Why choose the School of Sport, Psychology and Social Science
In the National Student Survey 2025, our childhood and youth studies courses scored student satisfaction rates over 90% for teaching, learning opportunities, academic support, and organisation and management..
93% of our childhood and youth studies students were satisfied with how well their course developed knowledge and skills for the future (NSS, 2025).
In the Complete University Guide (CUG) 2026, our childhood and youth studies courses ranked 2nd in their subject field for student satisfaction.
About the course
Make a real difference to the lives of children and their families on a degree course that combines up-to-the-minute theory with practical experience, providing you with a thorough understanding of the needs of children and young people in a digital age. Start by exploring child development and child welfare as well as the social policies and legislation surrounding it before choosing from specialist options, such as mental health, disability, SEND and youth violence, in your second and third years.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Seven-storey library with an extensive range of physical and digital resources
- Bespoke lecture theatres, presentation rooms and group study spaces
- Interactive learning opportunities with the use of case studies and our new, state-of-the-art simulation suites offering a range of relevant practice scenarios
Industry links
Our strong links with local organisations, charities and practitioners open up opportunities for voluntary and work placements in the community. For example, our students have recently undertaken projects in local primary schools, family centres, youth centres and with the Youth Partnership Service.
Your student experience
Learn from a staff team from a variety of professional and practice backgrounds including alternative educational provision; counselling and drugs support; youth work; community work; mentoring and coaching; safeguarding; early years; looked-after children; and relationships and sex education.
Study alongside academics with on-going research expertise in areas including school exclusion and alternative provision; fatherhood and masculinity; and interventions to tackle harmful sexualised behaviours in schools.
Make the most of opportunities to learn alongside students from similar subjects in some of your units, benefitting from the diversity of perspectives.
As you progress in your studies, you explore more specialist topics in your second and third years.
Take on accredited training leading to a Certificate in Safeguarding in your final year.
Immerse yourself in our #SASS Change Maker initiative, which works with local charities, policymakers and influencers to raise awareness of topical issues in society.
Be able to recognise and challenge discrimination, oppression and inequality across a range of services.
Benefit from our ‘Youth work community of practice’ hosted by academic team member (and MA course lead) Dr Tina Salter, where students and regional youth workers or service providers can explore issues around practice.
Hear from leading guest speakers in our regular workshops and seminars.
Take part in subject-relevant field trips to sites such as the Museum of Childhood.
In your final year, choose from completing a research dissertation or a 100-hour placement project of your choice.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - Dr Tina Salter
I have been teaching youth and community work in a number of educational settings since 2004. I qualified as a youth and community worker in 1994 and have gone on to be awarded a Masters and Professional Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring from Oxford Brookes University. I developed a keen interest in mentoring and coaching as this was an area I specialised when working as a youth work and manager in the area of youth inclusion. Part of my doctoral research looked at comparing different mentoring and coaching disciplines and more recent research suggest that greater opportunities to coach young people using strengths-based approaches might be more effective than depending on older, deficit mentoring models.
Course Leader - Dr Tina Salter
I have been teaching youth and community work in a number of educational settings since 2004. I qualified as a youth and community worker in 1994 and have gone on to be awarded a Masters and Professional Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring from Oxford Brookes University. I developed a keen interest in mentoring and coaching as this was an area I specialised when working as a youth work and manager in the area of youth inclusion. Part of my doctoral research looked at comparing different mentoring and coaching disciplines and more recent research suggest that greater opportunities to coach young people using strengths-based approaches might be more effective than depending on older, deficit mentoring models.
Studying our Childhood and Youth Studies BA (Hons) course will equip you with the in-depth skills and expertise for a rewarding career working with children, young people, families and communities. If you are stepping up to Higher Education with a Foundation year you will study a range of contemporary social issues and learn to examine these through a sociological lens. You will also be supported to develop skills that will underpin your studies and your work and personal development. In year one, you will build a solid understanding of human development and how this can be used for assessment, planning and intervention with children, young people and their families in our Development in Childhood and Youth unit. If you are passionate about working with children, young people and families, our Narratives of Childhood and Youth unit draws on different theoretical perspectives to explore the ways in which children and young people’s social and learning worlds are experienced by them and constructed, surveyed and regulated by adults. In addition, our unit in Relationship Based Practice will introduce crucial skills for professional practice that will enable you to predict, explain and assess situations, behaviour and human needs providing a rationale for intervention. In your second year, our Perceptions and Discourses of Childhood will develop some of the issues introduced in Narratives of Childhood in your first year and looks at some of the risks and opportunities presented by today’s on and offline worlds.
You will also have the opportunity to undertake a range of optional units in your second and third years. In year two, with an intersectional approach, you may also explore how these aspects of identity are interconnected with the issues faced by disabled children, young people and adults in our Disability in Society unit. You may also choose to examine the sociological and psychiatric perspectives on mental health and illness in our Mental Health and Society unit; or you may want to undertake the Digital Childhoods unit and explore the impact of social media and online interventions. Alternatively, you can develop a theoretical understanding of addictive behaviours in our Addictions and Society unit such as gambling, gaming, substance misuse, pornography, food and more. If you have a particular interest in working in Early Years, there is the option to study the Leadership and Management in Early Years unit. Another important area of your study involves planning your career pathway and the Work Related Learning in Childhood and Youth will enable you to explore your options.
In Year 3 the core unit called Child Protection and Safeguarding: The Contexts of Vulnerability will enable you to enhance your knowledge and skills for the complex field of child abuse and neglect by critically analysing child protection policy, practice and initiatives. In your final year, you will also be able to choose from units such as Childhoods in a Global Context where you will critically reflect on the study of childhoods in the UK and internationally to identify how to improve services for vulnerable children, young people and families. You could also explore The Lived Experiences of Children and Young People in Diverse Family and Social Circumstances to empathise and support marginalised children and young people; or seek to compare and examine policies and approaches to meet the needs of young people in our Youth Justice, Gangs and Serious Violence. You can also critically examine theories of violence and types of violent crime to understand the context of Violence in Modern Society. You could also opt for the Issues of Childhood and Social Justice unit where you will consider broader societal challenges and how these affect children and young people. Finally, you will have the choice of completing a SASS Change Maker Project Dissertation or Research Dissertation where you will develop and demonstrate academic and professional skills.
In the project-based dissertation, you will have the opportunity to work with a community-based organisation to deliver a project while building on skills that will support your personal development towards your desired graduate career. If you choose to undertake a research dissertation, this gives you an opportunity to develop a research proposal, consider the ethical implications of your work and conduct an in-depth, focused research enquiry around an area of professional interest. To help you with this, you will study units across the three years of this degree that will build your understanding and skills in research in the field of social sciences. This starts in Year 1 with an Introduction to Research and Social Enquiry and is continued through to Year 2 with our units in Research 1: Collecting Data and Research 2: Exploring Data. Outside of theory and practice, this course also offers a number of units that will support your employability in the field of social sciences. Our unit in Career Planning for Social Scientists will facilitate your career development journey by allowing you to identify your transferrable skills and articulate them in a confident, meaningful and positive manner.
A range of appropriate and effective assessments will enable you to demonstrate your acquisition of knowledge and skills. Assessment is designed to support students learning journeys so that assessments promote reflection and sharing of knowledge and are therefore assessments for learning as well as assessments of learning.
The assessment methods used across the course include:
- Written assignments these will vary in style and will include essays reports reflective accounts as well as other written tasks that we will prepare for which we will prepare you. During your three years there will be in-class tests allowing you to apply and use the theory and knowledge that you have gained through your studies. This will include multiple choice tests.
- Oral and Poster presentations that demonstrate verbal and presentation skills through sharing information and knowledge with others in innovative ways.
- Group work will allow you to demonstrate skills of research and communication in a group it will help you to develop your skills for collaborative and multi-agency working and group management. Although you work in a group you will be assessed on an individual basis and will receive an individual grade.
The final year Dissertation provides two pathways; you will undertake either a project or a research dissertation This allows you to undertake project in a community-based organisation or undertake research (primary or secondary). Both options will require you to demonstrate your ability to develop and deliver a self -directed complex and solution focused task drawing on the skills and knowledge gained in your Degree course.
The assessments will develop across the course and will allow you to gain skills and acquire knowledge receive feedback on your progress that will allow you to implement knowledge and feedback into further assessments. For example at level four the learning of the skill of report/essay writing will take place before you write your first essay or report. At level five and six assessment will allow you to demonstrate your understanding and the application of relevant and up to date knowledge to the field of children and young people's services.
Careers
Our focus on employability throughout the degree course means that we support you in developing a portfolio of practical skills that will enhance your career prospects. Our graduates are equipped to understand and apply their knowledge of key theories, debates and the latest research to inform practice.
The course equips you for roles and career progression in education; social work and social welfare; family and youth services; and community work. Graduates from this course can move on to professional accreditation courses to become a teacher, social worker or a JNC-accredited youth worker. You may also like to undertake further academic study at Master’s level with related degrees such as our MA Childhood, Youth and Family Studies
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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