Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment) - Higher Apprenticeship - FdSc

Currently viewing course to start in 2024/25 Entry.

Become a specialist in enabling people who are blind or partially sighted to be as independent as possible in their day to day lives by studying this foundation degree in Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment). As one of the only programmes of its kind in the UK, teaching for this rehab course will be based at our recently extended £71 million campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

How to apply

Level Apprenticeship
Study mode Blended Learning
Location City South

Award FdSc
Start date September 2024

School School of Health Sciences
Faculty Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences

This course is:

Overview

Please note the Rehabilitation Worker Visual Impairment Apprenticeship Standard is in the process of being revised, and as a result there will be a new course structure from September 2023. The updated course information will be available on our website no later than September 2023.

How to apply

You apply for a degree apprenticeship in the same way you apply for a normal job. You’ll need to submit an application to the recruiting employer.

Employers advertise degree apprenticeships throughout the year and there is no application cycle like there is with university applications. The vacancy will state when the application deadline is, and when the apprenticeship is due to start.

You cannot apply directly to the University for a degree apprenticeship. To apply for an apprenticeship, you first need to find one that you are interested in applying for.

Find an Apprenticeship is the government website where the majority of apprenticeship vacancies are advertised. It only shows live jobs (so it won’t tell you previous vacancies, nor what’s coming up), so you will need to check it regularly to see new vacancies as the employers advertise them.

Apply through the employer

Once you have secured your place with an employer, you can apply to BCU. Please complete the application form and send to: rehabadmissionsquery@bcu.ac.uk

Apply to BCU

This course is not open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

Visual impairment is a life changing experience and very often you will be working with people who are at a crisis point in their lives. A qualified Rehabilitation Worker's strength is to be a problem solver and to respond to a person's unique and complex situation. You will develop individual training programmes based on the person's needs and aspirations.

Your initial learning focuses on the individual and the impacts of visual impairment on all aspects of life. You will look at how to work in partnership with your clients and their families, and how to work inter-professionally to promote the needs of experiencing sight loss.

You will also learn how to enable people with a visual impairment to become independent in their daily lives. This may be through teaching orientation and mobility skills, safety and independence in the kitchen and the home, techniques to overcome communication barriers and making the best use of a person's strengths and any remaining vision.

You will attend the University’s recently extended £71 million City South Campus for block learning weeks that are spread throughout each academic year. During these weeks you be involved in lectures, simulation sessions and a range hands on group activities on this practical course.

You will benefit from learning from an experienced teaching team and specialists from the sector as well as using our specialist resource rooms and training kitchens. In between teaching weeks you will be able to access extensive online materials and take part in valuable work based learning placements.

Additional costs

This course involves some additional costs for equipment and travel. You will need to purchase a long cane and two cane tips (pencil and roller marshmallow) to use in practical training sessions at the University as well as general skills and techniques practice outside the block learning weeks. Approximate costs for this are £34 the cane and £15 for the tips. All apprentices will be measured for an appropriate length cane during the course induction week. You will then need to purchase the correct length long cane for sessions commencing in November of Semester One. Apprentices will also be expected to pay for bus, rail, and tram tickets for practical technical training sessions on using public transport. Public transport training is likely to take place on eight of the orientation and mobility training days.

Why study an apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships offer work based learning – the opportunity to build on existing knowledge and skills
Highly experienced tutors who are all professionally qualified to support you at university
Work based clinical educators to support you in practice
A wide range of support services available to you at university to support your learning journey
We have excellent facilities, including a brand new building that offers state-of-the-art equipment that will support you in your studies. There are several study spaces and open access information technology support.

Information for Employers

Interested in employing an apprentice for your organisation? Find out more about what’s involved.

Entry requirements

Evidence of one of:

GCSE at grade 4 or above in English Language and Maths, or equivalent e.g. GCSE grade C, key skills level 2, adult literacy level 2 or CSE grace 1 will be accepted.

Plus one of the following:

Level 3 NVQ or Diploma or equivalent (full award)
2 or more A-Levels (DD/48 UCAS tariff points) or a BTEC ordinary National Diploma
Level 2 NVQ or Diploma (full award) plus a written paper (details of content will be provided by the admissions tutor post application)

Additional entry requirements:

Prospective students should demonstrate the ability to undertake studies at Foundation Degree level.
Personal experience or experience of working with people with visual impairment is desirable. Relevant experience in other health and social care settings will also be taken into consideration.
All applicants are required to be aged 17 years or above on entry
All applicants must have access to, and be able to use, broadband internet and e-mail facilities, as a proportion of this course is delivered through these media. Please see IT specification for further details.
This course requires students to learn to teach people with visual impairment in high-risk situations, such as crossing roads independently, working safely in the kitchen and managing home and personal care. It is a requirement that students will already be competent themselves in these daily activities, and have the capacity to monitor the safety of those they are learning to teach. The application form asks you to confirm this requirement.
If English is not your first language, an IELTS score of 6.0 overall (or equivalent) is required.
Most of our students are not school leavers, and a number have chosen this course in order to change their career or return to work.
Mature applicants without formal qualifications must demonstrate personal or professional experience within a health and social care profession and the ability to study at Foundation Degree level.

Facilities & Staff

We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.

Mock Wards

These are set up to look like typical hospital wards, with four to six bays. Depending on the topic in hand, different manikins can be used as patients and relevant equipment is provided to practise clinical skills. Some of the manikins are interactive and can simulate different scenarios e.g. some allow you to cannulate, check pulses, intubate etc, and some can talk to you. One ward is often used as an adult ward, and the other as a child ward.

These rooms also allow for scenarios to be set up for other professions such as dietetics, paramedic science and social work.

The Operating Theatre and Recovery Suites

The operating theatre and recovery suite gives you the sense of what it would be like in a real surgical environment.

These spaces emulate the full surgical journey from anaesthetics, through surgery and into recovery. ODP students can practice a range of skills including gowning, hand washing, preparing instrument trays, and working with a patient. Nurses and midwives may experience a surgical placement and need to go to theatre or be part of the midwifery team involved with caesarean sections. Many other Allied Health Professionals may also see patients in recovery if necessary.

Home Environment Room

This space is used to simulate non-clinical settings, as not everything health professionals deal with is hospital based. This is used for simulations of home visits and home births. It also houses soft matting and a bubble machine that are used by the Learning Disability Nursing team.

Assisted Living Space

This space replicates a flat and is used for scenarios such as home visits. The sitting room area provides a different space to practise skills and simulations and work with service users and other students.

Assisted Kitchen

This specially designed kitchen has different areas where you can practice cooking, cleaning, boiling the kettle etc., with someone who has actual or simulated visual impairments. There are adapted devices to help, and simulation glasses for you to wear to experience visual impairments.

Physiotherapy Room

This is a space for physiotherapy students to use, with various equipment to practise client meetings.

Radiotherapy Planning Computer Suite

Our computers allow you to plan hypothetical treatments, in terms of angles and directions, ensuring that radiotherapy reaches where it is needed on a patient’s body.

Radiography Image Interpretation and Reporting Stations Computer Suite

These facilities allow you to view and analyse x-rays.

VERT - Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training

This room contains 3D technology to view virtual patients and look at trajectories for treatment.

Radiotherapy

This room contains the same bed/couch used when patients are given radiotherapy treatment. While students of course do not administer radiotherapy in this room, it does allow them to practise adjusting the equipment to make sure both it and a patient would be in the correct position to receive treatment.

Telehealth Room

This room allows for small group teaching in a central area (large boardroom type table) with five small telehealth booths down either side. These are to allow all our health professions students to practise delivering healthcare and advice remotely, either over the phone or on a video call. This addition to our teaching reflects moves in the sector to offer more flexible access to healthcare services, particularly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Imaging Academy

This new facility is a larger version of our existing image interpretation computer facilities and forms part of the Midlands Imaging Academy Hub, funded by Health Education England. These expanded facilities will mean we can further develop our courses and expertise in radiography and imaging.

Speech and Language Therapy Resource Room

Our Speech and Language Therapy Team have developed a collection of tools, books and resources to help you learn and understand the implications of a speech or swallowing limitation. You can practise one to one client meetings and clinics and use the video recording equipment to review role play scenarios.

Ultrasound simulation suite

Students have access to a wide range of Ultrasound simulation equipment to develop their clinical skills and aid in training. The equipment includes two ultrasound machines with a range of phantoms, scan training stations and eve body works.

Our staff

Peter Cooke

Senior Lecturer/Admissions Tutor

Peter’s connection with the visual impairment sector began following his diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa when he was 15 years old. Early volunteering experience working with children and young people fostered an intrinsic interest in developing a career involving work with those living with serious sight loss.

More about Peter

David Bignell

Programme Lead Rehabilitation Work

David is a qualified Rehabilitation Worker and the Programme Lead for the Foundation Degree in Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment), the BSc (Hons) Specialist Complex Needs Rehabilitation Work top up’ degree and the BSc (Hons) Habilitation Work Working with Children and Young People course. David studied at the Guide Dogs School of Vision and...

More about David