2025/26 entry Applications also open for 2024/25
PG Dip Specialist Community Practitioner: Community Children's Nursing
About this course
Study for LJMU's Registered Specialist Community Practitioner Children's Nursing course and have your NMC professional competencies assessed in practice.
- Study for a recorded qualification in Community Childrens Nursing.
- Learn from expert nurses and specialists on this contemporary programme.
- Benefit from a curriculum praised for its enhanced practice perspective and outstanding fitness for practice from the NMC
- Have your professional competencies, as set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), assessed in theory and practice
- Experience 17.5 or 22 weeks (dependent on the length of your programme) of practical placements
- This course will only run subject to minimum numbers
Accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a recordable qualification, this programme meets the aims of all four groups of children within the NHS at Home (DH2011) document.
The course covers the treatment of children with: acute and short term conditions; long-term conditions; disabilities and complex conditions, including those requiring continuing health care and neonates and life-limiting and life-threatening illness, including those requiring end of life care.
As a community childrens nurse you must be able to demonstrate flexibility and creativity, working collaboratively with children, young people and their families and demonstrating high quality practice leadership to maximise patient independence in collaboration with partner organisations.
The specialist practice experience and theoretical learning provided by this course will enable you to deliver seamless, high quality, holistic care. You will use your existing skills, knowledge and experience to provide holistic nursing care to children, young people and their families at home, or close to home. The course will also equip you to lead and develop community childrens services.
Informed by the very latest developments, the course examines: the role of the Community Children's Nurse, transition care from children's to adult services and leading and developing CCN services for the future. You will explore the development of Continuing Health Care Funding for Children; children's palliative care; clinical supervision and risk management.
Professional body recognition
The programme is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
www.nmc.org.uk/Approved-Programmes
![Accreditation Logo](https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/-/media/ljmu/study/postgraduate-course-images/accreditation-logos/nursing-and-midwifery-council-nmc.jpg)
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.
The student experience
Discover life as a postgraduate student at LJMU.
News and views
Browse through the latest stories and updates from the University and beyond
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
This course is currently undergoing its scheduled programme review, which may impact the advertised modules. Programme review is a standard part of the University’s approach to quality assurance and enhancement, enabling us to ensure that our courses remain up to date and maintain their high standard and relevancy.
Once the review is completed, this course website page will be updated to reflect any approved changes to the advertised course. These approved changes will also be communicated to those who apply for the course to ensure they wish to proceed with their application.
Your programme is made up of a number of core modules which are part of the course framework. Some programmes also have optional modules that can be selected to enhance your learning in certain areas and many feature a dissertation, extended report or research project to demonstrate your advanced learning.
You will study a mix of core and optional modules on your course to a total of 120 credits. 100 credits come from mandatory core modules and then you have a choice to select one 20 credit optional module from those available.
Core modules
Advancing Public Health, Evidence based Practice and Application
20 credits
This module aims to provide you with the knowledge and skills to work as a public health practitioner in the community setting within your field of practice.
It introduces the discipline of public health and the use of evidence to improve services. You will also learn how public policy can influence health needs and service development. The wider determinants of health and health inequalities will be examined in detail. Principles and concepts of health promotion will also be covered.
Advancing Leadership and Management
20 credits
This module aims to enhance your skills and knowledge, enabling you to take a central role in the development of practice within your working environment.
It will also provide an opportunity for you to engage in debate and discussion, so you can identify your strengths and weaknesses as a leader within your organisation.
You will further consider how you can influence and inspire others at both a local, regional, national and international level.
Advancing specialist practice qualification community children's nursing
40 credits
To help the student to maximise learning opportunities and experiences within specialist community children's nursing practice. There is a necessity for the student to be exposed to wider, complex issues within the community and how to strategically plan for care delivery.
Paediatric Clinical Examination and Minor Illness
20 credits
This module will centre on the major physiological systems and build upon students’ prior knowledge and expertise. This will inform greater understanding of the causes and management of common childhood illnesses, and their diagnosis. Wider determinants of health and associated risk factors will be considered to inform decision making and ensure safe practice. Issues related to professional development and advancing clinical practice will be discussed.
Optional Modules
Negotiated work-based learning
20 credits
To enable SPQ students to maximise learning opportunities and experiences relevant to their own area of work in order to facilitate practice, career and professional development
Independent and Supplementary Prescribing
20 credits
Aimed at healthcare professionals registered with the HCPC & NMC, this module enables you to prescribe, safely, appropriately and cost-effectively as independent and/or supplementary prescribers, in accordance with both legal and professional requirements.
The module will prepare you to:
- complete an assessment of a patient/client/service users whilst developing a management plan in relation to their diagnosis/differential diagnosis.
- complete an episode of care through prescribing or deprescribing safety
All students who wish to undertake Independent & Supplementary Prescribing also known as V300 Non-Medical Prescribing will have to complete an additional 'North West Non-Medical Prescribing Application form' which will be approved by the prescribing programme team prior to commencement on the independent and supplementary prescribing programme.
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.
Course tutors
Our staff are committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning
Caroline Boyle
Programme Leader
Caroline has a background in community childrens nursing and is passionate about holistic community health provision for children and young peoples. She has been a childrens nurse for 26 years, and a qualified community childrens nurse for 11 years. Caroline also has an Advanced Practice and Independent and Supplementary Non Medical Prescribing Qualification and experience of managing episodes of care within the community in partnership with children, young people and their parents/cares. Since becoming Programme Lead for the CCN programme Caroline has commenced her postgraduate certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at LJMU; she is due to complete this in August of this year.
It is both exciting and rewarding to watch CCN students grow in their confidence and abilities as the programme progresses and, at the end, to emerge as qualified CCNs with the drive to make positive changes in community care for children, young people and their families.
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Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer
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Lecturer/Senior Lecturer
School facilities
What you can expect from your School
Situated in the City Campus, 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. In addition to specialist facilities, you will find high quality meeting and seminar rooms and lecture theatres, the Avril Robarts Library, plus a large cafe, IT facilities and social spaces.
LJMU's excellent educational and professional training facilities include 1.6 million practice suites which show a patient's journey from the home environment through to rehabilitation. We use the latest clinical equipment for simulations and developing clinical skills in child, adult and mental health nursing, paramedic practice, social work and midwifery. We also have purpose-built, soundproof booths with video camera and playback facilities.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Undergraduate degree
In a relevant nursing subject
Consideration will be given to applicants who have evidence of successful Level 6 or Level 7 study
Additional requirements
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Relevant work experience
Must be registered as a Children's Nurse (level 1) on the NMC Register, with a minimum of 1 year post registration experience.
Further information
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Extra Requirements
Please note: Students wishing to undertake the V300 element of this programme must also be deemed competent by, and obtain permission and support from their employer. All students who wish to undertake V300 Non-Medical Prescribing will have to complete an additional 'North West Non-Medical Prescribing Application form' which will be approved by the prescribing programme team prior to commencement on the NMP programme.
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RPL
RPL of up to 40 level 7 credits is allowed on this programme
The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.