BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies Top Up

About This Course



The programme is focused on practice and will prepare students for the challenges of working in this vital and frequently fluid area within both the public and private sector, equipping all students with the knowledge, skills, understanding and critical instincts to work as an informed, confident and responsible professional. The course draws on a range of local and international perspectives and theory from a range of areas such as leadership, safeguarding, solution focused practice and child and youth support, giving students sound knowledge and skills which they can apply to the area of practice they currently work in, or for future employment. The programme will incorporate a practice placement element, with students completing 80 placement hours and undertaking an Action Research Project for their final assessment.

Teaching and learning in this programme is centred on practice. All examples used in the programme have a base in the real world. In some modules, the students will reflect on their own practice using real world experience to inform ideas; in others, simulated case studies are used so that the students can apply theoretical knowledge to their work. In the Action Research Project, students are able to enact and assess a change in the real world.

Course Person Specification Full Course Specification
Entry Requirements

Applicants wishing to gain direct entry onto the top-up at level 6 must have at least 240 CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) points gained through study at levels 4 and 5 in a relevant field such as Children, Young People and Families. The average grade at level 5 must be 50% or above.

What You Will Learn

Level 6 – Honours Stage:

  • Action Research Project
  • Leading Change in Organisation
  • Safeguarding
  • Solution Focused Practice
  • Childhood and Youth Support

Learning & Teaching Methods

This course is primarily designed for face-to-face learning, with attendance during lessons for the specified hours within the validation document. However, there may be periods of study where the government advises TEC Partnership that it is not safe to open campuses, or there is limited access due to social distancing measures. If the campus is closed, TEC Partnership will deliver your sessions online and offer you the necessary support and resources remotely. If there is limited access due to social distancing measures a blended model will be adopted, with some lessons taking place in small groups and others using online sessions and support.

Approaches to teaching and learning for work in the field of childhood and youth focuses on all aspects of the informal and formal education continuum, which provides opportunities for learning through dialogue, debate, peer learning and reflection. For wider areas of the programme, where social work practice underpins the knowledge that students are expected to understand, the programme will follow the four interrelated themes set out in the benchmark statements which are:

  • Awareness raising, skills and knowledge acquisition
  • Conceptual understanding
  • Practice skills and experience
  • Reflection on performance


The programme aims to facilitate critical thinking and reflection by questioning and critically discussing beliefs, discourses and attitudes.

As this is a level 6 programme, the use of self-directed learning will be prevalent on some modules where the blended learning mode of study requires students to complete online activities which develop their digital literacy, alongside more traditional methods of lectures, workshops and seminars. There will be opportunities for self-directed group work and projects allowing for peer discussion and learning, as well as individual and collective problem solving and action learning (1, 2, 4).

A key element of the programme is the practice learning experience in which students undertake 80 hours within a relevant setting. In collaboration with employers, students will undertake an action research project to enable them to effect change within their setting. Students may have access to additional training programmes provided by employers in relation to safeguarding and family support work, enriching the students’ learning experience and developing current methods of working required within the sector (1, 2, 3 & 4).

As this programme sits across a number of disciplines within the children and young people sector, the teaching and learning will align itself to the approaches set out within QAA subject benchmarks statements for Community and Youth Work and Social Work, as mapped to the programme learning outcomes in box 29. The process of learning values personal and professional experiences where the theoretical underpinning informs practice development.

The outcomes of the programme are strongly linked to skills and knowledge required for multi-disciplinary work essential for working within the childhood and youth sector.

 

Programme Benefits

The programme has been designed and developed in conjunction with employers from across statutory and social enterprise organisations. Practice Managers from the Family Resource Service, Family Hubs and alternative education providers for primary school age children were asked to consult on the purpose, module design and assessment aspects of the programme. This was crucial to ensure the content was fit for purpose within the sector at level 6.

What Next?

Whilst there are currently no opportunities for postgraduate study within the subject area at Grimsby, other providers offer Master’s programmes in Youth Work or Social Work.  There are opportunities to complete postgraduate study in teaching in the post compulsory sector at Grimsby.

  • Schools
  • Family support service
  • Youth Support Services
  • Youth Justice
  • Third Sector services

0
The Queen's Anniversary Prices
0
Learning Technologies awards 2019 winner
0
Member QAA 2021 - 22
0
Innovative Institution Jisc 2020
1
The Queen's Anniversary Prices
1
Learning Technologies awards 2019 winner
1
Member QAA 2021 - 22
1
Innovative Institution Jisc 2020
2
The Queen's Anniversary Prices
2
Learning Technologies awards 2019 winner
2
Member QAA 2021 - 22
2
Innovative Institution Jisc 2020
3
The Queen's Anniversary Prices
3
Learning Technologies awards 2019 winner
3
Member QAA 2021 - 22
3
Innovative Institution Jisc 2020
4
The Queen's Anniversary Prices
4
Learning Technologies awards 2019 winner
4
Member QAA 2021 - 22
4
Innovative Institution Jisc 2020
Link takes you to our Instagram page
Apply Now Course Listings
Link takes you to our Instagram page