Advanced Clinical Practice (Paediatrics) Apprenticeship
Expand the role you play in caring for babies, children and young people, and develop your knowledge, skills and leadership in paediatrics as an advanced clinical practitioner.
Programme description
Programme lead: Liz Mills
This page refers to the Advanced Clinical Practice (Paediatrics) apprenticeship course. The programme is also available as a traditional masters’ programme.
This course provides training for expanded primary and secondary care roles that focus on babies, children and young people. It’s designed for registered nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and related healthcare practitioners within paediatrics who want to work at an advanced level of clinical practice.
Our programme covers all four pillars of advanced clinical practice: You will gain advanced skills in anatomy, history taking and clinical examination, develop your understanding of evidence-based practice and learn how to deal with complex clinical situations and improve patient services. You’ll also cover the training necessary to become an independent prescriber.
You’ll be taught by a multidisciplinary team of academics and practitioners, who are experienced in supporting mature and distance learners. You will combine your university studies with work-based learning under the supervision of a local mentor who can support and assess your knowledge, skills and capabilities.
In your final year you’ll enter Gateway, a period of time between completing your university training and your during which you’ll demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours that you’ve gained throughout the course.
(Health Education England)
Accreditation
Both our standard and apprenticeship programmes have received accreditation from the Centre for Advancing Practice.
The course is also fully aligned with the set out by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).
Duration
Three years, part time
Teaching
You will learn through lectures, skills workshops, simulations, seminars, case-based discussions, supervised clinical practice, tripartite reviews and reflection.
Assessment
You will be assessed through case presentations, reports, examinations including objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs), presentations, essays and a specialist electronic portfolio.
At the end of your three years, you will complete an End Point Assessment (EPA).
Entry requirements
You will:
- have a minimum 2:2 undergraduate honours degree in a health discipline (e.g. nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, physiotherapy, paramedic science).
- be a qualified UK-registered healthcare professional, working in the pathway-specific area for a minimum of three years
- hold a current trainee advanced clinical practitioner contract in the pathway-specific setting for the duration of the programme for a minimum of 30 hours per week
Other requirements
- GCSEs: Grade 4/C or above in Maths and English Language
Local mentor
You will need to identify a local mentor who will agree to help, support and supervise you during the programme.
International qualifications
We also consider a wide range of international qualifications:
Entry requirements for international students
English language requirements
Overall IELTS score of 7.0 with 6.5 in each other component, or equivalent.
Apply
It can take up to six weeks for an offer to be made. Please do not contact us for a decision before this time has passed.
Before you complete your University of 91̽»¨ application, you must have been interviewed for and secured a trainee advanced clinical practitioner post. This will ensure you have the correct funding and supervision in place. As an apprentice, you must be employed by your organisation for a minimum of 30 hours per week to undertake a job with training to .
Once you have completed all the apprenticeship requirements you will receive a link to a University of 91̽»¨ online application form and be asked to . Your completed checklist and all required information should then be uploaded to the application form for your programme. Failure to do this will mean your application can not be considered.
HCPC registrants can also apply if they already hold the independent prescriber qualification.
Fees and funding
Full funding for the cost of the apprenticeship programme fee is available for levy-paying employers (up to the relevant funding cap).
Partial funding for the cost of the apprenticeship programme fee is available for non levy-paying employers (up to the relevant funding cap). The government will fund up to 90% of the apprenticeship programme fees.
International scholarships
We offer a generous package of financial support for international students, including undergraduate and postgraduate taught scholarships worth £10,000 towards the annual tuition fee.
Applications are open for existing offer holders for programmes starting in autumn 2025.