Continuing professional development
West Partnership Funding for Teachers CPD
The University of Glasgow offers a number of Masters-level CPD programmes for teachers. The West Partnership provides eligible teachers with access to funding to undertake this Masters-level learning.
- Contact: education-westpartnership@glasgow.ac.uk
- Teaching start: September
- CPD: various durations
Why this course
The West Partnership is a partnership that consists of the University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde and the following local authorities:
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow City Council
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
Through this partnership teachers can access funding to undertake Masters-level learning as part of their professional development.
The School of Education at the University of Glasgow boasts a diverse portfolio of Masters-level programmes and degrees. Our programmes offer a rigorous and stimulating range of subjects to study and we pride ourselves on presenting a curriculum that constantly evolves to meet national and global developments.
Research is central to our mission and our staff are research-active. We believe that every student can benefit from being part of a research-led culture, taught and supervised by experts.
The PGT West Partnership catalogue offers Masters-level study in a variety of disciplines to support the needs and interests of teachers, schools and authorities. We favour a continuum model of Masters study and our catalogue offers a selection of titles that comprise a variety of Masters-level pathways. We believe that these pathways reflect a commitment to sustained study that will support excellence in:
- leadership
- inclusive education
- professional practice
Course structure
Programmes available
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Middle Leadership & Management in Schools (PgCert)
60 SCQF credits at Masters level 11
Are you a principal teacher, head of department or faculty head?
This programme provides an opportunity for current and aspiring middle leaders to develop their understanding of research, policy and practice in educational leadership.
Through a variety of interactive, collaborative, tri-learning and other approaches, you will develop professional and pedagogic understandings and policy awareness designed to enable you to lead change.
Each core course combines a taught element, an online element and a written assignment that draws upon your work in school.
Practice-focused and collaborative pedagogies are used to develop your knowledge and capability in areas such as leading teams, leading learning and teaching, and delivering equity and excellence, with the ultimate aim of empowering middle leaders to improve educational outcomes for children and young people.
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Inclusive Education: Research, Policy & Practice (PgCert)
60 SCQF credits at Masters level 11
This part-time programme has been developed to encourage practitioners to develop and deepen their knowledge and experience in the area of inclusive education by critically engaging with research, policy and practice.
Inclusion and equity are global priorities in education according to the United Nations. This programme considers learner diversity (e.g. disability) and encourages practitioners to critically engage with questions such as: Which learners are disadvantaged or excluded in our education systems? How can we develop socially just practices, policies and research, that support the access, participation and achievement of all learners?
Our courses will support learners to critically engage with the concepts of Special and Inclusive Education and Additional Support for Learning (ASL) with a view to develop practitioners who are committed to the development of equitable and socially just education contexts.
Our research-informed courses cover topics such as disability, autism, behaviour, labelling, gifted and talented, dyslexia, inclusive pedagogy, curriculum, Universal Design for Learning, equity and educational disadvantage. The courses will help you as you develop your practice to take account of the National Improvement Framework, Pupil Equity Fund and concern around literacy, numeracy and health and well-being.
The learning processes are intended to assisting practitioners to gain confidence in their ability to create positive, inclusive environments for learners in current, rapidly changing educational contexts.
You can tailor research projects to provide the maximum relevance and benefit to your interests and work.
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Leadership & Learning (PgCert)
60 SCQF credits at Masters level 11
Are you a teacher who is keen to develop your skills and knowledge as a leader of learning?
This programme is designed for teachers who wish to:
- develop their skills as a leader of learning in the classroom and beyond
- deepen their knowledge of pedagogic/teacher leadership
- and/or progress into a leadership role in an education setting.
The programme adopts research-informed, enquiry led approaches to develop competence and confidence to lead teaching and learning, particularly to achieve the ambitions of the National Improvement Framework and Curriculum for Excellence.
There is a focus on collaborative learning and collaborative professionalism, drawing on your own experiences and those of your academic colleagues.
Each course combines a taught element, an online learning element and an assignment, drawing from your work in school. This programme can also be a starting point for the MEd in Educational Leadership.
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Children’s Literature & Literacies (MEd)
180 SCQF credits at Masters level 11
This well-established programme gives you the opportunity to re-connect with children’s and young adult literature, to broaden your current knowledge of available texts and to focus on the joy of reading. Additionally, you will be able to take a literary and critical stance to well-loved texts, as well as to contemporary authors whose texts push the boundaries of children’s literature.
The programme takes into account new developments in the production of texts for children using multimodal forms and digital technologies.
You will also discuss recent theories of language and literacy development and consider how they can be supported by traditional and multimodal texts for children as well as considering their implications for reading development.
You will have the opportunity to mingle with international students studying texts from the local to the global.
You can balance your study commitments with a full-time role, and tailor research projects to provide the maximum relevance and benefit for your work.
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Educational Leadership (MEd)
180 SCQF credits at Masters level 11
The programme is designed for teachers in full-time employment and follows a staged pathway towards a masters qualification.
A key element of this programme is practice-focused learning to facilitate a culture of professional enquiry where teachers collaborate with colleagues in developing innovative practice to meet the learning needs of pupils.
The programme provides a coherent framework for leadership development at all levels. With the introduction of Professional Update, the University of Glasgow offers a flexible programme for all teachers at different stages of their career.
There is a focus on collaborative, enquiry-orientated learning, drawing on your own experiences and those of your academic colleagues to bring about improvement.
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Professional Practice with PGDE (MEd)
90 SCQF credits at Masters level 11
The MEd in Professional Practice is taken after you have completed your PGDE at the University of Glasgow, in or after academic session 2019/2020, and wish to complete the remaining credits in order to gain a Masters qualification.
As a new teacher starting out in your career, this programme will develop an ability to be critically-reflective and explore your own practice in order to improve it. It will also provide guidance into the ethical practice habits you need to embed into your own teaching.
You will study the programme on a part-time basis in order to fit in with workplace demands. It will be delivered using our online platform, Moodle, and through face to face seminars.
Please note: you can only apply for West Partnership funding to complete the full Masters (90 credits), or if you have already completed the ‘Professional Enquiry and Decision Making’ course (30 credits), you can apply for funding for the dissertation (60 credits). It is NOT possible to apply for funding for the 30 credit ‘Professional Enquiry’ course only, OR part funding of the dissertation.
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Course alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours
to run all courses as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw
or alter a course. For more information, please see: Student contract.
Fees & funding
These programmes are also available for students who are not funded by the West Partnership scheme.
The fee rate for self-funded students is:
- £963 per 60 Masters credits (£321 per 20 credits)
Entry requirements
West Partnership Eligibility & Information for Applicants
- Applicants must be employed by one of the nine local authorities listed above.
- Applicants must be qualified teachers with full GTCS registration. Programmes have specific entry requirements, so please ensure that you have checked the entry requirements for your chosen programme of study before completing an application.
- Being granted funding by your Local Authority for a programme does not automatically guarantee a place on the programme. Places are subject to availability and are at the discretion of the Programme Leader. West Partnership applications are available from your local Authority. Submit your application for funding to your local authority coordinator when completed and well in advance of the University Application deadline of 17th August 2023.
- If you are approved for West Partnership funding but do not complete an application or do not register with the University of Glasgow then you will not be able to access the University of Glasgow resources, teaching or support.
How to apply
How to apply
Securing funding and your place on a programme
To become a funded student on this scheme:
- You will need to apply to your local authority for access to the funding itself.
- You will also need to apply online to the University of Glasgow: find out more about applying online
Please note that there are two steps to the University of Glasgow online application:
Step 1: Register and complete an application online and any other subsequent applications.
Step 2: Once you have completed an application then you can access Applicant Self Service to:
- check the status of your application
- upload any additional documents
- update your personal details
- accept any offers you receive
Once you have received funding approval from your Local Authority, you must complete the steps outlined in the ‘Student Guide to Applying and Registering with the University of Glasgow’ which you should have received along with this document.
The closing date for applications to the University is 17 August 2023.
If you are already a student studying with the University of Glasgow, you should only submit an application for funding to your local authority. You do NOT need to re-apply to the University via the online application portal.
Please note that if participants do not complete an application or do not register with the University of Glasgow then they will be unable to access the University of Glasgow resources, teaching or support.
Please ensure you are available to attend the sessions as some of these courses have attendance requirements. We would also advise that you consider the assessment commitments before embarking upon a course.
Instructions for applying online
The Online Application Form is accessed by clicking ‘Apply Now’ on our individual course web pages.
When completing the programme selection criteria, please choose the following options from the drop down menu:
- Academic Career: Postgraduate Taught
- Admit Term: Academic Year 2023-24
- Mode of Study: Part-Time
The Programme you need to apply for is listed in the accompanying University of Glasgow West Partnership catalogue, for example, ‘PgCert Inclusive Education (West Partnership)’. You will find this by searching for ‘West Partnership’ in the programme search.
In the Finance section, please select the option ‘external scholarship’, and select ‘yes’ to the question ‘Has this funding been confirmed?’ ONLY if you have received confirmation of funding from your local authority. If you have not yet received confirmation of funding, please select ‘no’ from the drop down menu.
At the point of the application where supporting documents are requested, we require the following to be uploaded:
- Evidence that you are a GTCS registered teacher - either a screen shot of your registration or a letter from your Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher will suffice.
Please note: some courses such as the PgCert in Middle Leadership require additional supporting documents to be uploaded along with your online application. Please check the West Partnership course guide for further details.
Once you have submitted your application you will be issued with an applicant ID.
Completing the application process
Please email education-westpartnership@glasgow.ac.uk with the following information to complete the application process:
- Your applicant ID
- Your local authority
- Your programme/course choice