September 2024

Working With Children, Young People and Families BA (Hons)

Honours Degree, Undergraduate, September 2024

Key Details

  • L590 Course Code
  • 3 - 4.5* Years
  • 112 Typical UCAS Tariff
working with children young people and families lecture

In the current economic climate, there are many challenges facing children, young people and families. Supporting children, young people and families requires informed and educated professionals who are able to understand the social, economic, educational, political and cultural issues and barriers in order to respond to, and challenge the issues facing families and communities today. The course offers you the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of issues impacting on family and communities at a local and international level.

  • The course provides an opportunity to cover a range of multi-disciplinary issues
  • You will be encouraged to develop an area of particular expertise, in line with your own interests and career aspirations.
  • The course is up to date, keeping pace with changes in society.
  • You will have opportunities to volunteer or undertake project work with local community organisations and apply the theoretical knowledge gained on the course to real-life scenarios under the supervision of experienced practitioners.
  • You will develop transferable skills which will be relevant to a wide range of graduate employment contexts.

The course looks at a number of social issues, policy and legislation relevant to children, young people and families. It provides you with an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of agencies working with children and families including Social Services, Local Education Authorities, schools, third sector organisations, the Police etc.

The programme uses a variety of assessment methods including elements of real world tasks which will be useful for graduate level employment.

The skills and knowledge gained from undertaking this course provide an excellent preparation for a wide range of occupations including careers in pastoral roles in education, family support work, social care, community support roles, employment within local authorities, health or charity sectors, culture, heritage or recreation.

It is intended that graduates from this course will develop into managers and leadership roles capable of dealing with multi-agency working with a range of knowledge and inter-personal skills.

Graduates can also progress onto a wide range of postgraduate degree programmes including social work, or teacher training or Psychology conversion.

Newman University is located in Britain’s second city – Birmingham. With one of the youngest city populations in Europe, it is a vibrant and dynamic place to study.

Studying at Newman University, you have the advantage of being near to the city, but living in, or commuting to peaceful and comfortable surroundings on campus.

Dining out

Birmingham has lots of wonderful places to dine out with a range of different cuisines. Places where you can dine out include; Brindley Place, Mailbox and Hagley Road (just 10 minutes’ from Newman).

Entertainment

Whether you like to go to; the theatre, gigs or clubs, or enjoy: sports, shopping visiting art galleries or exhibitions – Birmingham will not disappoint and you will be spoilt for choice!

Location

Getting around Birmingham is easy via train, bus or by car. Birmingham has excellent transport links to the rest of Britain, making it easy for those weekend getaways!

Why not explore the city for yourself by visiting one of our Open Days?

Want to find out more about Birmingham? Then take a look at some Birmingham City Secrets.

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Entry Requirements

You must achieve at least 112 UCAS points including a minimum of CC at A level or equivalent (e.g.MM at BTEC Diploma; MPP at BTEC Extended Diploma) towards the total tariff.

Access Students can achieve the requirements with the following combination of Distinction, Merit and/ or Pass grades at level 3 achieved from a completed Access course. 112 UCAS Points: D21-M3-P21; D18-M9-P18; D15-M15-P15; D12-M21-P12; D9-M27-P9; D6-M33-P6; D3-M39-P3; D0-M45-P0.

The University accepts appropriate T Levels as part of its usual entry requirements.

If your work placement involves working with children or vulnerable adults a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance and is required before starting any work placement.

For applicants who are unsure that they will achieve the above UCAS tariff, Newman University offers Working with Children, Young People and Families (with Foundation Year)  which enables such applicants to access a university degree via a four year route. Upon successful completion of their foundation year, students will progress to Year 1 of a named degree. Whilst not a condition of entry onto the Foundation Year, students wishing to follow particular named routes with additional entry requirements, will need to meet these requirements before they make the transition from their foundation year to year 1.

International Students
The University is not licenced by the UK Government to sponsor migrant students under the Student route and is therefore unable to accept applications from international students at present.

Applying Direct Option

You can apply direct to Newman University for the full-time route for this course if you have not previously applied to Newman University through UCAS and you are not applying to any other universities.

September 2024 Direct Application Link

September 2024 Direct Application Link (part-time)

N.B. will need to enter ‘New User’ account details when first accessing this portal.

Course Fees

The full-time course fee for September 2023 is £9,250 per year.

The part-time course fee for September 2023 is £5,300 per year.

The University will review tuition fees and increase fees in line with any inflationary uplift as determined by the UK Government, if permitted by law or government policy, in subsequent years of your course. It is anticipated that such increases would be linked to RPI (the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments).

Additional Costs

Find out more about the other additional costs associated with our undergraduate degrees. 

Modules

Please be aware that, as with any course, there may be changes to the modules delivered, for information view our Changes to Programmes of Module Changes page.

*As a part-time undergraduate student, you choose how many modules to study each year (up to a maximum of 6). To qualify for a student tuition fee loan you will need to choose at least 4 modules. A normal 3-year degree will take 4.5 years (if you take 4 modules per year) up to a maximum of 8 years to complete. You will be taught alongside full-time undergraduate students.

Timetables: find out when information is available to students

 

 

  1. This module will encourage students to think about the centrality of inclusive practice and how this is influenced by practitioners’ own value base. It will look at how and why children, young people and families can become socially excluded and will look at the implications for inclusive practitioners. There will be the opportunity for formative assessment within this module. This will take place in the first part of the semester
  2. This module will introduce the idea of the social construction of attitudes to children, young people and families. By drawing on historical and cultural studies approaches, it will give students the chance to critically reflect on the values, meanings and ideologies embedded in popular discourse and cultural products. It will explore the ways in which cultural production, including music, art, photography, film and literature act as a site of struggle and a testing ground for competing constructions of childhood, youth, old age and family in response to political, economic, demographic and technological change. It will also ask students to consider how these processes have shaped, and continue to shape, the contexts of professional practice in Working with Children, Young People and Families
  3. ‘Advantaged Thinking’ is an assets or strengths based approach to working with children, young people and families that puts the emphasis on identifying talents rather than weaknesses. It also and allows us to think about our own strengths and talents as professionals and encourages us to think about the positive role we play in the workforce. It is about using the advantages we possess as individuals (or talents, assets, resources, abilities) to create the conditions for a society in which everyone can thrive.   The module therefore aims to introduce students to the Advantaged Thinking philosophy and prepare them for work-related learning. Equipping students with an Advantaged Thinking approach can help turn the disadvantaged narrative of a person’s life experience into personal opportunities and positive outcomes and give students a chance to think about how they do this in an economy where the models of employment are also changing rapidly.   This module will also enable an introduction to the careers service and support that it can provide to the students (such as careers progression coaches, finding placements etc) during their degree and upon graduation.
  4. WWCYPF is a multi-disciplinary subject that draws on key ideas from a range of different academic traditions – sociology, psychology, development studies, cultural studies and philosophy, politics and Economics (PPE). In this module students will be introduced to some of the key thinkers and the big ideas that have shaped the way these different academic traditions have characterised children, young people and families and what they have had to say about working professionally in that field. The module will seek to give students a broad foundation of the theory that has shaped and influenced service developments and delivery and introduce them to the way conflicting ideas help to shape the way we think about basic questions for example, what we mean by notions of ‘family’, ‘childhood’, ‘kinship’ or our ideas about ‘need’, ‘vulnerability’ and ‘good’ or ‘bad’ childhoods.
  5. This module aims to give students an introduction to the historical development of services for children, young people and families in the UK and focuses on key events that have shaped those services. The module will look at how notions of ‘vulnerability’ have influenced the way those services are structured and will explore the social and legislative response made by governments and non-statutory organisations to demands for improvements in the way children and families are supported.
  6. This module will examine some of the over-arching social policy issues that shape the working agenda around children, young people and families. To do this it will be structured around the key issues identified by William Beveridge as the ‘giants’ of social policy – education, poverty, housing, health (including safeguarding and protection of the vulnerable) and work. These topics will be analysed in the context of the challenges that face professionals working within the current model of the welfare state.
  7. The module is concerned to develop in students the ability to draw on a wide range of sources for best practice in work with children, young people and families.  The vital importance of listening to young people and their family members will be considered alongside the necessity of drawing on experienced practitioners, research evidence, historical practice and innovation.  The influence and bias of media sources will be critiqued exploring ideas including ‘moral panics’.  Students will be invited to explore how we can involve and empower the people we work with as well as drawing on the best practice developed over years or more recently.
  1. This research module aims to develop students’ research literacy, knowledge and understanding of research theory with a view to helping them understand where, why and how research was developed and its relationship to practice. It will also explore the choices of methodologies used for different research projects and consider the constraints and influences that have led to the research being undertaken in the way it was.
  2. This module will build on the knowledge and understanding of research theory that was developed in Module WWU521.  It will focus on strengthening the knowledge, understanding and skills needed for students to proceed with their Capstone Research Project at level 6.  The module will help students to explore the Capstone Research Project options so that they can make informed decisions/choices.  The module will identify what the options are and will introduce a range of appropriate research and/or communication tools for each option.
  3. Discrimination exists in many forms in British society, having a negative impact on the lives of children, young people and families. It is therefore essential that practitioners understand discrimination. This module will explore the historical context for discrimination in the UK, who has the power to discriminate and how discrimination is experienced. The module will also critically evaluate theories of discrimination, including Critical Race Theory, Feminisms and the Personal, Cultural and Structural model of understanding discrimination. The module will focus on exploring discrimination of different groups in society and the intersection and overlap of inequalities. A central focus of the module will be on the policy response to discrimination in the UK, the roles and responsibilities of institutions in relation to discrimination, and examining the extent to which the issues have been addressed
  4. This module will focus on developing an understanding of the need to work in partnership “with” children, young people and families in different contexts in order to promote participation and to challenge deficit assumptions about those with whom we work. It will critically analyse different theories and approaches to participation and begin to challenge the power that practitioners exercise when making decisions that affect children, young people and families.
  5. This module will enable students to develop an understanding and analysis of disability that builds on the issues they engage with in the Level 4 module entitled ‘The Inclusive Practitioner’. The content of the module will be based on a human rights model and will encourage students to see issues relating to both physical and learning disabilities in their social, political and ideological context. The module will enable the students to understand that issues of disability are best understood through an anti-discriminatory, values-led approach and not via a diagnostic or medical perspective.
  6. This module will provide students with the opportunity to explore theoretical and practical notions of developing effective relationships with CYPF. Students will consider the aspects of best practice regarding the working alliance, ethical guidelines, pastoral care and the importance of support and supervision. Consideration will be given to the benefits and challenges of using creative approaches to work with groups and individuals.
  1. This module provides students with the opportunity to explore an area of particular interest through undertaking an evaluation of a particular policy or practice areas related to ‘professional practice’ Related to working with children, young people or families
  2. This module provides students with the opportunity to explore an area of particular interest through undertaking a small scale research project supported by a member of staff from the subject area (or elsewhere) with appropriate specialist knowledge.
  3. This module offers you the opportunity to build on your level 5 work placement through the more developed application of a negotiated work-based research project. You will agree with your placement tutor and workplace mentor a brief for a project which addresses a need within the organisation. Learners should complete a minimum of 100 hours in the workplace. It is in the spirit of this module that wherever possible, the focus will be on social or community / sustainable development.
  4. This module will provide students with the opportunity to explore historical and contemporary concerns that have served to shape policy and practice. Students will explore current legislation and its implications for practice for all those working with the young and vulnerable adults. A clearer understanding will be gained of the different roles and responsibilities of those working in the area of safeguarding. Consideration will be given to the impact that abuse can have on the lives of victims and their families.
  5. Given the changing nature of children’s services in line with a neoliberalist agenda, understanding both how organisations and communities function and the roles that individuals play within each of those is important. Therefore students need to understand both the role of values at an institutional level, and how partnership working is developed and sustained across organisations and communities.
  6. This module will explore the role of creativity and play in how children and adults make sense of their lives and worlds, and the role of practitioners in facilitating this process. Working with children, young people and families is a holistic and participatory discipline. Good practice should seek to develop a social pedagogy which treats children’s, young people’s and families’ cultures as inherently valuable, and practitioners should support, in a person-centred way, those they work with to optimise their dignity, choice and wellbeing in their own lives. Creativity is foundational in this process.   The module will seek to give students a broad foundation in the theory and practice of creative working current in the field. Drawing on concrete examples of children and young people’s cultures and making use of arts, crafts, life skills, sports, games, religion and the natural world, it will help students to build their confidence in this mode of working. The key threshold concept will be an awareness of the tension between valuing children’s’ activities as developmental or therapeutic and valuing them for their own sake. It will encourage students to hold this tension through a reflective remembering of their own childhood lifeworld.
  7. This module will provide students with the opportunity to explore current legislation and its implications for practice for all those working with children, young people and adults with care experience.  The module will seek to examine the rhetoric within policy and initiatives concerning children who are in Care and the underlying political ideologies around the role of the state in caring for children.  Students will investigate the range of provision for people with care experience including models popular in other countries.  A wide view of the diverse needs of children, young people and adults with care experience will be presented, underlining the challenges in balancing protection and support with learning and development and the associated importance of partnership and collaborative working.
  8. This module explores some practical challenges of working with families where there are concerns around violence, harm and/or abuse.  It seeks to explore different ways of thinking about vulnerability and risk and how this relates to the ways in which families are constructed in policy and practice. It also seeks to look at key practice issues around working with family members and other professionals.
  9. At levels 4 and 5 students will have been introduced to notions of inclusive practice, the effects of discrimination and the need for practitioners to understand what lies behind the concept of social justice when it comes to working with children, young people and families. This module offers students at level 6 the chance to develop their thinking about how they can best work with children and families to alleviate or overcome barriers to equality and justice in service design and delivery. The context for this will be an exploration of the concept of ‘anti-oppressive’ practice and will include an examination of the skills needed to work in this way.