Children and Young People's Nursing BSc (Hons)

Study level: Undergraduate
Professionally Accredited Programmes
Three nurses in training on a fake baby

This course is designed to equip you with the hands-on clinical and care skills to become a caring practitioner well-prepared to meet the needs of children, young people and their families.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

3 years full-time

Course code

B730

Start date

September 2025

We are reviewing many of our School of Health and Care courses for 2025-26 entry to transform the teaching and learning. We are currently showing our 2024-25 course information, please keep checking back on this page to see our latest updates.


Course overview

Fully accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) providing eligibility for registration as a nurse on successful completion of the course (additional costs may apply).

  • All home students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the Government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs6.
  • Study in the state-of-the-art Alison Gingell Building which features hospital wards, operating theatre, critical care settings, community housing and other real-life nursing environments relevant to practice4.
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Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects

Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022

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5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

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Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2023

Why you should study this course

This course has been designed to enable you to analyse the needs of, and develop and deliver effective care for, children from birth to young adulthood. You will consider their physiological needs, mental health and wellbeing in the provision of care and understand the importance of evidence informed practice, care and compassion.

The course focuses on integrated care for children and young people in a variety of settings. You will not only focus on acute/hospital settings, but also on community children’s nursing, supporting children with long-term chronic conditions, health visiting and child and adolescent mental health services.

You will be taught to value the needs of children and their families through their ongoing involvement in the curriculum. You will have the opportunity to develop skills in communication, health assessment, professional practice, evidence-based practice, knowledge of public health and policy, and legal and ethical issues.

Placing equal value on practice and theory, undertaking 800 hours of both per year, you will study a wide range of subjects, including anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, psychology, sociology and research methods. You’ll become immersed in learning about the needs of populations, individuals, related health and nursing services with an emphasis on using research to enhance and improve services.

From the outset, you’ll gain hands-on experience under supervision from qualified mentors, spending around 50% of your time on clinical practice placements5 in a range of healthcare environments within the NHS in hospitals and community placements, at private hospitals and independent care providers. We have well-established links with local partner NHS trusts and other healthcare providers, such as private hospitals, hospices, and community settings.

The facilities4 in the multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building includes mock hospital wards, operating theatre, critical care settings, community housing and other real-life nursing environments relevant to practice. You will have the opportunity to make use of our extensive simulation facilities – from basic life support manikins to high tech simulation dummies, which emulate patient responses and test resuscitation skills. You will also use equipment found in the real world of practice, such as medical devices to assist with all elements of care and especially medication administrations.

While the course has a clear focus on nursing children and young people, a key benefit of our curriculum is the notion of collaboration across all areas of health and social care. Your studies will be complemented with significant insights into mental health, learning disability and adult nursing. Some modules are also studied in conjunction with other health and social care professionals; looking at specific issues and challenges they face to broaden your knowledge and expertise.

The curriculum has been designed to produce professionals who are effective communicators, caring and compassionate, with good relationship building skills. It recognises the importance of inter-professional working within the health and social care workforce and comprises two modules in the areas of health and wellbeing in the community as well as leadership and management. Your degree culminates with a 5,000 word literature review related to one aspect of nursing practice and which is equivalent to the standard dissertation.

The course is underpinned by an approach to professional care which is characterised by empathy, respect, dignity and kindness towards patients and their families. We will encourage you to develop an in-depth understanding of the organisation and culture of modern healthcare systems, which should equip you with the confidence to be able to take a stronger role in the leadership and management of resources in delivering treatment and healthcare options to patients. The aim is to prepare you for the dynamic and fast changing health and social care system, which should help you to develop into an adaptable, flexible, reflective, competent and compassionate practitioner.

All students on this course will qualify for a minimum payment from the Government of £5,000 per year, with additional payments for students incurring childcare costs6.

2nd

for Children’s Nursing

Guardian University Guide 2023

Accreditation and professional recognition

This course is accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

The course is accredited by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the 2024/25 intake and, providing you also meet the NMC requirements, on successful completion you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (subject to additional costs).


Nursing at Coventry University

We have an excellent reputation for the quality of the education provided to trainee and qualified nurses.

Learn why you should study with us
We have an excellent reputation for the quality of the education provided to trainee and qualified nurses.

What you'll study

An introduction to the art and science of nursing in general but also containing the specifics of Children and Young People’s Nursing and family-centred care. The university will source two 10-week placements for you5. One will be within a paediatric acute care setting and another within the community. All students must be able to travel across Coventry and Warwickshire as this is our main placement area.

Within year one placements students may also undertake virtual simulated practice. This involves group working within understanding local community issues and health service planning, online simulated patient scenarios for students to work through and undertake assessment within and paediatric focused clinical skills and scenarios. Service users are also involved, providing feedback upon case study presentations.

Modules

This is a step up from year one, developing further the knowledge base for Children and Young People’s Nursing as well as assessment and management skills.

Modules

Year three focuses on leadership and management, culminating in preparing you, by the end of the programme, to possess the skills to practice as an autonomous practitioner. 

Modules

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.


How you'll learn

This course uses a wide variety of approaches to teaching and learning to suit individual learning styles. This includes a series of interactive lectures with associated seminars, skills laboratory activities, simulations and practical placements5. All modules are mandatory so that upon successful completion you will have the knowledge, values and skills required to be able to work within integrated care settings and enhance the delivery of care for children, young people, their families and carers.

Gaining experience using simulation across a range of care settings is aimed at building your confidence and knowledge about how to act in these situations. This is designed so that you can practice and develop your clinical and interpersonal skills in a safe but realistic environment.

As 50% of the course is practice-based, when on placement you will spend approximately 40 hours per week in clinical areas, which will include nights and weekends. Contact teaching hours will vary throughout the course, but on average you will have around 21 ‘contact’ hours of teaching per week in year one. This generally breaks down as seminar preparation, group work, workshops, activity-led seminars and lectures.

In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 15-20 hours each week of private study which can include self-directed learning and online activities which augment other approaches.

Over the duration of the course, as you become a more independent learner the contact hours will reduce (around 13 in year 2 and 11 in year 3) and independent study will increase.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the University may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.


Assessment 

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include:

  • Practice placement assessments
  • Written coursework
  • Vivas
  • Formal examinations.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.


International experience opportunities 

Our course provides international learning experiences to help prepare you for the global employment market as well as strengthen and develop your broader intercultural, personal and professional skills2.


Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.

Requirement What we're looking for
UCAS points 120
A level BBB - excludes General Studies
GCSE Minimum 5 GCSEs graded 9-4 / A*- C including English, Mathematics and Science
BTEC DDM in a Health, Sport or Science-based subject
IB Diploma 32 points with 14 at Higher Level
Access to HE The Access to HE Diploma in Health or Science subject to include 33 Level 3 credits at Distinction and 12 at Merit in Health units, plus GCSE English and Mathematics at Grade 4/C or above

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Additional information

Caring experience, either paid or voluntary is essential. You will also be required to attend a selection event, which provides detailed information about the course and assesses numeracy, literacy and aptitude as part of the selection process. Skills in digital and technological literacy are considered vital and there is opportunity to develop these throughout the course.

Satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal records disclosure is also required. As part of the health clearance checks you will be required to provide information about your immunity and vaccination status. You will also be required to provide information about your COVID-19 vaccination status. We therefore recommend that you are fully vaccinated including the COVID-19 vaccine. The information you provide will be used to determine your eligibility to go on placement(s). Placements are provided at the placement provider’s discretion. The University is therefore unable to guarantee the provision of placements or the location and type of placement offered5.

Please refer to the full requirements in the disclaimer section5.

Are you eligible for the Fair Access Scheme?

We believe every student should have the opportunity to dream big, reach their potential and succeed, regardless of their background. Find out more about our Fair Access Scheme.

Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:


You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

Additional information

Caring experience, either paid or voluntary is essential. You will also be required to attend a selection event, which provides detailed information about the course and assesses numeracy, literacy and aptitude as part of the selection process. Satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal records disclosure required. Skills in digital and technological literacy are considered vital and there is opportunity to develop these throughout the course.

You will also be required to attend a selection event which provides detailed information about the course and assesses numeracy, literacy and aptitude as part of the selection process.

Please refer to the full requirements in the disclaimer section5.

English language requirements

  • This course requires an IELTS of 7.0 overall, with no component lower than 6.5.

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

2024/25 tuition fees.

Student Full-time Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £9,250 per year
Not available
EU 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £9,250 per year with EU Support Bursary**
2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £19,850 per year without EU Support Bursary**
Not available
International 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £19,850 per year
Not available

A non-repayable grant of £5,000 and extra payments worth up to £3,000 may be available to eligible home students for each year of study. Read more about this in the NHS Learning Support Fund information booklet.

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.

**EU Support Bursary

Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.


Facilities

Our multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building features a range of mock healthcare settings, including hospital wards, ambulance, therapy suites and community houses, giving you the opportunity to replicate real-life situations before you go on placement4.

You’ll have the opportunity to make use of our extensive simulation facilities – from basic life support manikins to high tech simulation manikins, which emulate patient responses and test resuscitation skills. You will also use healthcare devices found in the real world of practice.

Nurses in training standing around a dummy patient on a hospital bed

Alison Gingell Building

Our state-of-the-art Alison Gingell Building features mock hospital wards built to NHS standards, an operating theatre, critical care settings and other real-life nursing environments.

Community houses

Community houses

Learn how to work with patients outside of a hospital setting in our simulated, two full-size community homes, specifically built for teaching.

 

Midwifery Suite with patient in birthing pool and nursing staff around a birthing pool

Midwifery suite

Our midwifery suite is equipped with delivery facilities including water birth options. Student midwives also use mannequins to simulate routine and emergency care for mothers and babies.


Careers and opportunities

During your three years on this course you will undertake six placements (sourced by the university)5 in a range of service settings, working with and alongside qualified children and young people’s nurses, and therefore potential local and regional employers.

On graduating successfully from this course, you can apply for registration (subject to additional costs) with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which enables you to practice immediately.

The majority of our graduates find employment as qualified nurses in the NHS with a growing emphasis on community settings, in acute hospitals, or within the private and independent healthcare sector. As your career progresses, a number of options may be open to you as a lecturer or specialist practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner, consultant nurse or manager. You could specialise in areas such as community children’s nursing, health visiting, neonatal nursing, paediatric intensive care nursing or move into areas such as management, teaching or clinical research.

Where our graduates work

Recent graduates have gone on to roles working on paediatric wards, neonatal units, hospice and respite care, children’s emergency departments and community children’s nursing. 

Further study

You can choose to continue your studies at Coventry University with the Nursing Msc. You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study. 

Coventry University nursing student Jessica Vaughan pictured holding her Nursing Times Student of the Year award for the adult nursing category

Coventry University student wins national nursing award

A nursing student at Coventry University who has juggled being a mum, a learner and volunteering in Africa has won a national award.


How to apply

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