Education and Early Years

 Announcement We will be moving all teaching from Harcourt Hill to our Headington Campus for the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

Find out more about the move from Harcourt Hill Campus

Overview

The School of Education at Oxford Brookes is one of the largest schools of Education in the UK. The school combines high quality teaching and a vibrant research community with a commitment to understanding and developing student potential. Our focus is on developing future leaders for teaching and other education related professions.

As a recognised centre for professional development and training, the School of Education is committed to providing high quality postgraduate taught courses that are tailored to meet the educational and development needs of local, national and international students. All our courses are underpinned by leading research.

We offer flexible routes to master’s study that suit your professional, personal and financial circumstances. The range of modules on our programmes allows you to construct different pathways of either full time or part-time study, enabling you to develop specialist knowledge and professional skills that will improve your practice and advance your career.

Foundation degrees

A one-year foundation degree. Our programmes encompass foundation degree study designed for people already working in early years or later phases of education. Students come to the School of Education from all walks of life to study on campus and at our partner colleges in the region.

MA Education

The MA in Education is designed for teachers, lecturers and educational managers in primary, secondary and further and higher education, and for other professionals working in education, both in their early careers and with substantial experience in education. The course is concerned with the development of critical enquiry and reflection in the field of education, and the development of professional knowledge and expertise. You can study the course at either our Harcourt Hill campus or via distance learning. 

As well as the  MA Education, we offer other specialised courses on the MA Education, they are:  MA Education – Childhood and Youth Studies,  MA Education – TESOL,  MA Education – Leadership and Management ,  MA Education – SEND and  MA Education – Artist Teacher Practice.

You can enrol on the full MA Education or take a staged approach by studying for a Postgraduate Diploma or a Postgraduate Certificate. Giving you credits you can apply to the full MA Education. So you're in an advanced position on your MA Education course.

Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificates

Progress your professional practice with a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate Awards.

Study with colleagues with similar professional interests. Where you can share experiences, to develop your knowledge and practice.

You'll conduct a research project on your own practice. Building your specialist skills to meet your professional needs.

All the courses have a flexible structure that will help you study while you are working. You'll receive expert tuition from experienced lecturers to succeed on your course.

†Applicants to the Artist Teacher Practice should be working in art education in some capacity. Applicants do not need Qualified Teacher Status. 

For further information on any of our Postgraduate Certificate Awards please email pg-education@brookes.ac.uk or Tel: +44 (0)1865 488617.

Continuing Professional Development

What we offer

CECD staff have decades of experience in providing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and training for teachers and educational professionals. We adopt a portfolio approach to CPD for teachers, connecting our different training events as part of a coherent programme of development. This personalised portfolio approach allows teachers to develop best practice that is innovative, critical, cohesive and forward-thinking, while encouraging retention and the development of in-school expertise. At CECD we tailor the content of our CPD provision to meet the specific needs of educational practitioners and schools.

In addition to our portfolio model, we can also design one-off CPD and training courses and events.

We also offer the opportunity to transfer CPD experiences into academic credit that can be used towards the completion of one of our accredited postgraduate qualifications.

To find out more please contact email  education-cecd@brookes.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 1865 488511.

Facilities

School Experience Centre

Our School Experience Centre is a treasure trove of learning materials that you can borrow for your lessons, when you are on teaching placement.

Resources available

There is a wide range of literature to support the teaching of English in Key Stages 1 and 2 along with a large selection of books and resource packs that can be used to support the teaching of the core and broader curriculum. Musical instruments, story sacks and mathematics manipulatives are among the wide range of other resources that can be borrowed to support on-placement learning. 

More information about what is available from the School Experience Centre and how to contact the librarian is below:

Teaching and research staff

Professor Patrick Alexander

Professor Patrick Alexander

Professor of Education and Anthropology

Ms Jane Alexander

Ms Jane Alexander

Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and Education Studies

Dr Carol Brown

Dr Carol Brown

Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education; Faculty Ethics Officer; Subject Co-ordinator EdD programme

Dr Carmel Capewell

Dr Carmel Capewell

Lecturer in Child Development and Education/SEN/Inclusion

Ms Clare Fenwick

Ms Clare Fenwick

Programme Lead - Postgraduate Education

 Stephanie Flower

Stephanie Flower

Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education (Maths)

 Christine Ivory

Christine Ivory

Senior Lecturer in Child Development and Education/SEN/Inclusion

 Katie Lee

Katie Lee

Senior Lecturer in Post-Compulsory Education

Professor Deb McGregor

Professor Deb McGregor

Emeritus Professor in Education

 Victoria Pratt

Victoria Pratt

Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and Education

 Susan Read

Susan Read

Senior Lecturer in Education and Primary English

Dr Jonathan  Reid

Dr Jonathan Reid

Senior Lecturer in Child Development and SEN/ Inclusion

Dr Linda  Shaw

Dr Linda Shaw

Senior Lecturer in Child Development and Education

Professor Jane Spiro

Professor Jane Spiro

Emeritus Professor in Education and TESOL, National Teaching Fellow

Dr Louise Stafford

Dr Louise Stafford

Programme Lead - Undergraduate Education

Professor Mary Wild

Professor Mary Wild

Emeritus Professor of Child Development & Education

Dr Susannah Wright

Dr Susannah Wright

Reader in Education Studies and Postgraduate Research Tutor