Key information
For:
starting September 2027
Accreditation:
This course is Accredited
Showing content for section Overview
Overview
If you're looking to develop your leadership potential while building specialist expertise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and inclusion, this Master's course will prepare you to lead positive change across educational settings.
Designed for professionals working in education and related sectors, as well as graduates seeking to specialise, the course explores how effective leadership can create inclusive environments where all learners can succeed. You'll examine educational leadership and management alongside SEND policy, legislation and inclusive practice, gaining a deeper understanding of how organisations can respond to diverse learner needs.
Drawing on current research and professional practice, you'll develop the skills to lead teams, influence policy and support inclusive cultures within schools, colleges and other educational organisations. You'll also build advanced abilities in critical enquiry, professional reflection and Master's-level research.
When you graduate, you'll be equipped to lead, manage and advocate for inclusive practice, helping to improve educational experiences and outcomes for children and young people.
Looking to develop your leadership and management expertise across education more broadly? Please take a look at our MSc Educational Leadership and Management course.
Eligibility
This course accepts UK, EU, and International students.
Course highlights
- Combine educational leadership and management studies with specialist SEND and inclusion expertise
- Develop an advanced understanding of SEND, inclusive education and educational equity
- Explore leadership strategies for creating inclusive learning environments and organisational cultures
- Examine current SEND legislation, policy and safeguarding frameworks
- Critically evaluate educational leadership, management and organisational improvement practices
- Learn from academics with expertise in educational leadership, inclusion and educational research
- Complete an independent research project focused on leadership, SEND or inclusive education
This is a new course and we're finalising the detailed information for this page.
Contact information
Contact AdmissionsEntry requirements
Eligibility
This course accepts UK, EU, and International students.
September 2027 / January 2028 start
- A minimum of a second-class honours degree, and experience in education within any organisation.
Please get in touch if you're not sure if your undergraduate subject is relevant to this degree.
Equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications will also be considered, such as previous study, employment, voluntary work and training courses, including courses and qualifications you didn't complete. Learn more about our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
If you're applying as an international student with a non-UK degree, you’ll need to show you meet the UK entry requirements listed above.
To find out if your non-UK degree or other qualification is accepted, please visit our page for your country and view the UK equivalent of your qualification.
- English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.
You do not need an IELTS or equivalent certification if:
- you have a UK degree
- you have a degree from a majority English speaking country (not taught by Distance Learning)
- you are a national of a majority English speaking country
Degrees taught solely in English from non-majority English speaking countries will be considered on a case by case basis. Find out more about our English language requirements.
If you do not meet the English language requirements yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
Course costs and funding
Tuition fees (September 2027 / January 2028 start)
Course fees for 2027/28 will be confirmed shortly.
Course fees for 2027/28 will be confirmed shortly.
University of Portsmouth graduates may receive a 20% alumni tuition fee discount.
Fees are subject to annual increase. Read our tuition fees terms and conditions.
You'll be able to pay your fees in instalments. Find out how to pay your tuition fees.
Funding your studies
Explore how to fund your studies, including available scholarships and bursaries.
If you're a UK student choosing to study MSc Educational Leadership and Management with SEND and Inclusion, you may be eligible for a Government Postgraduate Master's Loan, which you can use to help with course fees and living costs. This loan is not available for PgDip or PgCert students.
Loans, scholarships and bursaries
Browse funding such as the Government Postgraduate Loan, our scholarships for new and returning students, and subject specific loans.
Funding for international students
Learn more about sponsorships, scholarships and loans for students applying from outside of the UK.
Fees and funding for Master's courses
Explore Master's funding options, including loans, scholarships, bursaries and more.
Additional costs
These course-related costs aren't included in the tuition fees, so you'll need to budget for them when you plan your spending. Additional costs could include:
- Accommodation: Accommodation options and costs can be found on our accommodation pages.
- Recommended reading: You can borrow key texts from the library and if you choose to purchase these texts they may cost up to £60 each.
- General costs: Such as photocopying, memory sticks, printing charges, binding and specialist printing. We suggest budgeting £75 per year.
- Final project transport or accommodation: where necessary, which related to your research activities. The amount will depend on the project you choose.
Read more about tuition fees and living costs, including what your tuition fees cover.
Modules
Full-time
Core modules
You’ll gain insider perspectives on the policy-making process, from agenda-setting to real-world implementation.
Study change models, quality control approaches and evaluation methods driving systemic improvements.
You’ll explore motivating leadership styles that empower organisations and communities, and investigate education governance across institutional, local, national and global contexts.
You’ll design and write up an education research proposal for your dissertation.
You’ll start by thinking about any research skills you might need to improve on and develop ways to strengthen your skillset, through core training, chosen focus areas and applied learning.
Then, you’ll work on your own postgraduate research proposal planning out the specific research methods you’ll use and taking ethical issues into account. You’ll include clear objectives and document your literature and data sources.
You’ll explore key and contemporary human resource theory, focusing on employee motivation, capabilities development and organisational culture change.
You’ll consider educator identity, wellbeing, evaluation and support systems alongside leadership pipelines and approaches to talent optimisation.
Analyse real-world case studies investigating recruitment, professional learning, conflict resolution, team dynamics and resource constraints.
With academic guidance, you'll choose your own literature or empirical topic within a field of education that fits the parameters of your intended Master’s exit award.
You'll bring together everything you’ve learned to design and evaluate ethical methodologies, conduct systematic research, and communicate your ideas professionally in your dissertation or report.
You’ll examine real-world issues impacting neurodiverse and disabled learners, reviewing the latest research alongside public policies and practices.
You’ll evaluate inclusion models, family partnerships and transition programs, and question how systems, tools and culture might transform to foster agency and dignity for diverse minds and bodies.
Changes to course content
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, course content is revised and regularly reviewed. This may result in changes being made in order to reflect developments in research, learning from practice and changes in policy at both national and local levels.
How you'll spend your time
We recognise that you'll probably be juggling more demands when you do your Master's degree, as you may be working or you may have family responsibilities.
We'll give you as much indication here as we can of how much time you'll need to be on campus and how many hours you can expect to spend in self-directed study, but please note that these indications are always subject to change. You should receive your full timetable several weeks before you start with us.
Course structure
This MSc acourse will take:
- 1 year (full-time)
You can expect:
- Typically 8-12 hours a week in scheduled teaching activities.
- Up to 10 hours of independent study per module each week
If you choose to study the MSc version of this course, you will spend the last 3 months focusing on your dissertation or major project.
Master's study is deeper and more specialised than an undergraduate degree. This means you'll focus on something that really matters to you and your career as you work closely with academics committed to the subject.
You'll spend more time in independent study and research than you did for your undergraduate degree, but the majority of your teaching time will be in-person and face-to-face.
Teaching methods on this course include:
- seminars
- group work
- lectures
- student presentations
- one-to-one tutorials
Assessment
You could be assessed through:
- case studies
- essays
- reports
- presentations
- research proposal
- dissertation
- applied project focussed on SEND or inclusion
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
Teaching staff
These are some of the expert staff who'll teach you on this course:
Term dates
September start
The Master's academic year runs from September to the following September. There are breaks at Christmas and Easter. Over the summer you'll be writing your project / dissertation.
January start
Courses that start in January have the same amount of teaching as September-start courses, but they normally run over a longer time period.
January-start courses normally run between 14–18 months, beginning in January and ending in the spring / summer of the following year. There are breaks at Christmas, Easter and in the summer. In the last few months you’ll be writing your project / dissertation.
Joining us as an international student
You'll feel at home in our international community and our diverse city. You'll be joining over 5,000 international students from more than 150 countries who are studying with us.
Learn more about international student life and how we can help you with visas, applications, arrival and settling in.
Career development
Careers this postgraduate degree prepares you for
This course prepares you to support and lead inclusive practice across education, health and care settings, helping to improve outcomes and wellbeing for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
As a graduate, you'll be equipped to influence policy, practice and provision, contributing to more inclusive schools, services and communities. Your expertise can help reduce educational disadvantage, improve access to learning and support greater social mobility for children and young people with diverse needs.
Ares you could work in:
- Schools and colleges
- Specialist SEND provision
- Local authorities and advisory services
- Educational charities and third-sector organisations
- Health, care and multi-agency support services
Potential job roles include:
- SEN Teacher
- Inclusion Lead
- Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO (subject to additional statutory training where required))
- Specialist support or advisory roles
- Education, Health or Care Policy Officer
- Specialist Inclusion Roles within schools, local authorities or support services
Further study
You could continue your academic and professional development through:
- Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD)
- Specialist professional qualifications in SEND, inclusion or educational leadership
Career planning
During your course you'll have expert career support from your tutors and from our Careers and Employability Centre, which you can access for 5 years after you graduate.
You'll benefit from:
- Networking events
- 1-to-1 appointments
- CV and cover letter advice
- Interview preparation and practice
- Workshops to enhance your employability skills
- Recruitment events including the Student and Graduate Opportunities Fair
- Support starting your own business
Supporting you
Master's study is more focused on independent learning than undergraduate study, but you'll get lots of support via video and phone from teaching and support staff to enhance your learning experience and help you succeed. If you choose to study on-campus, you'll also get face-to-face support. You can build your personalised network of support from the following people and services:
Types of support
Your Personal Academic Tutor gives you academic guidance throughout your course.
As well as regular scheduled meetings with your personal academic tutor, they're also available at set times during the week if you want to chat with them about anything that can't wait until your next meeting.
You'll have help from a team of faculty learning development tutors. They can help you improve and develop your academic skills and support you in any area of your study.
They can help with:
- Improving your academic writing (for example, essays, reports, dissertations)
- Delivering presentations (including observing and filming presentations)
- Understanding and using assignment feedback
- Managing your time and workload
- Revision and exam techniques
There may be support available on this course through the partner college it is delivered by, for skills such as note taking, referencing and presentation skills. Please contact student services at the college for more information about accessing this type of support.
You can access information on the personal, emotional and mental health support available to you from your college. They can help you understand the support available locally, as well as other support that might be available to you to help you engage with your studies and improve your wellbeing.
If you require extra support because of a disability or additional learning need, your partner college should be your first point of contact for arranging reasonable adjustments.
However, our University specialist team is also available to offer advice and guidance if needed. We can help you:
-
Explore reasonable adjustments in collaboration with your partner college
-
Liaise with other University services and facilities, such as the library
-
Connect with external services where appropriate
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Provide advice and support on accessing the Disabled Student Allowance (DSA)
Library staff are available in person or by email, phone, or online chat to help you make the most of the University's library resources. You can also request one-to-one appointments and get support from librarians who specialise in your subject.
The library is open 24 hours a day, every day, in term time.
The Maths Café offers advice and assistance with mathematical skills in a friendly, informal environment. You can come to our daily drop-in sessions, develop your maths skills at a workshop or use our online resources.
If English isn't your first language, you can do one of our English language courses to improve your written and spoken English language skills before starting your degree. Once you're here, you can take part in our free In-Sessional English (ISE) programme to improve your English further.
How to apply
Unlike undergraduate applications, which go through UCAS, applications for this Master's course are made directly to us.
There's no fixed deadline for applications to this course for UK applicants. We accept applications right up until the start dates in September and January, as long as there are places available. If you wait until your start month to apply, you may find that the course is full.
If you're applying as an international student, please note that application deadlines may differ. You’ll need to allow enough time for your application to be processed and for visa arrangements. Click here for relevant application deadlines for international students.
You can find more advice about applying in our Master's application checklist. International students, as well as current students and recent graduates of the University of Portsmouth, also have some different application options, which are detailed below.
You need to choose MSc Educational Leadership and Management when you apply for this course, because it is a ‘pathway’ course. This is where you study MSc Educational Leadership and Management in depth, with an additional module in SEND and Inclusion. You’ll then graduate with a MSc Educational Leadership and Management with SEND and Inclusion degree when you complete the course.
Ready to apply?
Start this course in September 2027
Apply now (Full-time) – 1 year
Start this course in January 2028
Extra information for international students
If you're an international student, you can apply directly to us using the same application form as UK students.
You could also get an agent to help with your application. Check your country page for details of agents in your region. To find out what to include in your application, head to the how to apply page of our international students section.
If you don’t meet the English language requirements for this course yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
I'm a current Portsmouth student, or a recent Portsmouth graduate
If you're currently in your final year of study at Portsmouth, or you graduated since July 2025, you're eligible to make a fast track application. You'll have:
- a shorter application form to complete
- access to the 20% Alumni fee discount
- a guaranteed conditional offer, for most Master's courses
After you apply
Once we receive your application, we may ask you for further information. We will then either make you an offer or suggest alternatives if your application is unsuccessful.
You'll usually get a decision within 10 working days, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. Some courses have an interview stage – we'll let you know if you need to prepare for one.
Learn more about how we assess your application.
Admissions terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.