Birmingham Newman University offers a foundation year to complement our undergraduate degrees. The Foundation Year is the first year of a four-year degree in Adult Nursing.

The foundation year provides an alternative route to studying Adult Nursing for those unable to meet the traditional entry requirements for this degree programme. Apply via UCAS for BSc Adult Nursing (with Foundation Year) and after successfully completing the foundation year you will progress onto the remaining three years of the degree, dependent on meeting the progression requirements.

What is the Foundation Year?

The Foundation Year at Birmingham Newman University is the first year of a four year degree. It is designed for students who do not have the qualifications or experience for direct entry onto a three-year undergraduate programme.

If you’re thinking about returning to education after a break or if you’ve had some tough times in education before, the Foundation Year at Birmingham Newman University will support you and help you succeed.

Why should I study a Foundation Year?

Birmingham Newman’s Foundation Year will provide you with opportunities to:

• Develop confidence in your skills and abilities
• Develop an understanding of what is needed to be a successful undergraduate student
• Gain knowledge of your academic discipline

What will I study during the Foundation Year?

The integrated foundation year focuses on helping you think critically and feel confident in your studies. It begins with an exploration of how you learn, and gives you the space to learn in your own way.

The goal of the Foundation Year is not just to get you ready for your next year of studies but to make sure you feel connected to your chosen subject and to the university community. You’ll explore interesting topics like identity, inequality, and think about what it means to be human in a digital world.

The combination of seminar discussions, active workshops, online activities and one-to-one support will enable you to develop the skills you’ll need to succeed in the rest of your degree.

Find out more about the Foundation Year here.

Our programme is developed in partnership with our skilled academic staff, clinical practice partners and experts by experience. The course at Newman University, puts people at the centre of care delivery. As a nursing student at Newman you will develop into a professional nurse who can assess and manage the health needs of people, at some of the most challenging times of their lives.

Our aim is to initially support your academic development in the first year so that you can blossom into a graduate nurse who is able to work flexibly across a range of healthcare settings and meet the health needs of the whole person. We will work with you on your development to help you become a skilled, knowledgeable, emotionally intelligent nurse, able to lead and co-ordinate compassionate, evidence-based, person- and family-centred care while working as an integral member of the interdisciplinary team.

As a student nurse with Newman University, you will gain theoretical and practice knowledge to develop a range of key skills. This will include: exploring the evidence that underpins person- and family-centred care; professional values; self-leadership; and the role of the registered nurse.

As you progress through the programme you will explore evidence-based complex care incorporating a wide range of research, skills, team leadership and principles of coordinating care. You will be supported to build on your previous learning and develop proficiency in adult nursing. The modules you study will develop you as a leader who uses research-informed critical thinking to co-ordinate care, supervise other health professionals and gain confidence in the safe management of medication.

You will have individual support throughout the programme through a named personal tutor. The tuition will enrich your learning experiences and will enable you to reflect meaningfully on your practice and the development of your individual field identity.

As part of the course you will be provided with practice placements to help you develop your nursing skills and knowledge in a variety of settings. Your placement learning experiences may be within community, hospital or home environment settings and at a location anywhere within the West Midlands and potentially into neighbouring counties. You should be aware that placements are valuable learning experiences and cannot be chosen. While on placement you will be supported, supervised and assessed by practice and academic staff to develop your knowledge and skills.

We are committed to providing excellent, innovative, learning, teaching and assessment experiences, through lectures, seminars, skills simulation, virtual learning as well as meaningful input from our practice partners and experts by experience. As part of the course we will enable you to develop the independent learning skills that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement.

Whilst on the course you will benefit from some of the best university facilities of their kind, including clinical skills suites and our state-of-the-art immersive suite. Our experienced and enthusiastic teaching team will provide full support to help you achieve your ambitions. The foundation year will help you develop the academic skills required to flourish on the BSc Nursing course. You will study alongside like-minded individuals, taught by academic’s from the BSc Nursing course with considerable nursing experience. Toward the end of the year, you will have a meeting with your personal tutor to ensure you have completed the necessary foundation year components and have the values and skills you need to prosper on the BSC Nursing course.

This course is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), enabling you to apply for Registered Nurse status when you complete your degree.

This highly respected course represents your first step into a profession it is a privilege to join.

Find out why you should choose Newman University from our Head of Adult Nursing and Health & Social Care, Kevin Crimmons

• Funding – Nursing students will receive at least £5,000 a year in additional funding for maintenance and associated study costs once you have completed the foundation year and progressed to your level 4 studies – see NHS release.
• You will benefit from our new state of the art clinical simulation and immersive suites.
• We offer smaller class sizes and excellent academic and pastoral support for our students
• You will have the opportunity to study on an inter professional basis alongside other nursing and allied health students.
• Birmingham is one of the UK’s most diverse cities outside of London, which provides you with a wide variety of experience that will be valuable to take forward into your future career.
• Student finance – have you already had a student loan to study an undergraduate degree but would like to do a second degree in nursing, midwifery or the allied health professions? You may still be eligible for funding.

Our adult nursing degree will enable you to become a registered nurse. You will learn from a highly experienced and passionate teaching team who will provide support to help you achieve your nursing ambition. Working with a number of practice partners you will gain practical experience on a range of clinical placements once you have completed the foundation year and begin your level 4 studies. The new clinical suite, including a state-of-the-art immersive lab has just been completed.

1. Our adult nursing and mental health nursing degrees will enable you to become a registered Nurse.
2. You will learn from a highly experienced and passionate teaching team who will provide support you to help you to achieve your ambition.
3. We work with a number of practice partners to give you essential practical experience on a range of clinical placements.
4. You will benefit from our new clinical skills suite including a state-of-the-art immersive lab.
5. Our nursing programmes are subject to accreditation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Find out here how our state of the art simulation equipment, and partnerships with leading healthcare trusts, will help you to prepare you for your chosen career.