ATL

Professional development through Edge Hill

Edge Hill University in one of the UK's leading providers of professional development for the wider education workforce and has a highly successful track record in enabling staff to gain academic credit through portfolio evidence of professional activities undertaken on the job.

In the last academic year, 5,000 teachers took advantage of the University's innovative opportunities for professional development.

In partnership

ATL and Edge Hill University have established a unique partnership so all ATL members have access to Edge Hill University's flexible accreditation programmes.

ATL members will have the opportunity to undertake a variety of accredited activities at postgraduate level, and there are also routes through to Qualified Teacher Status for those without a formal teaching qualification.

You will be able to complete your degree mainly though 'naturally occurring evidence' from your workplace, and you can access modules and accreditation by attending ATL courses, Edge Hill modules or workplace projects. Degrees can be completed in manageable chunks and studying via Edge Hill also shows an engagement with CPD for performance management purposes.

What's on offer?

For staff with a first degree, accreditation is available at postgraduate level, up to and including a MA in Education. For members without a first degree, there are options at undergraduate level.

Edge Hill's accreditation routes are designed to be flexible, innovative and focussed on impact in the workplace. What is more, they are work-based and online so you do not have to travel to an Edge Hill centre to study.

The partnership between ATL and Edge Hill only covers accreditation awarded by Edge Hill, for work submitted to Edge Hill, by ATL members. The partnership agreement between Edge Hill and ATL does not cover payment of fees to any third party for tuition delivered to ATL members by that third party.

Extra rewards for NQ/probationer members

To reward you for your hard work in your first year of teaching, Edge Hill will offer you 20 free Masters credits (and ATL will offer £35 discount off your next year's membership, on top of the 50% membership discount you will receive when you start paying subscriptions) when you complete your compulsory Career Entry and Development Profile (CEDP) at transition points 1, 2 and 3 (as you would anyway) and submit it for accreditation.

Next steps

For information about course structure and fees, see What's involved? You can also find out more by looking at some frequently asked questions. 

If you are interested in gaining a new qualification through ATL's partnership with Edge Hill, contact your local Union Learning Rep for more local advice and support. Or, for more information about accredited workplace learning and through Edge Hill University, you can call Edge Hill on 01257 517117 or email pd@edgehill.ac.uk. Alternatively, register your interest in learning through Edge Hill with ATL and we will be in touch.