Emma Gooding
Senior Lecturer - Learning Disability Nursing
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Learning Disability Nursing BSc (Hons)
Key Facts
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UCAS Code
B703
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Duration
3 years Full-time
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BBC at A level
DMM at BTEC -
Full Time: £9,535
Updated 04/12/2025
Updated 04/12/2025
Get in touch
UK STUDENTS ENQUIRIES
study@northampton.ac.uk
0300 303 2772
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ENQUIRIES
The University of Northampton’s BSc Learning Disability Nursing degree will develop your understanding of the needs of people with learning disabilities to enable you to work in a range of practice settings in health and social care.
You will learn crucial disability nursing skills on this learning disability nursing course, through a combination of innovative theory and practical experiences which will be delivered using online learning units, alongside traditionally taught sessions and an electronic portfolio for practice development. With our practice partners, we offer support throughout your placements through the experienced support of mentors and an academic link tutor.
For Student Positivity – National Student Survey 2025
Overall for General Nursing
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NSS Calculations are based on Office for Students (OfS) data from the average positivity score. Guardian Data from the 2026 General Nursing subject table.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Approved
The BSc Learning Disability Nursing course at UON has been approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). This means you can be confident that this programme meets the standards of education, training, conduct and performance required for nurses in the UK.
Highlights
- Leads to Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration.
- Access to a wide range of placements in Northamptonshire that include national specialist services.
- Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) delivered within this learning disability nursing programme.
- May be eligible for financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF)*
- Guaranteed paid internship with the Northampton Employment Promise.
- HP laptop and software included with this course for eligible nursing students* (*see eligibility criteria and terms and conditions).
We have ward setups for teaching and work with local hospitals.
Within our Learning Disability courses, we use real technology and devices for learning
Our seminars are small and personal
Students are encouraged to use the library to find resources
We have state of the art tools and facilities for our nursing courses
We have practical, hands-on classes
Within our Learning Disability courses, we use real technology and devices for learning
We have ward setups for teaching and work with local hospitals.
Entry Requirements
You need one of the following qualifications:
- BBC at A level
- BTEC level 3 Extended Diploma or National Diploma or Cambridge Technical at DMM
- T Level – Merit
- A kitemarked Access to Higher Education course with 45 credits at Merit or above
- Successful completion of the first year of a relevant Foundation Degree
- Health and Social Care Diploma at Level 3 (advanced level)
- CACHE Diploma achieved at grade B or above.
We welcome applications from students with a mix of A levels and BTEC/Cambridge Technical qualifications.
Please note that we may consider other qualifications not listed above on an individual basis, please contact our Admissions team to discuss these in further detail.
We also require following essential requirements for all pre-registration nursing programmes:
Applicants must be 18 years old by the 2nd month of commencing pre-registration learning disability nursing programmes and all applicants must have 10 years of consecutive education
All applicants must have:
- English Language and Maths GCSE, or the equivalent, at grade C/4 or above. These must be achieved prior to commencement of the course. (Common equivalents are: Functional skills level 2).
All offers of a place on the learning disability nursing programme are subject to:
- successful Occupational Health Screening,
- satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) report, and
- successful interview by the University.
Occupational Health Clearance:
All healthcare students are required to undertake a standard Occupational Health Clearance which will assess your health and immunisation record and assess your fitness for the programme you have chosen. Courses such as midwifery, dental nursing and paramedic science also require an enhanced Occupational Health clearance and appropriate immunisation to undertake exposed prone procedures (EPP). Without the enhanced occupational health clearance your ability to attend some clinical placements/activities in Trust areas may be limited or refused, causing delays with course progression and employment.
Further information for healthcare students can be seen through the following link (appendix 1) Green Book: Chapter 12 Immunisation of healthcare and laboratory staff.
What You'll Learn
The Learning Disability Nursing degree at UON has been designed to contribute towards achieving the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: SDG3 of Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG5 Gender Equality.
Our vision is to enable people with learning disabilities to lead healthy and valued lives. We want to make this a reality by recruiting people who are passionate about caring with learning disabilities and want to make a positive difference to their lives.
This Learning Disability Nursing course gives you a registration through the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a nurse for people with learning disabilities. This field equips you with nursing skills to work within health and social care environments with people with learning disabilities. Studying this course will enable you to work with a wide range of other professions that care for people with learning disabilities and their families. The practical placements that you will take throughout this nursing learning disability degree will be in a variety of health, education and social care settings with people of all ages that have a range of learning disabilities.
What separates us from other learning disability nurse courses is our amazing teaching staff, all of whom are professionally and academically qualified within their field. You will be allocated a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) who will be a professional within the nursing team and would normally remain your PAT for the three years of your study. They can offer you continued support and guidance.
Compulsory Modules
The purpose of this module is to develop nursing students self awareness, personal and professional resilience and professional identity as a nurse understanding how health science, social and political knowledge, behaviour, vocabulary and skills form their nursing identityAdditionally the module will develop communication skills and understanding of how constructive feedback can be used to evaluate self and effect positive change.
The purpose of this module is to provide the student nurse with underpinning theoretical knowledge of the scientific, legal, professional and personal context of nursing in order to participate in practice safely, ethically and lawfully across all fields of nursing and within a range of clinical practice settings.
The purpose of this module is to equip nursing students with the theoretical foundation, skills and evidenced based knowledge to fully participate in person centred decision making, influence positive lifestyle choices and beginning the students own professional development.
The purpose of this module is to provide the essential clinical learning and simulation and practice experiences a student requires to achieve the NMC proficiencies, enabling progression through to the 2nd part of the programme Through their electronic portfolio (Pebblepad), signed by their practice supervisor and practice assessor, and moderated by the academic assessor, students will demonstrate achievement of the skills and professional behaviours dentified at the first progression point by the Nursing and Midwifery CouncilDuring clinical learning all students will be required to undertake clinical skills via a range of simulation techniques to meet the Achievement of Proficiency in the PADThese will be signed off by the Module Team/Practice Assessor.
Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 25/26. The modules relating to the academic year 26/27 will be available from June 2026.
You will be expected to study a minimum of 2,300 hours theory and 2,300 hours practice across the 3 years. The practical placements that you will take throughout this Learning Disability Nursing course will be in a variety of health, education and social care settings.
The practical experiences in healthcare are gained within private, voluntary and independent sector areas including social care, community trusts and hospitals within Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding areas.
The learning disability nursing course is compliant with Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements.
The University of Northampton is one of only four universities in the country to belong to the European Nursing Module. This offers the possibility of a two week placement in one of around 24 different European countries.
You can experience a different health system, culture and life experience and gain an insight into the issues that are faced in an overseas nursing environment. This opportunity is available at a specifically negotiated time during your Learning Disability Nursing course, usually within the second or third stage of study.
Please note that you will have to meet the entire costs of this module yourself including flights, accommodation, food and travel within these countries where possible costs are kept to a minimum and financial help is available. The cost of the placement is dependent on the country you choose, it can range from approximately £500-800.
The two weeks spent overseas for this module count as placement hours as agreed with the NMC.
At the University of Northampton, everything we do, from funded trips to paid internships, is to give you everything you need to make a difference when you leave.
If you join our full-time Learning Disability Nursing degree at Northampton, you will receive a laptop when your course begins*. The laptops are built to a bespoke custom specification ideal for use in the seminar room, collaborative group work or studying at home.
Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your learning disability nursing course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd. We’ve created the Northampton Employment Promise because we are so confident that if you focus on your studies and complete one of our awards you’ll be highly employable by the time you graduate. Putting you in a great position to secure employment or continue your studies.
To check out the full list of perks, visit our Student Perks page or dedicated International Perks page.
* UK fee payers only (see Terms and Conditions for further details)
How will I develop my skills in nursing labs?
The nursing skills labs, based at our Waterside campus, are used throughout the studies to enhance learning in the clinical settings. The Nursing labs have a purpose-built clinical ward where students can learn and develop their clinical skills through practice-based, hands-on education. This specialist facility makes the Learning Disability Nurse courses at UON absolutely unique. You will practise scenarios from a real-life hospital ward in a realistic, yet safe clinical environment.
The fully interactive VR (Virtual Reality) system and mannequins allow students to ‘treat’ people in a variety of nursing settings, giving them ‘as close to real-life as possible’ training. This includes actual conversations with the characters in the scenario and gives clinical feedback that is matched to the student’s learning objectives.
How will I be assessed on the Learning Disability Nursing degree?
We use a variety of methods of assessment on our Learning Disability Nursing course, including:
- an electronic nursing practice portfolio for each year
- online examination for numeracy in years one and three (to comply with Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements)
- anatomy and physiology examination
- nursing care plan
- essays
- presentation,
- viva voce exam
- reflective essay.
All assessments are marked in accordance with University regulations. All external examiners are registered nurses who also hold teaching qualifications approved by the NMC.
What other opportunities are there?
Our University is now a part of a well-established, professional European network for Nursing and Midwifery. The Florence Network offers opportunities for future health careers and development to staff, academics and students. For more information about how this affects learning disability nursing, visit the Florence Network.
What is the new curriculum for Learning Disability Nursing?
From September 2019 we are offering an exciting new curriculum based on The Nursing and Midwifery standards for education 2018. The curriculum is innovative utilising an active blend learning approach and an extensive range of support is always available. The curriculum also offers placement learning opportunities throughout Northamptonshire and beyond.
Fees and Funding
2025/26 Tuition Fees
- UK Full Time: £9,535
- International Full Time: £18,200
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 2025/26 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years. UON will adjust UK fees annually in line with Government Policy.
- Travel costs to and from placements, and extra costs associated with placements, may be incurred throughout your learning disability nursing degree studies depending on where you are based.
- First set of clinical uniform is free but additional uniforms have to be purchased by the student.
- Black leather shoes, black socks.
- Optional membership of Union.
- Optional two week European placement (flights, accommodation, living expenses).
- Trip to London in Year One (travel and entrance fee to Florence Nightingale Museum).
Students, studying nursing, midwifery and many of the allied health professions courses from September 2020, may be eligible for a payment of at least £5,000 a year which they will not need to pay back. They may be able to apply for Financial support at the university through the NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF) which offers eligible students additional support while studying for their degree. This is in addition to the Student Loan from the Student Loans Company.
Financial contribution towards your travel, and expenses in relation to your practice learning opportunities, may be available to you from the NHS Learning Support Fund. Details, including eligibility criteria, can be found on the NHS website.
The information provided above is correct for the academic year 2024/25 but please check the NHS LSF website for full details, any changes and updates.
For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.
For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.
For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 2024/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
- UK – Full Time: £9,250
- International – Full Time: £17,700
Staff
Katy-Louise Payne
Senior Lecturer - Learning Disability Nursing
Hannah Thomas
Senior Lecturer - Learning Disability Nursing
Dan White
Senior Lecturer in Nursing
Careers and Employability
On completion of the Learning Disability Nursing degree at UON, you could pursue a wide range of professional careers in health and social care and research.
- Healthcare – NHS or independent sector
- Social Care – NHS, private care or educational sector.
Professional roles that you could progress to include Registered Nurse, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Community Nurse, Strategic Healthcare Facilitator, School Nurse, Prison Nurse, Nurse Consultant, Nurse Educator, Nurse Researcher
Manager.
For further information visit the NHS careers webpage.
Facilities
Learning Hub
The Learning Hub is at the heart of the campus and home to the student information desk.
View Facility
Clinical Skills Simulation Lab
A realistic, acute clinical environment with mannequins, hospital beds, medical gases systems, clinical equipment, and more.
View Facility
