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MSc Child Protection and Adult Safeguarding

  • Study Mode: Part Time
  • Location: Distance Learning
  • Duration: Two Years
  • Start Date: September 2024

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Do you want to protect and care for those who are most vulnerable?
The MSc in Child Protection and Adult Safeguarding offers a unique perspective into both children and adult safeguarding, covering the latest trends and policies in safeguarding, highlighting specific groups who may be at risk of certain types of abuse or targeting, to the services that should be used to protect and provide an accessible and supportive safeguarding framework.
“I recommend this course because it is a great opportunity to learn, reflect and grow with others, it can be challenging and hard work but the space each week to step out of clinical/operational practice and think deeper about your work is invaluable.
Philip Winterbottom

Why study this subject?

Many practitioners, regardless of their field, are often appointed safeguarding responsibilities or roles whilst there is a dearth of specific knowledge available. This course will help fill that gap in knowledge, offering those in these roles the opportunity to develop confident, ethical practice and enhance their leadership styles in sharing their knowledge of good practice and reflection.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

Our course at BNU is unique in that it explores contemporary safeguarding for children and adults. This enables practitioners to work across a range of roles post-qualifying and offers a robust learning experience that can be immediately applied to the practice environment as well as influence policy within organisations. So, if you’re a professional who holds safeguarding responsibilities as part of your role, this course is ideal for you.

Our teaching staff are experienced professionals and have links in social work and healthcare, and these links enrich the course through visiting lecturers who specialise in specific areas, such as safeguarding in prisons, safeguarding and mental health and many health-related areas.

We also have links with experts who investigate abuse in faith settings and the use of Serious Case reviews provides a basis for considering various forms of cultural considerations in safeguarding practice.

This course will provide you with a strong skill set and the confidence to improve the quality of care and communication with vulnerable children and adults.

The support from the lecturers and other students on the course has been amazing. This course has opened my eyes to the wealth of opportunities I have available to me upon graduation.
Natalie Brown

What facilities can I use? 

The university offers a substantial range of facilities and the library is even accessible to you offsite through the online databases and journals, many of these specific to child and adult protection and the environmental factors that increase or minimise risk levels.

What will I study?

The contemporary nature of the course means that any current trends in safeguarding are explored and changes in policy are considered from the impact on safeguarding practice.

Our course is delivered through the use of various media and teaching approaches, which include discussion-based seminars where students are able to explore safeguarding practice in their own organisations, lectures and the use of media such as blogs to consider specific topics during the teaching programme. Some modules demand your input to shape the content, giving you the opportunity to influence what is addressed through the teaching to benefit your practice.

The teaching is spread across a number of disciplines including health, social work and psychology. This is supported by experts and specialists who share their knowledge on specific modules, offering a diverse range of knowledge of safeguarding in the practice environment.

The individual role as a leader and manager in safeguarding is given its own module, as understanding the impact of your ability to lead in safeguarding is essential to developing good practice across your current organisation and those you may work with in the future.

 

How will I be taught and assessed?

BNU offers flexible study spread over one or two years, allowing you to study full-time or part-time alongside employment.

Whether you're training to build your skills in your current role or change your career path, this course ensures you can immediately apply your increased knowledge in a professional setting.

As well as support from your lecturers, who are experts in their field, you will also benefit from a range of guest speakers who provide specialised workshops that add to your knowledge. Their expertise and real world experience will inspire and emphasise how your qualification can be used to benefit others.

There are a range of processes used across the course to assess you which include:

  • informal and formal blogs
  • presentations to the student group
  • posters
  • exams
  • essay submissions.

For the dissertation, you are encouraged to complete either primary research or a specific project that can change practice within their organisations. This makes the course relevant to improving safeguarding for at risk groups within your chosen specific area of practice.

You are supported through two modules to prepare for the dissertation and have the opportunity to apply for APEL if the research modules have been completed in another relevant course.

What I love about this course is there is scope across the course to study areas related to your career, roles or responsibilities whilst still meeting the learning outcomes.
Philip Winterbottom

MSc Child Protection and Adult Safeguarding Programme Specification

What are the course entry requirements?

We usually expect candidates to have a second-class honours degree in a related field or discipline. We also consider candidates with professional qualifications and directly relevant work experience. As this isn't a practice-based course, you don't have to be currently working with vulnerable people to be accepted as a student.

Modules

This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.

What are the tuition fees

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  • Home, Academic Year 2024 - 2025: £4,225 per year

Additional course costs and financial support

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees.
You could benefit from financial support through a bursary or scholarship during your time as a student. For more details visit our financial support, bursaries and scholarships section.

Questions about fees?

If you have any questions about the fees above, contact our Enquiries team by calling 0330 123 2023 or emailing advice@bnu.ac.uk.

What are my career prospects?

If you want to develop a career in safeguarding practice, this course will prepare you for job roles such as policy developer, researcher, team leader, programme manager or unit manager in the NHS, local government and charities.

Previous students have seen their careers soar on completion of the programme, as they are then considered ‘experts’ or ‘specialists’ with a broad range of knowledge to build on and have usually demonstrated this through their dissertation research or project.

For those not yet in a safeguarding role, the course offers the opportunity to change direction to the safeguarding career pathway in a range of settings, both nationally and internationally.

Course leader

A head and shoulders photo of a smiling Brenda Brown wearing a black dress stood against a grey wall looking directly into the camera
Brenda Brown
  • Senior Lecturer
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A head shot of a smiling Mariette Uys who has short hair and is wearing glasses
Mariëtte Uys
  • Senior Lecturer
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A head and shoulders shot of a smiling Susan Perryman wearing a land yard with a black jumper
Susan Perryman
  • Senior Lecturer
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