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Nursing (Blended Learning) Learning Disability BSc(Hons)

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Start Dates

21 September 2026

Duration

3 years full-time

UCAS Tariff

120-112

Recent Awards For Excellence

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About this course

Overview

Why choose Huddersfield for this course?

  • Our blended learning nursing courses give you the opportunity to study flexibly around life commitments, thanks to digital technologies.
  • You’ll learn key clinical skills through simulated-based learning, on-campus skills sessions, as well as placements in a range of settings.
  • You’ll learn from experienced health professionals and service users whose real-world insights bring teaching to life.

Accreditation and Professional Links

Recognised connections to give you an extra edge when you graduate. Read More

Are you looking to pursue an interesting and exciting career in nursing?

Learning disability nurses are qualified to work with individuals with learning disabilities – from childhood through to end of life. They work in a person-centred way and are passionate about rights, choice, inclusion, and equality.

Our Nursing (Blended Learning) Learning Disability BSc(Hons) course has been designed for those who would like to become a nurse and are located within the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, Cheshire and Merseyside, North West, Cumbria or North Lincolnshire. If you are located outside these areas, please visit Health Education England for more information.

Supporting individuals with learning disabilities is an enriching and life-affirming experience – and if you’re passionate about meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder, Learning Disability Nursing could be for you. The career opportunities of a learning disability nurse are varied, too, including roles within community teams, specialist behaviour teams, nursing care, autism services, children’s services, assessment and treatment services, mental health, and palliative care.

The course is designed to help you become a competent, caring, and compassionate nurse. You’ll have the opportunity to develop communication and interpersonal skills, become confident in person-centred approaches, and develop and hone leadership and management skills. This will also help improve your evidence-based decision making and team working, as well.

Why study Nursing (Blended Learning) Learning Disability BSc(Hons)

This blended learning course provides a flexible way to study using mainly digital technologies. You’ll attend the campus for a maximum total of 20 days per year of the course and you’ll also undertake practice placements across the NHS and healthcare organisations. These will take place in a wide range of clinical practice settings, allowing you to provide care and support for both children and adults.

You'll be taught by a team who really understand what it is like be a learning disability nurse. Individuals with learning disabilities are also involved in the development of our teaching materials and will work with you on campus.

You’ll learn online through seminars and group work and have the chance to be part of an online community, to showcase your work, collaborate with peers and establish relationships with tutors. You’ll also learn through independent, self-directed study, developing confidence in your self-discipline and organisational skills.

Also, our Public Partnership Group (PPG) and Health and Wellbeing Academy work together to support your development as a compassionate, person-centred professional. You’ll engage with service users and carers through lectures, discussions, and simulations. Their lived experiences will help to build your communication skills, empathy, and the critical thinking needed to deliver outstanding care across diverse communities. While our Health and Wellbeing Academy offers hands-on placement opportunities through initiatives like Get Set Goal and Restart a Heart. These experiences will help you build skills in communication, public health, leadership, and teamwork while making a real impact in the community.

The University’s new Daphne Steele Building is now open on the site of the National Health Innovation campus, too, allowing Learning Disability Nursing students to benefit from specialist clinical teaching facilities and world-leading research facilities.

After successful completion of the course, you can apply to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and work as a Registered Learning Disability Nurse.

Students on this course may be eligible to receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each year – find out more on the NHS Learning Support Fund Website.

Not quite ready to start Nursing (Blended Learning) Learning Disability BSc(Hons)? Successful completion of our Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degreewill equip you with the foundation knowledge to study Learning Disability Nursing.

Who can apply?

Entry Requirements

BBB-BBC at A Level. If you are studying A Level Science, the endorsement for practical work is essential and a requirement for entry to our degree course.
120-112 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications. If you are studying A Level Science, the endorsement for practical work is essential and a requirement for entry to our degree course.
DDM-DMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.
NCFE CACHE Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma/Level 3 Extended Diploma at grade B.
Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits, 15 at Distinction, 30 at Merit.
Merit at T Level
120-112 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

This course has been designed for those who would like to become a nurse and are located within the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, Cheshire and Merseyside, North West, Cumbria or North Lincolnshire. If you are located outside these areas please visit Health Education England for information on your nearest course provider.

In addition, you must have GCSE English Language or English Literature and Maths at grade 4 or above, or grade C or above if awarded under the previous GCSE grading scheme, or Ofqual regulated Level 2 Functional Skills in Maths and English.

If you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry to this degree you may be able to apply to our Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degree.

You must demonstrate that you have a broad understanding of learning disability nursing, as well as relevant work experience (employment or voluntary) highlighting your transferable skills.

You must have access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and the ability to access and use online study guidance and support as this course is delivered through distance learning.

Offers will be subject to an interview and references. Please note all the information provided in support of your application may be checked and must be verifiable as a true record.

You’ll need a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and occupational health clearances prior to registration on the course. We arrange these as part of the application process. You'll be required to sign a self-declaration at the start of each year and at the end of the course. All police contact during the course must be reported to the course leader as a matter of urgency and may lead to suspension or termination. We will request an Overseas Police Check if you have lived in a country outside of the UK for 6 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years before applying to us and whilst aged 18 or over.

Placement providers for this course may require you to have received a number of vaccinations, unless medically exempt, and provide evidence of these. As a student on a course with a clinical or healthcare placement, we strongly recommend that you complete any courses of vaccinations required under current guidelines for your future profession. Failure to do so may result in your inability to undertake a placement in certain clinical settings, therefore impacting upon your academic progression, and may result in academic failure of your course.

You must meet the NMC (2018c) entry requirements in respect of literacy and numeracy, good character and good health.

You may be eligible to gain accreditation for your prior learning towards this course. Please note that the course you are applying for is regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) which allows a maximum of 50% of credits for the award to be conferred through accreditation of prior learning.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

If you have alternative qualifications, including the nursing associate foundation degree, you may wish to contact us for advice before applying. Please note places are limited and attainment of the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an interview or offer. You must include details of any previous study. Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

What will you learn?

Course Details

This module involves exploring your development as a professional, examining your personal and professional attitudes and beliefs, as well as relating these to your future professional role as a learning disability nurse. You’ll gain an understanding about how you can develop as a learner and maintain your physical and mental health, so you are able to promote and support people who have learning disabilities with their health. You’ll also learn how to manage the transition to university and explore ethical and professional codes underpinning learning disability nursing.

This module provides the opportunity for you to develop the fundamental knowledge and skills to provide effective person-centred care specifically for people with a learning disability, as well as people of all ages from conception to end of life, with a range of physical, mental health and cognitive care needs. You’ll learn about the principles of holistic assessment and management of well and sick people of all ages. You’ll also have the opportunity to gain an understanding of development through the lifespan by exploring the principles of anatomy and physiology, as well as be introduced to pharmacology and medicines administration.

This module provides the opportunity for you to develop the fundamental skills of nursing practice including personal hygiene, infection control, undertaking observations and basic life support. You’ll complete a practice learning experience where you'll put the theory you have learnt into practice.

This module provides you with an opportunity to further develop the fundamental skills of nursing practice including personal hygiene, infection control, undertaking observations and basic life support. You’ll complete a practice learning experience, where you’ll put the theory you’ve learnt into practice.

This module introduces you to the nature of knowledge and how it supports evidenced-based nursing practice. You’ll learn about how to search for and read evidence to identify its value and relevance to nursing practice. You’ll explore how to evaluate published research and will be introduced to the concept of ethics within healthcare research. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop and use a variety of transferable skills including literature searching, critical appraisal of evidence and application of evidence to your own and the nursing practice of others.

This module builds on the year one Becoming a Professional and supports you to develop the professional knowledge and transferable skills needed to become a Registered Nurse. You'll gain an understanding of professional, legal, and ethical frameworks, and their role in your clinical decision-making. You'll also develop the knowledge, understanding and skills required for effective leadership, management, and teamworking to enable you to positively influence management, decisions, and care delivery of patients and service-users in your care.

This module builds on the knowledge and skills you developed in Year 1. You’ll expand your range of assessment skills and apply them to more complex care encounters with people with learning disabilities. You’ll use your knowledge to recognise deterioration and begin to identify appropriate interventions to meet the care needs for people with a range of complex physical, mental health and cognitive care needs. You’ll also plan care needs and begin to formulate care plans to meet the needs of individuals and groups of people in your care.

This module builds on the Understanding Knowledge and Evidence for Nursing module in Year 1 and introduces you to the design of research studies, including literature reviews and empirical studies. You’ll have the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills of research methods and design preparing you to undertake a study relevant to learning disability nursing in Year 3. You’ll also learn about research ethics, data collection, analysis and research approaches including qualitative, qualitative and mixed method studies, literature reviews undertaken systematically, systematic reviews and audits. For those apprentices with a Nursing Associate qualification, this module may not be required. If so, you would spend this time back on base with your employer.

This module provides you with the opportunity to develop a wider range of skills in nursing practice including cannulation and phlebotomy. You’ll complete a practice learning experience, where you’ll put the theory you’ve learnt into practice.

This module provides you with the opportunity to further develop your skills in nursing practice including cannulation and phlebotomy. You’ll complete a practice learning experience, where you’ll put the theory you’ve learnt into practice.

This module builds on professionally themed modules in Year 1 and 2 to consolidate your preparation to become a qualified nurse. You’ll have the opportunity to develop future nurse leader skills to prepare you to positively influence care beyond the organisation to a national and global level. You’ll also have the chance to develop skills in promoting quality care and service improvements across and beyond the organisation. The module prepares you to undertake the role of teacher to individuals and groups, as well as the role of practice supervisor for future nurses.

This module builds on the knowledge and skills developed in Year 1 and 2, enabling you to further develop your critical understanding of assessment skills to recognise and respond appropriately to the deteriorating patient. You’ll have the opportunity to expand your range of assessment skills and apply them under minimum supervision whilst managing and coordinating the care of people with learning disabilities with a range of conditions varying in complexity and in a range of settings. The module also assists you to develop skills in advanced care management and complex discharge or transfer planning.

This module provides the opportunity for you to gain fundamental skills of nursing practice including intravenous medicine administration. You’ll complete a practice learning experience where you’ll put the theory you’ve learnt into practice.

This module provides you with the opportunity to further gain fundamental skills of nursing practice including intravenous medicines administration. You’ll complete a practice learning experience where you’ll put the theory you’ve learnt into practice.

This module builds on the evidence and research modules in Year 1 and 2, enabling you to systematically undertake a literature review or a small-scale research project based on the research proposal developed in Year 2. You’ll use one of a variety of approaches including qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, audit or a review of literature undertaken in a systematic way within the learning disability nursing field. You’ll also be involved in data collection and analysis.

Teaching and Assessment

Discover what to expect from your tutor contact time, assessment methods, and feedback process.

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Global Professional Award

At Huddersfield, you’ll study the award-winning Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* — so you’re ready for the career you want, whatever subject you choose.

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Interested in a placement?

Placements

Nothing can really replicate working in the real-world, which is why practice placements are essential and a compulsory part of the course. The Nursing and Midwifery Council require you to complete the minimum of 2300 hours over the three years in order to obtain registration. Each year you'll complete two blocks of placement, which may include simulation.

You'll have the opportunity to complete your practice learning experiences in a diverse range of health and social care settings, reflecting the diversity of the services accessed by people with a learning disability. This may include community teams, nursing and residential homes, supported living services, schools, short break services, day opportunities or hospitals and clinics. You may also have the opportunity to work within forensic services, prisons, palliative care and youth offending services.

You'll be supervised during your practical experiences by a variety of professionals/experts in the area of care who will provide you with any required help and advice. In order to provide you with the broadest professional experience possible, practice experiences generally cover 24 hour care including evening, weekend and occasional night shifts.

Please note that you will be required to travel to and during your placements. The University will make every effort to secure a placement close to your home – when this is not possible, you may need to travel to a location that is anywhere within the wider Calderdale, Kirklees, and Wakefield metropolitan districts of West Yorkshire, including both hospital and community-based placements. If your placement is unlikely to be close to home you will be advised of this during the application process. You need to think very carefully about how you’ll travel to and from your placements with awareness that when in placement you’ll often be required to start a shift at 7.00am and may not finish until 8.00pm. Your placements will also incorporate night-shift and weekend working.

Also, our Health a

My placements enabled me to enhance my knowledge of the different settings and roles for a Learning Disability Nurse. The staff at the placements were supportive and friendly. I have developed my confidence as they provided the opportunity to learn and develop in a safe environment.

- Grace Molloy
Studying Nursing (Blended Learning) Learning Disability BSc(Hons)

Where could this lead you?

Your Career

Possible career opportunities include working as nurses in local healthcare trusts, charities and short-term care providers, as well as igh profile leadership roles supporting people with learning disabilities and specialist needs or roles within specialist assessment and treatment areas.After qualification there is an extensive range of training and career opportunities, which include becoming a manager for local service providers, epilepsy nurse, safeguarding nurse, behavioural specialist or forensic care nurse. Other opportunities include working in dual diagnosis services or specialist services for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, specialist nurse for drug management, consultant nurse specialist or nurse lecturer, as well as a policy maker and advisor at a national or local level.

100%
Graduates from this subject area were in work and/or further study 15 months after graduation.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 21/22, UK Domiciled

How much will it cost?

Fees and Finance

£9,790 per year

This information is for Home students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

From January 2027 the UK government is launching a new student funding system for people starting university education. Read more about the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE).

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/study/fees/

£19,800 per year

This information is for international students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/international/fees-and-funding/

Placement Funding:
Throughout your studies placements may incur additional costs for accommodation, parking and travel. You may be able to claim costs back through the Learning Support Fund (LSF).
We strongly encourage you to read the information available on the NHS Learning Support Fund Website to understand your eligibility and how the LSF works: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund-lsf

Uniform:
Students receive an initial set of uniforms required for placement. After these have been issued, any additional uniforms may incur a cost. In 2025/26, one extra set costs approximately £30

Students studying eligible courses may receive a non-replayable grant of at least £5,000 per year.

NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF) | NHSBSA

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Gallery

Staff and service users forge relationships through interaction with an infinity panel

Service user interaction with an infinity panel.

Using sensory equipment to connect at a sensory level and communicate beyond words

Multi-sensory equipment in our dedicated room.

student and service user explore choice using the interactive floor projection

Student interactive session with service users.

Service users exploring the interactive floor projection

Service users, using interactive floor projection.

Chantelle with fibre optic lights

Fibre optic light stimulate/soothe clients needs.

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Blended Learning Nursing

Watch this video to find out more about what our Blended Learning Nursing courses entail at the University of Huddersfield.

What is Learning Disability Nursing?

This video provides an insight into the profession, in terms of what learning disability nursing is, what the role of a learning disability nurse involves, where they work and who they work with.

Words to represent Learning Disability Nursing

Through this video you can gain an insight into the words that represent the profession of learning disability nursing.

Daphne Steele Facilities Tour

Join student Ruth as she takes you on a tour of the University's state-of-the-art Daphne Steele Building, part of our National Health Innovation Campus. Explore cutting-edge learning spaces, including immersive simulation rooms, clinical labs, and real-world training environments. Designed to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Why Hud

Explore the unique opportunities and resources that make our institution a top choice for students seeking a well-rounded and future-focused education.

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Explore Huddersfield

Make Huddersfield your home. A Yorkshire town, surrounded by beautiful countryside, with easy access to neighbouring cities; Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield. You’ll find plenty of places to eat, drink, shop and socialise, there’s ambitious plans for future development. Our campus is situated next to the town centre - making your commute a breeze.

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Your Student Experience

Get involved in great opportunities helping you to make friends from all across the world and create lifelong memories. Join one of over 100 societies with the Students’ Union, experience new cultures through global events, earn whilst you learn and build your skills via our Global Professional Award.

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Budget Friendly

Huddersfield is not only one of the friendliest towns, it also offers you a lower cost of living than most big cities. This means you could have more money to spend, making your uni experience even better. On campus you’ll also find plenty of facilities and services to help you budget and make your money go further.

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We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.

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At the University of Huddersfield, you’ll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you’ll soon discover that you’re never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.

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Great teaching is engaging and inspiring — it helps you reach your full potential and prepares you for the future. We don’t just teach well — we excel — and we have the awards and recognition to prove it.

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Inspiring Academics

Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the Department of Nursing may teach you on this course.

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Research Excellence

You’ll be taught by staff who want to support your learning and share the latest knowledge and research.

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Accommodation

Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.

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If you want to continue your learning beyond your undergraduate degree, there is a range of financial support available for postgraduate study, including discounts for Huddersfield graduates.

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Legal information

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and if you are unhappy with the change we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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