Curriculum Information

Document Version

QAA Benchmarks

Educational Aim

Learning Outcomes

Course Structure

Level 4 Modules

Level 5 Modules

Level 6 Modules

Teaching and Assessment

Learning and Teaching Methods

Employer Engagement

Visiting Speakers
There is an established guest lecture series that runs across the course. These sessions appear on the student timetables and can be delivered on campus or online. Guest speakers have included Stephen Chapman (Welsh Government’s Anti-Slavery Co-ordinator) The Counsel General of Wales, Crown Prosecutors, CAB, Solicitors, Barristers, Social Worker, Probation Service, Victim Support, Careers and Employability team, TSR Legal Recruitment, Gordon Dadds and DAS Law.

As a School, we have been closely associated with the Global Governance/Tomorrow Matters events and students have been invited to post-talk events with guests such as Jack Straw, Charles Clarke and Lord Lloyd-Jones, which allows them to make links with political and legal local and national context and their curriculum.

Volunteering
Students are provided with many opportunities to volunteer throughout the course.
Students can gain QWE via the Legal Advice Clinic modules.

Regular announcements are posted on the course organisation site and students are invited to sign up. Examples include:

· Thompsons’ Solicitors, Speed Networking Social Justice Event,
· National Pro-Bono week and volunteer opportunities
· Virtual volunteering opportunities with a Regional Employment Judge
· ELIPS (Employment Tribunal Litigant in Person Scheme)
· Shelter Cymru Volunteer Pathways Programme
· Age Cymru Independent Volunteer Advocates
· StreetLaw in collaboration with other Welsh Law Schools
· Cardiff Lawyers Care Homelessness Clinic
· Clinic vacation and summer placements

Fieldtrips
Trips have included the Supreme Court, the Senedd and the Legal London Walk.
We hope to be able to offer similar activities in the future.

Work Placements
Work placement opportunities are advertised through course organisation site and students are encouraged to apply. Examples include:

• Civil Service job opportunities in Wales
• Commonwealth Games opportunities for Law students
• Slaughter and May vacation schemes
• Hugh James internships

Work-based Learning
There is a compulsory work-based learning module in Years 2 and 3 of the course (Clinical Practice 1 and Clinical Practice 2). The modules consist of 80 hours and 160 hours of work placements respectively. The placement will be based in the University’s Legal Advice Clinic.

Employer Forums
Students are notified of networking events, both internal and external, via the course organisation site. Every year, the Careers Service hosts a Careers Fair where students can speak with a variety of employers and gain information about placement and employment opportunities.
The School and the Student Law Society have collaborated to arrange networking opportunities such as the Cheese and Wine evening. We hope to be able to offer similar opportunities in the future.
Students were also invited to take part in the Clinic Launch event and the Legal Wales that was hosted by the University in October 2019.

Other
We make available through the course organisation site information relating to opportunities within the local and national legal sector including :

• Target Law jobs opportunities
• National Pupillage Fairs
• Lincoln’s Inn Open Days
• Inside City Law events
• Aspire Law events
• Legal vacancies in local firms
• Grays Inn Scholarship Day
• BPP Diversity and Inclusion Series
• Shelter Cymru Conference – People and Homes
• University Advocacy Day, Legal Virtual Events with SRA about changes to legal education
• Young Legal Aid Lawyers Cymru events
• The annual Legal Wales Conference
• Ministry of Justice mentoring programme
• Free webinars at Fragomen’s UK Immigration School,
• Employment Lawyers Association Pastoral Committee on emotional care as an employment advisor
• Free online LawWorks training sessions (Family Law, Vulnerable Clients)
• Careers Service – CV and cover letter writing, mock interviews, assessment centres, training contract applications, Linkedin profile and use of social media

Means of Assessment

• Essay

• Oniste Examination

• Presentation

• Time Constrained Assessment

• Case Study

• Onsite Open Book Examination

• Onsite Closed Book Examination

• Oral Assessment

• Portfolio

• Time-constrained Assessment

• Practical Casework

Learning Support

Induction
All first-year students will be given a full induction to the course in the week before teaching starts, enabling them to adjust to university life, get to know the teaching team, meet their PAC tutor and their peers, plan their studies, and understand how the University works. The induction will include a full explanation of the course handbook and the student charter, a tour of Blackboard and its resources, and team-building activities to help foster a sense of cohort and course identity among new and existing students. Induction activities will extend into the first weeks of term where appropriate like the library tour and meet the librarian/careers advisor talks.

Induction for returning students will be held in the form of two half day sessions in the week before teaching starts. These sessions will be bespoke and will include an introduction to the new level of study, curriculum, teaching teams, assessment diary and skills development. They will also introduce students to the professional nature of the course and the requirements in respect of student behaviour, in particular in relation to their engagement in the Legal Advice Clinic. Induction activities will also extend into the first few weeks of term and include careers/study skills sessions and library refreshers.

Personal Academic Coach
All students will be allocated a Personal Academic Coach (PAC).
The role of the PAC will be to meet with their students periodically throughout the academic year to discuss their academic progress. Discussions will cover assessment feedback, module choices, and study skills development. Where appropriate, the PAC will point their students in the direction of the Advice Zone, the Student Development and Study Skills Service, or the Library for additional support.
Where possible, and subject to staff availability, the PAC will be a member of the course teaching team and remain consistent throughout a student’s progression on the course.

Learner Analytics
Learning analytics will be used by the Course Leader, Module Leaders, PACs to identify students who may not be engaging on the course.
The Course Leader will review the information and contact the student about individual modules or engagement across the course as a whole. Whether or not the issues relate to a single module or the course as a whole, the Course Leader will advise the student about the best course of action. In most cases, this will be to contact Module Leaders for academic support and the Advice Zone to discuss applications for extenuating circumstances and advice on appropriate support services.

Office hours
There will be Course Leader office hours available throughout the academic term. In addition, each member of the course teaching team will operate bespoke weekly office hours. These office hours will be drop-in sessions for which students will not need to book.
Students will also be able to book an appointment to meet with members of the course team, as well as using online tools like the discussion forums on Blackboard.

Tutorials
Tutorials will be scheduled for some modules. They will be used to discuss feedback on assessments or portfolio-based coursework in progress.

Seminars
Seminars, known as practice sessions for the SQE1 subjects on the course, form the foundation of learning and teaching. Students will be given the opportunity to discuss subjects and skills in depth. In the SQE1 subjects, students will complete practical law file exercises and replicate real-life legal scenarios. Students will be expected to prepare for the seminars, as directed by tutors, in advance of classes.

Formative Assessment
Formative assessment will be scheduled for all modules. It may take the form of coursework plans or partial drafts on which the module team make comments before the final version is completed. For the SQE subjects, students will be afforded the opportunity to undertake a mock examination with feedback provided in a general session and on individual scripts. Tasks set in advance of practice sessions may also be classed as formative assessment; feedback on these will be given during practice session discussions. Following practice sessions, there may be quizzes with instant feedback or reflective questions.

Progress meetings
Student progress will be monitored through PAC meetings and tutorials.
Students will also be invited to make appointments with their Module Leaders or Course Leader to discuss progress at any time throughout the academic year.

Online Resources
Students will be able to access a variety of resources via the UniLife portal to support their studies.
Students will be able to access course materials such as the course handbook, course timetable, assessment diary, marking criteria, staff-student liaison meeting minutes and copies of course-level announcements through the course organisation on Blackboard (Unilearn).
At modular level, students will be able to access learning and teaching materials and tools via the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment. These will include the module programme, lesson plans, TalisList, recordings of lectures and seminars, module-specific resources, tools for producing and submitting coursework (like Turnitin), staff contact details, discussion boards, and copies of modular-level announcements.
Most items for learning and teaching will be made available by the Library (through FINDit) or academic online resources. Students will also benefit from access to Oxford University Press’ Law Trove service to support their studies with some tutors providing directed study activities utilising this resource. Students will also have access to the Student Development and Study Skills Service and USW Careers to help develop their skills.
Students will also have access to Office365 and UniApps throughout their studies.

Advice Zone
Advice Zones are the first point of contact for advice and information regarding university life. Advice Assistants offer confidential, impartial guidance and advise on a range of issues including extenuating circumstances and interruption to studies. Advice Assistants are also able to answer and advise on queries, questions or concerns regarding booking appointments with specialist teams such as Counselling, Disability, Money Advice and Progression.

Disability
The Disability and Dyslexia Service provides information, advice and guidance to and co-ordinates support for USW students who have disabilities, including physical, sensory, mental health or unseen disabilities, specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) and autism.
The Disability and Dyslexia Service also has a key role in ensuring the University meets its commitment to providing an inclusive environment for disabled students. See our Policies and Equality Scheme.

IT/Library
The course team consists of a Law librarian, who provides excellent support to module leaders and students.
José López Blanco is the Faculty Librarian for Law, Criminology, Humanities, Public Services, Sociology, Social Policy and Youth Work. He has responsibility for liaising with academic staff to support the learning, teaching and research activity of the Law Department with the help and expertise of other members of the Library Services team. He also supports students via group sessions and individual appointments.
José is a chartered librarian and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is currently very involved in the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) through his work on the BIALL PR & Promotions Committee. He has recently completed the BIALL Legal Reference Materials course and continues to develop his knowledge of legal information through webinars and self-directed reading.
Students are introduced to the Law librarian during induction and signposted to them through course announcements, videos and guest lectures throughout the year to support their studies.
Module leaders work closely with the Law librarian to provide ‘themed’ displays in some modules which align with delivery of certain topics like race and gender. Students are signposted to the librarian as a resource in all years of study.
The Law Collection at Treforest is maintained in a separate sequence as per the requirements contained within the Society of Legal Scholars’ ‘Statement of Standards for University Law Library Provision’ and contains materials on the law of England and Wales and the European Union. There are also some overseas materials. There are, amongst other items, reference books, textbooks, journals, main works with supplements, loose-leaf publications, indexes and citators, practitioners’ works, procedural manuals, encyclopaedias and digests, as well as case reports and legislation. There is also considerable information available online via the Library’s FINDit Databases page through services such as Heinonline, Lawtel UK, LexisNexis and Westlaw UK. The Law collection in print and online form is accessible to all University of South Wales students.
Students have access to PCs in the Postgraduate Centre in Ty Crawshay, the Library and across all campuses. They are able to loan laptops from the library via Connect2 and self-service facilities.
There are dedicated resources available in Ty Crawshay to students working in the Legal Advice Clinic including PCs, practitioner texts and resources, online resources such as Advisernet (used by CAB) and the CLIO case management system.

Course Exit Points

Progression Route

Graduates of the new course will typically progress to professional practice as follows:·

Paralegal / Legal Assistant

· Solicitor: SQE1, SQE2 and Qualifying Work Experience· Barrister: Bar Training Course, Pupillage/work-based component,

Some students will progress to postgraduate study such as LL.M and PGCE. Others will progress directly to graduate careers as the skills they will develop through the course are transferable.

Entry Requirements

Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:

Typical A-Level Offer:
BCC - CDD (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points)
Typical Welsh BACC Offer:
Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CD at A Level (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).
Typical BTEC Offer:
BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit - Merit Merit Pass (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points).
Typical IB Offer:
Pass the International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum score of 29 overall including 5 or above in English at standard level
Typical Access to HE Offer:
Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points
Additional Requirements:
GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.

Inclusive Curriculum Statement

The University of South Wales operates a policy of inclusive learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to fulfil their educational potential. Course teams will have considered ways of designing out any potentially disadvantageous element of courses during the course design process. However some specific needs may remain, details about how to apply to have your needs assessed can be found at: http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3040-disability-and-dyslexia-service/

Addendum for Delivery at a Partner Institution

N/A