You will develop your professional practice through work-based learning, with a particular focus on the values and behaviours expected of Assistant Practitioners, which include compassion and commitment.

You will study one day a week in the classroom, as well as developing your skills and behaviours within the workplace.  The subjects that you will cover include anatomy and physiology, psychology and sociology, leadership and management, risk management as well as undertaking professional practice modules based over a two-year period.  You will be assessed via a variety of techniques including presentations, essays and professional discussions.   

The course is taught in the University Centre in our Winter Gardens Campus and sessions will occasionally also take place in our new Health and Active Living Skills Centre at Loxton Campus.

All of the modules on this course are compulsory. Successful completion of all of the modules in the first year is worth 120 credits at Level 4 and equivalent to a Certificate of Higher Education. Successful completion of the second year is also worth 120 credits and will lead to the award of the Level 5 Foundation Degree 

Year 1 

The student must take 120 credits from the modules in Year 1. 

• Anatomy and Physiology (30 credits) 
• Clinical Practice 1 (30 credits)  
• Communication for Practice (15 credits) 
• Psychology and Sociology of Health (30 credits) 
• Risk Management (15 credits) 

Year 2

The student must take 120 credits from the modules in Compulsory Modules

• Clinical Practice 2 (20 credits) 
• Methods of Enquiry (15 credits) 
• Occupational Case Study (40 credits) 
• Principles of Leadership and Management (15 credits) 
• Professional Assessment (15 credits) 
• Professional Development (15 credits) 

This course is taught via a combination of lectures, seminars, skills practice, presentations, case studies, group workshops and work-based practice. UCW’s Higher Education academic development team also deliver a series of sessions on degree-level research and academic writing to all first-year students. When not in scheduled lecturers and seminars, students are expected to continue learning through independent self-study. This involves reading relevant literature, working on individual and group projects, and undertaking research in preparation for coursework and exams. 

 This course has an average of 7.5 hours of scheduled teaching per week. 

Assessment is via a combination of written exams, practical exams and coursework. The assessment breakdown is 5% written exams, 15% practical exams (presentations) and 80% coursework.  

Graduates of this course are eligible to progress to related Honours Top-up courses, and are also eligible to apply to join the second year of associated full Honours degrees, such as the BSc (Hons) in Nursing (Adult Nursing) at UWE Bristol. 

This Foundation Degree has been designed for those aspiring to be assistant practitioners (Skills for Health Career Framework Level 4) who already have related roles in health and social care settings and want to further their careers. 

Industry insight 

Assistant practitioner roles in mental health are varied, so you could be working in hospitals, community recovery teams and with families and young people. 

• There are no qualification requirements for this course.
• A related Level 3 qualification, or a related Advanced Apprenticeship, or equivalent.
• Applicants will also need Level 2 qualifications in English and Mathematics.
• Applicants must be employed in a suitable health or social care setting where they can be supported and assessed by a work-based mentor. 
• An interview is required.
• Please contact Ellie Read for more information on ellie.read@weston.ac.uk or UCWenquiries@weston.ac.uk

We try to ensure that all as many costs for the programme you will study will be included within your tuition fees. We will endeavour to keep any additional costs you may have to pay to a minimum and some of the extra costs may be considered optional where it is deemed extra to your programme.

To be clear, your tuition fees pay for the following:

• All teaching and lectures
• Use of specialist facilities at UCW
• Specialist Guest Lectures at UCW
• Annual photocopying budget of £10
• Use of computer equipment at any UCW campus
• Access to Microsoft 365 whilst enrolled at UCW.
• Access to careers advice during and after completion of your programme of study.
• Use of Libraries and access to Journal databases, e-books and physical books

Additional Costs that will need to be incurred to study your programme: 

All students are required to obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an additional cost of £50. Click here for details.

Course handbook

Programme Specification

UCW Terms and Conditions