PG Dip Specialist Community Practitioner: Community Children's Nursing

Fees and funding

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students

Fees

The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:

• library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
• access to programme-appropriate software
• library and student IT support
• free on-campus wifi via eduroam

Additional costs

Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:

• accommodation and living expenditure
• books (should you wish to have your own copies)
• printing, photocopying and stationery
• PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
• mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
• field trips (travel and activity costs)
• placements (travel expenses and living costs)
• student visas (international students only)
• study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
• academic conferences (travel costs)
• professional-body membership
• graduation (gown hire etc)

Funding

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.

Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.

Funding

There are two routes for funding for this course:

• Sponsorship (when a local NHS trust or organisation will sponsor you to train for the duration of the programme at LJMU)
• Secondment (for those currently employed by a local NHS organisation that will provide the practice placement whilst studying at LJMU).

Employer sponsorship

Some organisations and companies fund the cost of postgraduate studies for their employees as they recognise the value of having well qualified staff. Check out our courses and see if there are any on offer that could enhance your current career. Remember, employer support doesn't always have to be financial; it can take other forms too, such as flexible working arrangements, day release and time in lieu of study.

Funding sources

There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From Postgraduate Masters Loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you'll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.

Employability

Further your career prospects

LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.

The School of Nursing and Allied Health works with a wide range of health and social care organisations to design, deliver and evaluate a dynamic suite of postgraduate programmes.

The Schools wide-ranging portfolio of cutting-edge postgraduate courses enables you to enhance your existing skills in the field of health and social care, develop specialised knowledge and expertise and improve your long-term job prospects.

All programmes meet the needs of the current healthcare agenda and the growing demand from this ever-evolving sector for increasingly skilled healthcare professionals.

Each programme is informed by cutting edge research, ensuring you have the opportunity to study the latest developments alongside world class experts. Indeed, in the 2014 REF, 68% of LJMUs health-related research was considered world leading or internationally excellent.

Teaching

An insight into teaching on your course

Study hours

The programme timetable comprises 50% theory and 50% practice.

Modules run on one, two and, very occasionally, three specified days of the week. This allows the timetable to be predictable, and facilitates the part-time students undertaking the relevant modules with their full-time counterparts. The university day usually runs from 9.30am to 4pm.

Practice days are in a combination of single days or blocks of days. This combined approach has been developed in response to student and practice teacher feedback. It allows the student to become established in the practice setting, supports continuity of patient/client care, and aims to support students to balance their practice and academic work. The practice day varies by placement area and service, but generally attendance is required 9am-5pm.

Teaching methods

An important element of the programme is to recognise and utilise the current skills of the students and to build on these competencies. Students are encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences and to network both within their peer group and externally. The teaching and learning activities will build on student experiences and will facilitate and encourage further development of existing theoretical and professional knowledge.

The use of interactive lectures and seminars, group work and problem based learning techniques help identify existing skills and, at the same time, encourage students to develop and tailor their portfolio of competencies to meet present and future challenges.

"Many of the sessions are shared between the different routes of the community programmes and with other disciplines. Group discussions and workshops provide an ideal opportunity for students to gain knowledge about other specialist roles.

Applied learning

There is a series of placements to enrich your learning and allow you to experience a variety of partner settings.

You will spend time in a children's hospice, a special school, A&E, a children's walk-in centre and a neo-natal unit. These invaluable placements will enable you to build up a network of contacts and a greater appreciation of where your role a Specialist Community Children's Nurse fits into the overall scheme of healthcare provision."

Assessment

How learning is monitored on your programme

To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.

To gain the credits required for each module you must be able to demonstrate that you have achieved all of the learning outcomes for that module and completed the Practice Evidence Tool.

Formal grading, which counts towards your final module results, involves essays, seminar presentations, reflective diaries, reports and essays, exams and clinical skill observations. You will also receive feedback on your progress throughout the course.

Theory assessments are awarded pass, refer or fail and practice assessments are classed as competent or not competent in each specific area.

Entry requirements

You will need:

Qualification requirements

NVQ

• DipHE in Nursing
• Applicants without a DipHE may gain entry to the programme by evidencing 120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5 either through study or RPEL, against this programme's stated level 4 and 5 learning outcomes

Additional requirements

• Relevant work experience
  • Current level one registration on the NMC professional register (part one or part two)
  • A minimum of a year’s post-registration experience

Further information

• Extra Requirements
  • Satisfactory DBS and references required
  • Students who wish to undertake V300 Independent and Supplementary Non-Medical Prescribing (NMP) as part of the PgDip Specialist Community Practitioner Community Children's Nursing Programme must have at least one years’ post registration experience. Students wishing to undertake this module must also be deemed competent by, and obtain permission and support from their employer.
• RPL
  • RPL is accepted on this programme