creative Curriculum Design in History or Geography
Contemporary Issues in the Teaching and Learning of Primary Mathematics
Developing Expertise in Citizenship Education and Religious Education
Science Beyond the Classroom
OAA and Swimming and Water Safety

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

To work as a teacher at a state school in England or Wales, you will need to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS). This is offered on this course for the following level:

• Primary