- Undergraduate
Nursing Dual Field (Children's Nursing and Mental Health) MSci
Overview
Why study at UWL?
- In the top 30% of universities nationwide - The Guardian University Guide 2024
- University of the Year for Social Inclusion - Daily Mail University Guide 2024
- Best university for Student Experience and Teaching Quality in the UK - The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024
- Number 1 London university (non-specialist) - National Student Survey 2023**
With the spotlight on mental health and healthy children as the future of the next generation, you could be embarking on one of the most important careers in the health sector.
This children's nursing degree course has been approved against the Nursing and Midwifery Council Future Nurse: Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses (May 2018). These standards set out the knowledge and skills you will learn as the next generation of children's and mental health nurses, to enable you to deliver world-class person-centred, evidence-based care.
You are eligible to apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund, including a training grant of £5000. You may also qualify for additional financial support. Read the eligibility criteria and find out how to apply for the fund at www.healthcareers.nhs.uk. The funding will not need to be repaid and you can also continue to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company.
This dual-field nursing course will give you the skills and experience you need to care for children in a range of healthcare settings. There will be an emphasis on the particular challenges that nurses working in mental healthcare face. Graduating with the ability to dual register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), you will be ready to find rewarding work as a children’s nurse.
This children's nursing course is run at the Berkshire Institute for Health in Fountain House, our campus based in the heart of Reading, but is also offered at our West London campus. As you will spend half your course gaining experience on placement, you should choose a course location that you can travel to easily. Please see the course details below for information on where we have placement partnerships.
What is an MSci?
An MSci course effectively allows you to combine a Bachelors and Masters into one package that will be highly valued by potential employers. Thus, instead of completing your BSc and then having to apply separately for a MSc, this integrated degree provides you with one smooth pathway of studies.
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Why study Nursing Dual Field (Children's Nursing and Mental Health) with us?
What our students say…
Course detail & modules
On this dual field nursing course you will learn how to deliver care to the high standards set by the NMC. The aim is to equip you with the skills and knowledge to face the challenges of nursing today, with a focus on children’s and mental health nursing.
You will learn how to:
- provide, lead and coordinate care that is compassionate and evidence-based
- care for children with complex mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural care needs
- care for children in healthcare settings including their own home, in the community and in hospital
- help promote health, protect health and prevent ill health
- empower people, communities and populations to take control of their own health decisions and behaviours
- care for children of different ages, backgrounds, cultures and beliefs
- care for people at the end of their life
- work across health- and social care services
- play a proactive role in multidisciplinary teams
- think critically and apply your knowledge and skills
- be emotionally intelligent and resilient, while managing your personal health and wellbeing.
This course has been designed to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council Standards for Education and Training and the Future Nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses. It has been developed with input from students, service users and our partners in the NHS and voluntary and independent sectors, the course will prepare you for current nursing practice.
Each year your course will divided into blocks:
- Theory - this will include: induction, taught time, independent learning, assessment support and scheduled Personal Tutor meetings)
- Practice - this will include preparation for practice weeks and placement learning)
- Reading weeks - during this time you will carry out independent learning, both directed and self-directed, tutorial support will also be available
- Annual leave - these are set for the duration of the course and cannot be changed.
Practice Learning
You will spend a significant amount of time in practice where you will be appropriately supported and assessed. This will include learning to care for people in hospitals, in their own homes or within a community setting. As you will be working with people who require care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you can expect to work days, weekends, bank holidays and night shifts. You will not receive payment for your practice learning.
Facilities and support
We will provide a supportive learning environment to help you gain confidence as you develop your skills. You will learn using high-tech, innovative resources – including a fully equipped simulation centre – that help make your classes fun and engaging. In addition, you will have:
- teaching staff who are highly committed and specialists in their subjects.
- a personal tutor to guide you through your course as well as access to the University’s mentoring service.
- regular personalised feedback on your progress in theory and practice components
- access to a variety of practice placements, thanks to our many partners.
Reasonable Adjustments
We are committed to ensuring people with a disability are provided with equal access to their chosen course of study and facilities at the University of West London. Appropriate support can be provided to remove barriers faced in education because of a person’s disability. This is support is called “reasonable adjustments”.
We strongly encourage applicants to disclose their disability and discuss support requirements at the earliest opportunity by contacting our Wellbeing Team: online via the Student Hub or by email - wellbeing@uwl.ac.uk alternatively telephone 020 8231 2739. Early disclosure enables the University time to consider the individual support requirements that you may have and to identify whether reasonable adjustments can be made to help you with your studies prior to the start of the course. Some reasonable adjustments may not be possible in a placement setting due to professional standards and core competencies of the role so it is imperative these are considered prior to starting the course.
It is important to understand that successful progression on this course is dependent on professional standards being met. By disclosing to the University, where reasonable adjustments can be made, the University will provide you with the support you need to meet these standards. See standards of proficiency for registered nurses to explore the standards appropriate to your chosen course.
Placement partners
Your placement is an essential part of your course and will take up an equal amount of time as your classroom studies at the University. It will give you practical experience so that you can apply what you learn in a real-world setting.
We currently partner with the following healthcare organisations in Berkshire for the Children’s Nursing section of the course:
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- private and voluntary organisations, including a hospice.
For the Mental Health Nursing element we currently partner with:
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- private and voluntary organisations providing mental health services.
Compulsory modules
-
Personal Health and Wellbeing
The aim of this module is to explore personal health and wellbeing and how this might impact on your ability to meet physical and mental health care needs.
-
Sciences Underpinning Safe and Effective Nursing Practice
The aim of this module is to introduce the biological and behavioural sciences. This is related to health and wellbeing across the lifespan and knowledge and understanding in these areas applied to nursing care.
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Understanding Health and Illness
The aim of this module is to introduce key concepts of health and illness and the influences that impact on individual, family and population health and wellbeing.
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Accountability and Professional Leadership in Nursing Practice
The aim of this module is to develop the self-awareness essential for practising with integrity and the ability to self-manage and develop practice.
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Foundations of Evidence for Nursing Practice
The aim of this module is to introduce key knowledge and skills to support the identification, use and implementation of evidence to underpin nursing and healthcare interventions and professional practice.
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Year 1 Nursing Practice (Children)
Compulsory modules
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Personal Effectiveness for Professional Practice
The aim of this module is to further develop personal effectiveness and apply critical reflexive skills to develop resilience in the context of current healthcare practice.
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The Science of Nursing Decision-Making
The aim of this module is to develop the knowledge and skills gained in Year 1 underpinning patient assessment, which informs clinical decision making.
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The Health Promoting Nurse
The aim of this module is to develop knowledge and skills to effectively promote health, emphasising the key role of the nurse as a health promoter.
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Leading and Managing Nursing Care
The aim of this module is to develop an appreciation of the value of teamwork, and the skills to practice collaboratively to build and maintain relationships through professional networking and leadership.
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Evaluating Evidence for Translation into Nursing Practice
The aim of this module is to develop the knowledge and skills required to locate and evaluate a body of research that explores clinical outcomes and/or patient experience. You will also assess the system and contextual issues that facilitate or hinder knowledge translation.
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Year 2 Nursing Practice (Children)
Compulsory modules
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Art and Science of Person-Centred Care
The aim of this module is to embed knowledge and skills and focus on increasing complexity in decision making. This to enable you to develop the confidence to involve and empower patients in shared decision making and the co-production of person-centred care.
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Introduction to Mental Health Across the Lifespan
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Leading and Managing Service Integration
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Collecting, Analysing and Reporting Data
The aim of this module is to help you develop the knowledge and skills required to understand the process of collecting, analysing and using data in the delivery and research of health services.
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Year 3 Nursing Practice (Children and Mental Health)
Entry requirements
These can include:
- A Levels at grade B, B and C, or above
- BTEC Extended Diploma with Distinction, Merit, Merit
- Access to HE Diploma in Nursing/Health or Social Care/Science with a Merit/Distinction profile
- T Levels
Your UCAS points would normally include at least 2 subject areas.
You also need 5 GCSEs including English and Maths (grade 9 – 4 / A* - C) or Level 2 equivalents.
Experience and recent study
We recommend you should have some experience of:
- studying in the past five years
- working in a health/social care setting (paid/voluntary)
You will be asked to provide a satisfactory reference along with your application form.
All offers are subject to satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and occupational health checks.
Find out more about the occupational health clearance requirements, tests and immunisations (pdf, 723kb)
Selection Process
If you have the qualifications for this course, you will be asked to attend an individual values-based interview with an academic, clinician and service user/carer.
Fees & funding
You are eligible to apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund, including a training grant of £5000. You may also qualify for additional financial support. Read the eligibility criteria and find out how to apply for the fund on www.healthcareers.nhs.uk.
The funding will not need to be repaid and you can also continue to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company.
The fee above is the cost per year of your course.
If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront.
Government regulation does affect tuition fees and the fees listed for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year are subject to change.
If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.
Funding your studies
You may be eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of tuition fees, or a maintenance loan. Additional funding is available to some types of students, such as those with dependants and disabled students.
We offer generous bursaries and scholarships to make sure your aspirations are your only limit. In recent years, hundreds of students have received our Full-time Undergraduate Student Bursary.
View full details, including conditions and eligibility.
Study & career progression
As a successful Children's Nursing and Mental Health graduate you will be eligible to register with the NMC as an Adult and Mental Health Nurse.
Many of our nursing graduates find jobs and build careers with local NHS Trusts or healthcare organisations.
Alternatively, you could continue your studies at UWL. This will help you to enhance your clinical knowledge and skills in a specialist area.
We also offer Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses for healthcare practitioners.
How to apply
Head to the UCAS website where you can apply using:
- our institution code - W05
- the UCAS course code (below)
Want to ask us a question first? We would love to hear from you. Contact us free on:
Apply for this course
- Institution code
- W05
- UCAS code
- currentVariantData.field_p_cv_ucas_code
What happens next?
We aim to make a decision on your application as quickly as we can. If we need any more information about your qualifications, we will be in touch.
In the meantime, come and visit us and find out more about what studying at UWL is like. Sign up for an open day or join a campus tour.
Visit us and see for yourself
Talk to our tutors and find out about our courses and facilities at our next open day or join a campus tour.
Our prospectus
All of our courses in one place - download now or order a hard copy.
We're here to help
Any questions about a course or studying at UWL? We're here to help - call us on 0800 036 8888 (option 2, Monday – Friday 10am-4pm) or email us on courses@uwl.ac.uk.
Head to the UCAS website where you can apply using:
- our institution code - W05
- the UCAS course code (below)
Want to ask us a question first? We would love to hear from you. Contact us free on:
Apply for this course
- Institution code
- W05
- UCAS code
- currentVariantData.field_p_cv_ucas_code
What happens next?
We aim to make a decision on your application as quickly as we can. If we need any more information about your qualifications, we will be in touch.
In the meantime, come and visit us and find out more about what studying at UWL is like. Sign up for an open day or join a campus tour.
Visit us and see for yourself
Talk to our tutors and find out about our courses and facilities at our next open day or join a campus tour.
Our prospectus
All of our courses in one place - download now or order a hard copy.
We're here to help
Any questions about a course or studying at UWL? We're here to help - call us on 0800 036 8888 (option 2, Monday – Friday 10am-4pm) or email us on courses@uwl.ac.uk.
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Disclaimer
*Modern universities - defined as higher education institutions that were granted university status in, and subsequent to, 1992.
**The National Student Survey 2022 and 2023 - Based on an average of all 27 questions. Excludes specialist institutions.
Testimonials - our students or former students provided all of our testimonials - often a student from the course but sometimes another student. For example, the testimonial often comes from another UWL student when the course is new.
Optional modules - where optional modules are offered they will run subject to staff availability and viable student numbers opting to take the module.
Videos - all videos on our course pages were accurate at the time of filming. In some cases a new Course Leader has joined the University since the video was filmed.
Availability of placements - if you choose a course with placement/internship route we would like to advise you that if a placement/internship opportunity does not arise when you are expected to undertake the placement then the University will automatically transfer you to the non-internship route, this is to ensure you are still successful in being awarded a degree.