CPD and Professional Development

Reading University has a long history of provision of quality Postgraduate/Continuing Professional Development courses for teachers and other professionals interested in children's learning and progress. Our programme is offered on a full time or part time basis. It is designed to be flexible in order to meet the needs of busy professionals. Taught modules can be taken singly or as part of an award bearing course. Successful completion of a module assignment leads to the award of CAT credits.

We offer a range of courses, covering:

• MA in Education
• MA in Instrumental Teaching 
• MA Developing Education for Sustainable Global Futures
• Early Years Professional Status
• Inset Courses for Teachers
• Postgraduate Professional Development
• Overseas Trained Teacher Programme
• Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCO)

Our courses are designed to enable you to enhance your practice and your career. Our staff have extensive national and international experience and provide quality teaching in their specialist areas as well as support for individual investigations and research projects.

We have a strong commitment to:

• Serving the local educational community;
• Working with teachers and other professionals to enhance all pupils' life chances through quality education;
• Supporting our many students from overseas.

Postgraduate Professional Development

Our MA in Education offers a range of high quality masters/postgraduate diploma modules oriented to the continuing professional development of teachers, education leaders and other education professionals.

Due to changes in Government policy in relation to TDA funding of PPD programmes, the university will no longer receive funding to subsidise teachers on PPD courses. Teachers registering for the MA programme from the academic year 2011 will now be charged the standard University of Reading modular taught part time MA fees.

UK Teachers in partnership schools currently registered on the programme will continue to receive their subsidised modules until the end of the academic year 2012/13

You should consult your CPD school co-ordinator about potential sources of support for fees within your school.

All taught modules are currently based at the Bulmershe Court campus of the University. When the Institute moves to the London Road campus, this will become the centre for the MA programme. There will be access to the specialist education section in the main Whiteknights library. However, schools wishing to work together on research projects to enhance school performance can arrange for support on site from visiting tutors.

Overseas Trained Teacher Programme

Our OTT programme is an employment-based route to achieving UK Qualified Teacher Status. The time taken from initial registration to final assessment varies from teacher to teacher, but is typically well within a school year.

Early Years Professional Status

Early Years Professional Status is intended for staff who lead practice in the early years workforce in settings such as full day care, nursery schools, playgroups, children's centres, home-based childcare and crèches. An important principle of the EYPS programme is personalised training. We offer

• the three-month part-time validation pathway
• the six-month part-time extended professional development pathway (Short EPD);
• the fifteen-month part-time extended professional development pathway (Long EPD).

MA in Instrumental Teaching

MA in Instrumental Teaching is an MA programme for instrumental and vocal teachers. It is a distance-learning programme with an annual summer school and can be taken from anywhere in the world.