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Working with Children, Young People and Families (top-up) - NTU in Mansfield BA (Hons)

UCAS code: L533

Start year

Information for 2025

About this course

The Working with Children, Young People and Families (Level 6) course is designed for you if you are an FdA graduate and want to top up your qualification to BA honours degree level.

If you're planning a future improving the lives of families, young people and children, you'll gain the tools you need to make a difference to those in need of support.

Taught at NTU in Mansfield, this course links academic learning with hands-on research and practice. With a focus on real-world learning, you’ll cover a range of contemporary issues from an organisational and leadership perspective.

This additional year of study will further develop your knowledge and skills of work practices related to children, young people and families, opening up rewarding career opportunities in the sector, as well as options for further study.

  • Top up your sector-related FdA, to BA honours degree level on this one-year course.
  • On completing this degree you’ll be well-placed to take up a variety of careers within the sector or go on to further study.
  • Strong links to vocational practice and improving the lives of the children, young people and families.
  • NTU in Mansfield is your alternative route into higher education. We've built this qualification with the local job market in mind. Each of our higher education courses is relevant, hands-on and work-focused.

What you’ll study

The course is designed to build on the principles of the foundation degree (and equivalent) programmes. There are strong links to vocational practice and improving the lives of the children, young people and families our graduates will work with is at the heart of the course. There are five Level 6 modules on this course.

Project Management and Research in Practice  (40 Credit Points)

You will develop commercial and organisational awareness within the sector, through project managing a piece of research with a local employer. This module allows you to design and generate a research project informed by an awareness of methodological debates within the social sciences.

Voice, Choice and Power (20 Credit Points)

This module encourages students to consider how to centre the voice of the service user within organisations. It explores the power and influence of decision makers and how minority voices may become marginalised. You will critically analyse how agency for children, young people and families is, and may be further provided for, within the sector.

Change Makers and Leaders (20 Credit Points)

You will identify and adopt the skills, approaches and styles of effective leadership required within differing organisational cultures. Leading teams, change management and quality management, evaluation and impact are explored in order to equip students for future employability. Students are encouraged to employ analytical knowledge of networks, system, policy and regulatory frameworks and how these are applied in leadership and staff supervision within children, young peoples and/or family services.

People and Place: Ethical and Sustainable Practice (20 Credit Points)

Students will explore how empowering people and ethical decision making can shift power dynamics to offer more sustainable futures for organisations, better knowledge management and robust community led networks. This modules enables students to critically evaluate values and principles, which promote equality, diversity, rights and responsibilities and their application to practice, supporting congruency for service users.

Contemporary Global Perspectives (20 Credit Points)

This module seeks to understand global citizenship, comparative global problems and practice based approaches. It explores concepts of social justice, social solidarity and social transformation and considers the impact of decolonising aid and organisational structures in under developed countries.

We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.

How you're taught

Teaching, learning and assessment will be varied, appealing to a diverse range of learners, and make use of technology in the form of electronic portfolios, blogs, and simulation suites.

You will develop essential transferable skills such as effective communication skills; analysing information; problem solving and decision making. You will have the opportunity to apply acquired knowledge through a variety of activities including classroom based, simulated and work related activities.

Staff Profiles

Kerry Lemon - Senior Lecturer

School of Social Sciences

Course Leader and lecturer for Foundation Degree and BA (Top-up) Working with Children, Young People and Families, at the NTU Mansfield site.

Charlie Porter-Baker - Senior Lecturer

School of Social Sciences

Charlie Porter-Baker is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work, Care & Community at NTU.

Careers and employability

Your future career

With a BA (Hons) Working with Children, Young People and Families qualification, there’s a wide range of careers that you could follow, including:

  • Youth Development Leader
  • Youth Support Worker
  • Children’s Engagement and Participation Leader
  • Family Support Worker
  • Project Support Officer
  • Women’s Support Worker
  • Community Link Worker.

You may want to consider further study options to gain professional qualifications at Masters level for example MA Social Work, MA Youth Work Leadership and Practice or MA Career Guidance and Leadership.

Employability Team

At NTU in Mansfield, our award-winning Employability team is here to inspire and enhance your career planning, whichever path you choose. Whether you wish to go on to further study or to look for job opportunities, we can guide you to be a successful candidate.

Campus and facilities

As an NTU Mansfield student, you’ll benefit from the latest facilities and modern technology to support your studies and help you get the most out of student life.

We are continually investing in our facilities and enhancing our learning and teaching environment to make it an inspiring place for students.

Facilities and services include:

  • University Centre
  • Teaching and Learning Centre
  • Library
  • Dedicated study zones, including PC suites
  • On-site café
  • Social spaces
  • Sports facilities
  • Student Support Services
  • Nottingham Trent Students Union (NTSU) drop-in events.

Entry requirements

UK students

Standard offer: Foundation degree in a sector-related area e.g. FdA Children and Young People; FdA Social Care; FdA Early Years Studies.

To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.

International students

This course is not suitable for tier 4 visa applicants.

We accept qualifications from schools, colleges and universities all over the world for entry onto our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. If you’re not sure how your international qualification matches our course requirements please visit our international qualifications page.

Policies

We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.

Fees and funding

UK students

- see the fees for this course, as well as information about funding and support.

£9,535 per year

Find out about the extra support we may be able to provide to help pay for uni, including NTU bursaries and scholarships.

Bursaries

A university bursary is an award that can help those who may not have otherwise been able to afford to attend university. We offer the following cash bursaries to prospective students:

  • NTU Bursaries
  • NTU Opportunity Bursary
  • NTU Care Leavers and Foyer Resident Bursary
  • NTU Estranged Student Bursary
  • Nursing, Teacher Training and Social Work Bursaries

Find out more about bursaries

Scholarships

University scholarships help to fund studies and are awarded to exceptional students with achievements or high potential in both academic and extracurricular fields.

Find out more about scholarships

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees, including the placement year and study abroad options are subject to government policy and may change in future years of study.

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but we don’t want you to feel anxious or confused about it. Visit our fees and funding pages if you have any concerns.

International students

- see the fees for this course, as well as payment advice and scholarships.

This course is not suitable for applicants who require a student visa.

However, we do accept qualifications from schools, colleges and universities all over the world for entry onto our Bachelors and Masters degrees. If you’re not sure how your international qualification matches our course requirements please see our information about international qualifications.

Additional costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert Employability team and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are just a few additional things you may need to budget for:

Textbooks and library books

Most modules will recommend one or more core textbooks, which most students choose to purchase. Book costs vary and further information is available in the University’s bookshop. Our libraries provide a good supply of essential textbooks, journals and materials (many of which you can access online) - meaning you may not need to purchase as many books as you might think! There may also be a supply of second-hand books available for purchase from previous year students.

Printing and photocopying costs

The University allocates an annual printing and copying allowance of £20 depending on the course you are studying. For more details about costs for additional print and copying required over and above the annual allowance please see the printing and photocopying information on the Library website.

Fees and funding advice

For more advice and guidance, you can email our Student Money Team or phone us on +44 (0)115 848 2494.

Cost of living information and support

Managing your money can help you make the most of life at NTU. Here's how we can support you, and now you can make your funding go further.

How to apply

Ready to join us? Then apply as soon as you can. Just click the Apply now button at the top of the page and follow the instructions for applying. Make sure you check the entry requirements above carefully before you do.

Keeping up to date

After you’ve applied, we’ll be sending you important emails throughout the application process so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

You can get more information and advice about applying to NTU on our Your Application page. Good luck with your application!

Getting in touch

If you need any more help or information, please call us on +44 (0)115 848 4200 or complete our enquiry form.