Health & Social Care (Mental Health Pathway) FdA

Key Information:

Start date: September

Institutional code: O10

UCAS code: MH93

Duration: 2 years full time

Course type: Full Time

Fees per year 2024/25 entry: £7,500 Full Time

Fees per year 2025/26 entry: £8,000 Full Time

Additional costs per year: £50 for enhanced DBS

 

Entry Requirements

Admissions decisions will be based on the following standard criteria:

GCSE Maths and English at grade 4 or FS2 or KS3

Accreditation of prior learning is considered on an individual basis for those candidates that have undertaken relevant study in a health and social care related field.

Accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) is considered on an individual basis for those candidates that have relevant work experience in a health and social care related field.

For students whose first language is not English an IELTS score of 6 for both reading and writing is required.

Mature students may present a more varied profile of achievement that is likely to include extensive work experience (paid and/or unpaid) and/or achievement of a range of professional qualifications in their work sector.

This course will entail you working with vulnerable groups of individuals. This may include children, adults and families. In order to ensure that we offer places on our programmes to suitable candidates you will be required to obtain a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service clearance (formerly termed CRB). Placements are to be completed in Years 1 and 2 with 100 placement hours per year. DBS clearance must, therefore, be completed prior to engagement with placements.

Please note that should your Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check prove to be unsatisfactory for the purpose of the course you have applied to, your offer of a place for that course may be withdrawn. If you are aware that your DBS check will disclose a previous conviction, please contact the course leader for advice.

Award

FdA Health and Social Care (Mental Health pathway)

Want to learn and work in mental health services, the community and/or social care? Then our two-year work-based programme is for you!

The health and social care sector is vast and this course is a great opportunity for you to empower and improve the day-to-day lives of vulnerable people.

You will gain the skills, knowledge and understanding to succeed. The course is linked closely to the UK Government’s health and social care agendas, so you’ll experience a balance of current policy, practice and academic training. Our focus is on supporting you to become a knowledgeable, compassionate, and person-centred care professional.

Content Year 1

PZ1015 Study Skills and Lifelong Learning
This module is designed to help you develop the academic skills required for studying at degree level, as well as the skills to enhance your learning for the rest of your life. The knowledge you gain during this module will apply to all modules on the course.

PZ1046 Mental Health Across the Lifespan
The module will focus on the key components of mental health and will aim to develop student’s knowledge of developmental, psychological and social issues that may influence an individual’s mental health. In particular, this module recognises the diversity of the mental health workforce and the culture of involving service users and carers in influencing and improving mental health services.

PZ1000 Introduction to Anatomy, Physiology and Psychology of Health
The aim of this module is to enable students to develop underpinning knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the body and how this may be affected by illness, disease and injury. In addition, the students will be able to identify health and disease processes on diagnostic tests as relevant to their area of practice. The module aims to link the theoretical knowledge from the classroom to the practical or social environment and will explore the concepts of health and well-being from a medical and bio-psychosocial approach.

PZ1090 Foundations for Practice
This module is designed to help you start identifying the skills you have and the skills you need to develop to work within Health and Care sector. During your placement, you will be working alongside service users, their families and carers, skilled practitioners and you will enjoy the privilege of being invited into individuals’ lives. You will have the opportunity to consider what you have learned in class and how this applies in the ‘real world’ and encouraged to think critically about yourself as a practitioner. You will also be introduced to ideas and theories of personal and professional development and will have the opportunity to apply these to practice.

Content Year 2

PZ2090 Supporting Professional Practice
Building on what you learned in Year One, this module offers you the opportunity to gain more experience of working with service users, their families and carers, and the professional staff who work with them. The module will enable you to critically consider the skills you have, those you need for future professional practice and what you can learn from your experience on placement.

PZ2035 Management and Leadership within Health and Social Care
The aim of this module is to support students to develop managerial and leadership roles within the health or social care sector.

PZ2091 Evidence based Practice
The module will enable students to develop the skills to locate and appraise research and cultivate their knowledge of a topic from their professional discipline as a basis for future action.

PZ2033 Interventions in Mental Health Practice
The aim of this module is to equip students with a clear range of knowledge, values and skills, all of which have been clearly demonstrated to be effective in meeting the needs of service users who experience serious mental health problems. The module will also enable students to understand policy and legislation relating to mental disorder, and the role of the law for service users with mental disorder or mental incapacity in relation to care and treatment.

Placements and Work Experience

Placements are to be completed in Years 1 and 2 with 100 placement hours per year.

Guest speakers are invited into some modules and you will have the opportunity to participate in Employability Week with a focus on engaging with employers from the Health and Social Care sector.

What careers can the course lead to?

The FdA programme provides you with the option to continue your study to the BSc (Hons) Top-Up in Health & Social Care.

Career options include:

  • Probation service
  • Mental Health Care Support Worker
  • Mental Health Practitioner
  • Mental Health Advocate
Teaching and Assessment methods
  • Essays
  • Case Studies
  • Open-book Exam
  • Online Portfolios
  • Reports
  • Presentations
  • Placements
Facilities particular to the course
  • Simulated practice suites
  • Learning Resource Centre
  • Wellbeing Hub
  • Graduate Hub
  • Lecture Theatre
  • Online resources
  • Online Learning Platform