About the course
Reasons to study
- Your time on the course will be divided between learning theory and applying your knowledge in a clinical environment, with clinical practice providing opportunities for you to put what you’ve learned into practice in a variety of settings.
- You'll be taught by a team who understand what it is like be a child nurse and are able to demonstrate the latest techniques and procedures, supporting you to put these skills into practice.
- You’ll hear first-hand experiences and viewpoints from service users and carers, who are part of the Public Partnership Group to enhance your learning.
This apprenticeship course has been designed to provide the opportunity to study whilst being employed in child healthcare services. During this apprenticeship you’ll get the opportunity to develop the vital skills, values and confidence you need to care for children, young people and their families whatever their circumstances, including those with acute illness, long-term conditions or those who need help to maintain their health.
- You’ll develop and practise your clinical skills in a safe environment in our fully-equipped simulated children’s ward using our patient simulators.
- Clinical placements provide opportunities for you to put what you’ve learnt into practice in a variety of acute settings including children's wards, accident and emergency departments and neonatal intensive care.
- Opportunities are available to work with specialist nurses in a range of community settings including GP surgeries, health centres, children's hospices, as well as mainstream and specialist schools.
- You’ll have the opportunity to hear the experiences and viewpoints from service users and carers, who are part of the Public Partnership Group.
- You’ll also learn how to respond to the needs of all patients and service users from all fields of adult, learning disability and mental health nursing.
In line with the apprenticeship model, the course is designed to support a training in practice approach. Whilst undertaking the course you’ll remain employed by your host organisation. You'll spend one day a week working for your employer in your current role. The other 30 hours a week will be either on placement in clinical practice or in university. The course is designed to be progressively demanding and once qualified you’ll be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and work as a Registered Nurse for Children.
If you’re thinking of studying an apprenticeship course or are an employer looking for an apprenticeship for your employees, you’ll also find useful information on our Degree Apprenticeship webpages.
Course detail
Core modules:
Becoming a Professional - Child Nursing
This module involves exploring your development as a professional, examining your personal and professional attitudes and beliefs, as well as relating these to your future professional role as a child nurse. You’ll gain an understanding about how you can develop as a learner and maintain your physical and mental health, so you are able to promote and support children and young people with their health. You’ll also learn how to manage the transition to university and explore ethical and professional codes underpinning child nursing.
Introduction to Child Nursing
Nursing Practice 1
Nursing Practice 2
Understanding Knowledge and Evidence for Nursing
Core modules:
Developing as a Professional
This module builds on the Becoming a Professional module in Year 1 and provides the opportunity for you to develop the professional and transferable knowledge and skills required to become a Registered Nurse. You’ll gain an understanding of professional, legal and ethical knowledge and frameworks, and their role in your clinical decision-making. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop your understanding and skills for effective team working, leadership and management to enable you to positively influence care delivery, decisions and management for people in your care.
Developing Critical Knowledge and Skills in Child Nursing
Developing Knowledge and Evidence for Child Nursing Practice
Nursing Practice 3
Nursing Practice 4
Core modules:
Being a Professional
This module builds on professionally themed modules in Year 1 and 2 to consolidate your preparation to become a qualified nurse. You’ll have the opportunity to develop future nurse leader skills to prepare you to positively influence care, undertake the role of teacher to individuals and groups, as well as the role of practice supervisor for future nurses.
Enhancing Knowledge and Skills in Child Nursing
Nursing Practice 5
Nursing Practice 6
Using Evidence and Research to Enhance Child Nursing Practice
Learning and teaching on this course is delivered through seminars, lectures, group work, simulation and skills practical experiences. The modules have been designed to embed transferable skills and enable you to progressively increase your knowledge and confidence. Your studies will also be supported by the University's virtual learning environment.
The assessment methods on the course are varied and involve a combination of coursework, practice/proficiency-based learning, reports, presentations and examinations. The nature of the assessment varies from module to module, and mirrors the modes of communication expected of graduates in this field, such as the ability to present to a range of audiences and provide reports to enhance the quality of care.
Clinical skill sessions, classroom-based learning and the use of simulated patients enable you to practice your skills in a safe and controlled environment. You’ll undertake practice placement experiences, where you’ll learn and be assessed in a real practice setting, under the supervision of appropriately qualified practice supervisors and practice assessors. You’ll be assessed whilst on placement through a Practice Assessment Document (PAD).
Throughout the course you’ll also have access to a Personal Development Plan, where you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, construct a record of achievement documenting the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies, as well as reflect and act upon your personal, professional, academic and long-term career goals.
The End Point Assessment (EPA) is integrated within the programme and is awarded on successful completion of the programme and apprenticeship requirements.
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The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.
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Further proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.
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We are joint first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 23 since 2008 (2024 data).
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We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).
Read more about academic staff at the University of Huddersfield
At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.
Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.
*full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.
Entry requirements
You must:
- Be employed in healthcare and supported to undertake the course by your employer.
- Have BBB at A Level (120 UCAS points). If you are studying a Science A Level, the endorsement for practical work is essential and a requirement for entry to our degree course, DDM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma, Merit at T Level, NCFE CACHE Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma/Level 3 Extended Diploma at grade B or a Pass in Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits 15 at Distinction, 30 at Merit.
- In addition, you must have GCSE English Language or English Literature and Maths at grade 4 or above, or grade C or above if awarded under the previous GCSE grading scheme, or Level 2 Functional Skills in Maths and English.
If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum of IELTS 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.
Complete a Rehabilitation of Offenders form and have an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check.
You may be eligible to gain accreditation for your prior learning towards this course. Please note that the course you are applying for is regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) which allows a maximum of 50% of credits for the award to be conferred through accreditation of prior learning.
If you have alternative qualifications, including the nursing associate foundation degree, you may wish to contact us for advice before applying. Please note places are limited and attainment of the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an interview or offer. You must include details of any previous study. A Nursing Associate qualification will usually mean you can be granted Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) onto the second year of the 3-year BSc course but please check prior to applying. Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered via a portfolio of evidence mapped against the NMC standards of proficiency and the apprenticeship framework for Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship (RNDA). As sector leaders in apprenticeships we hope this attracts more people to train as nurses and help towards recruiting more apprentices. This portfolio would be used to accredit prior learning to the equivalent of 500 public-facing hours and 530 transferable theory hours. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.
Facilities
Student support
At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.
Important information
When you enrol as an apprentice learner of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and our disciplinary procedure. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as an apprentice. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to.
Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:
Changes to a course you have applied for but not yet started
If we propose to make a major change to an apprenticeship course that you have applied for, then we will tell you and your employer as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.
Although we always try and run all the courses we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or delay your course start date if we consider this reasonably necessary, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you and your employer as soon as reasonably possible. In such instances, we will work with you and your employer to agree a deferred start date, or cancel your application and, if appropriate, provide information regarding other local apprenticeship providers.
Changes to your course after you enrol as an apprentice
We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that materially changes the services available to you, or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days, classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.
For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the requirements of an updated version of the apprenticeship standard relevant to your course; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.
In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you and your employer as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered or claiming an interim award and exiting the University.
If a major change affects your course, we will notify you and your employer as soon as possible and will carry out suitable consultation with affected apprentices. If you and your employer reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment we will work with both of you to try to find an appropriate solution. Where one cannot be found we will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring your remaining apprenticeship learning to another training provider if you and your employer wish to do so.
Termination of employment
As your employer is funding your apprenticeship course, you must remain in relevant employment for the duration of the course until you have completed your end point assessment. Under the apprenticeship rules, if you are made redundant and you have completed 75% of the practical period or have less than 6 months left, then you may complete the course. Otherwise, unless you find alternative relevant employment within 12 weeks of the date you are made redundant, then you will be withdrawn from the course.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University. The ESFA is the principal regulator for your apprenticeship course.
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