Children, Young People and Families Practitioner CertHE

Children, Young People and Families Practitioner CertHE is aimed at those wanting to enter a career in this field or wish to enhance their existing professional knowledge and experience within the sector. This programme would especially suit those working within the community sector, particularly in a voluntary capacity and want to gain paid employment within the field.

This course has been designed in collaboration with local employers in the children, young people and families sector. Because of this, you will have the opportunity to engage with the challenges faced by organisations and how the professionals working in the sector respond to social issues and deliver services.

This programme will also give you a critical understanding of the theoretical concepts, approaches and principles of working within the children, young people and families sector. Similarly, you will better understand the rights, responsibilities and needs of children, young people and families in order to promote equality, diversity, inclusion and safeguarding. Additionally, you will develop a range of intellectual, subject-specific and transferrable skills that will boost your employability.

This course is also available as an Apprenticeship:

The programme has been designed to provide traditional classroom learning within a university setting to achieve 6x 20 credit modules. The programme structure includes the delivery of modules that allow for completion in one academic year. All students take a total of 120 credits.

Level 4 modules include:

• Ethical, Legal and Professional Responsibilities
• Health and Wellbeing
• Early Childhood, Adolescent and Adult Development
• Working with Families and Professionals
• Excellence in Children, Young People and Family Practice
• Integrated Multi-Agency Working

All modules are mandatory.

This course is also available as an Apprenticeship:

This course requires a minimum of 32 or 48 UCAS Tariff points.

For 32 UCAS Tariff points, they must be directly related to the programme of study – ideally from relevant social science subjects or practice-based children, young people and families subjects such as NVQ and BTEC qualifications. Otherwise 48 UCAS Tariff points are required.

In addition, you will need a GCSE at C (4) in English Language, or an equivalent Level 2 qualification in English. If English is not your first language you will need to demonstrate the ability to study in English.

Applicants who do not meet the standard entry criteria but have relevant work/life experience will be considered on an individual basis and may be invited to interview.

You do not need a work placement to be accepted onto this programme, however you are advised to secure a work placement to consolidate your skills and practice. All students in a voluntary placement or in employment are required to have an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This is usually arranged by your employer and is your responsibility to cover any costs.

Care Leavers or Young Carers

We want students from all backgrounds to have the opportunity to go to University. If you have spent three months or more in local authority care OR are a young carer, you will be eligible for a contextual offer. This is a grade reduction of 1-A Level grade below our standard entry requirements. For example, a standard offer of CCC, would become CCD. MMM at Level 3 Extended Diploma would become MMP. To apply we advise that you tick the box on your UCAS application which identifies you have spent time in care and to help identify you as eligible for our contextual offer.

Assessment will be undertaken through a range of established methodologies at various stages throughout the student learning experience. You will be offered a variety of ways to be assessed in meeting the learning outcomes, however, we also have an alternative assessment policy to make reasonable adjustments for any assessment method that does not meet your learning needs.

The assessment methods incorporate standard practices through initial, diagnostic, formative and summative stages. Examples of assessment activity includes:

Essays

The requirements of Level 4 study will include producing essays that assess the learning outcomes. You will be supported with your academic writing through academic tutorials and study skills workshops.

Seminars

Debates and discussions are an engaging way to learn about different positions on key theoretical issues so each module includes a seminar component for you to carry out your own research and engage in debates and discussions about key topics.

Reports

You will need to produce reports for some of your assessments. This assessment method is useful to develop the skills important for professionals working in the sector.

Group presentations

Group presentations are aimed at encouraging working with others to meet deadlines so you will work with your peers in completing some assessment tasks.

Peer assessment 

Each module will offer you the opportunity to be prepared for your summative assessment. You will complete a range of formative tasks including receiving and providing feedback to other students on some tasks.

Workplace reflection

It is crucial that your learning on all modules is linked to the workplace, so some assessments will include using critical reflection to evaluate the relevance of learning outcomes to practice settings.

Teaching and learning will be delivered through a range of established methods including:

Lectures

Whilst all classes will involve elements of formal lectures, each lecture is designed to encourage active learning so you can ask questions and clarify the content being covered and refer to them as resources when preparing for your formative or summative assessment.

Seminars

During seminars you are required to contribute to the discussion about topics already covered and in some cases present what you have learnt in the previous class and/or independent tasks.

Peer to peer learning activity

The term peer learning refers to situations where peers support each other in the learning process. This allows you to learn from your own and others’ experience. Each module will include activities to facilitate learning with your peers.

Workshops

Some weeks will include workshops where the learning activity will take the form of a workshop where you are required to carry out your own research and then discuss this with others. We also invite professional working in the sector to explain how working with children, young people and families happens in the local area. This is an excellent way to consolidate learning and prepare for your assessment tasks.

Audio Visual materials

You can access webinars and TED Talks using each of the module Moodle pages. You are encouraged to make good use of open educational resources on particular topics.

Research

Many of your tutors are carrying out their own research, so the latest research will provide you with the necessary knowledge. You will be required to carry out research for each of the assessments and the additional study skills offer will help you develop your ability to research any given topic.

Archive and Library searches

You will have access to the University Centre library including the Heritage virtual search engine and a range of electronic resources including databases, e-journals and e-books. You will be able to access e-books and e-journals to develop your knowledge.

Distance and e-learning (via VLE)

The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) will allow you to access all the learning from home and access live classes using Microsoft Teams – when required. Each module page includes a forum and discussion page so you can post your ideas and questions and share your learning with other students.

Debates

Each session will include time and space to engage in debates with other students as this is a useful way to learn about the different schools of thought relevant to a particular topic.

Critical reflection

Critical reflection is a defining feature of studying this course. You will be required to engage in tasks to develop your analytical skills and put forward ideas using evidence and research.

Action Learning Sets

Action learning sets are used in organisations to encourage problem solving and finding solutions in teams. For your learning you will be able to discuss issues and analyse common problems faced in the sector and evaluate your skills. The purpose is to identify any skills you need for your practice.

Masterclass programme

The course has been designed in collaboration with local employers in the sector. You will be given the opportunity to engage with the challenges faced by organisations and how the professionals working in the sector respond to social issues and deliver services.

Research visits

You will be supported in carrying out research in the local community to inform your classroom teaching and learning.

Academic Support

We have a dedicated Student Engagement Team who will be able to provide support in the following areas:

• Time management skills
• Organisation skills
• Exam preparation

Timetables

We endeavour to make timetables available one month before you start your course. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week.

You should typically expect to have around 15 contact hours per week if you are studying full time. In addition, you will have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor. You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team could include senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, demonstrators and technical officers. You overall workload consists of class contact hours, around 15 hours of independent learning and assessment activity and any field trips which may take place.

Upon successful completion of this programme you will have the opportunity to progress to study higher-level qualifications. Subject to the requirements, you may progress to the following programmes:

Going to University is not as expensive as you think. There are no upfront fees to pay if you take out a Tuition Fee Loan from Student Finance England. Don't forget to apply as early as possible to secure your fees before you start your course.