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Why choose the School of Applied Social Sciences
In the National Student Survey 2024, over 95% of our childhood and youth studies students were satisfied with their teaching and learning opportunities, putting these courses in the UK top 10 in their subject field in these areas.
100% of our childhood and youth studies students were satisfied with how well their course developed knowledge and skills for the future (NSS, 2024).
In the Complete University Guide (CUG) 2025, our childhood and youth studies courses tied 6th in their subject field for graduate prospects (on track).
About the course
This practice-focused Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) has been specially developed by the University of Bedfordshire to give you the skills you need to take on the role of youth justice practitioner, working with young people in the criminal justice system to stop them from offending or reoffending. If you are already working in the social care or youth justice sectors, it is an ideal way to upskill or change direction to fill skills shortages and workforce gaps.
Course accreditation
This Level 5 HTQ is approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, meaning that it meets the occupational standards for the sector and delivers the specific training you need to work as a youth justice practitioner.
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
- Relevant simulation suites where you can practise your skills across a range of scenarios and settings
Industry links
This course is designed and delivered in partnership with local employers, who provide additional specialist knowledge and ensure our progressive curriculum reflects real-world practices and policy.
Your student experience
Develop the skills and behaviours needed to work with young people, often from disadvantaged backgrounds and with complex needs, perhaps involving mental health problems; safeguarding issues; and/or substance misuse.
Learn to work with families and build positive relationships with them as well as with other professionals including social workers, probation officers, schools and staff at ‘secure estates’ such as young offender institutions and children’s homes.
Put theory into action in real and simulated environments including placement units and work projects.
Benefit from guest talks and subject-relevant field trips.
Draw from our academic team’s professional involvement in areas such as youth work; contextual safeguarding; criminal justice; and sexual offending.
This Foundation degree opens the way to degree-level study in a related field, such as our Childhood and Youth Studies BA (Hons) or Criminology BSc (Hons).
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.
What will you study?
Studying our Youth Justice Practitioner Foundation (HTQ) course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to work with and support young people in the youth justice system to stop them offending and to encourage their positive development. In our unit called Effective, Ethical and Inclusive Practice Skills in Supporting Children, Young People and Families, you will learn to build relationships and engage with children, young people and their families within social care, youth work, health, criminal justice and educational settings. As a result of using theories, models and methods of intervention to develop these effective relationships, you will be able to identify, analyse and apply skills to build a rapport with children, young people and their families and to meet their diverse needs.
Building on this, you will develop your professional skills, behaviours and ethics to be able to work with children, young people and their families in both formal and informal settings in our unit called Understanding and Applying Key Foundational Knowledge, Legislative, Policy and Practice Frameworks. Here, you will be exposed to the requirements of legislation, safeguarding, confidentiality, health and safety and more. To support this knowledge, you will also examine theories on child and adolescent development as well as the factors that affect childhood, adolescence and family life such as difference, diversity and inclusion. A large part of your practice accounts for the legal and administrative framework of the contemporary youth justice system, and this is where our unit in Youth Justice in the UK: Contextual Considerations in Practice will introduce you to the mechanisms and delivery of youth justice services, its policy and practice. You will discover how youth justice is developing and debate what is currently working while considering how adverse childhood experiences impact the criminal careers of children and young people.
Through direct practice, virtual placements and assessed work, you will gain valuable work-based experience while being able to demonstrate your acquired skills in various practical contexts as you work towards your HTQ pathway as a youth justice practitioner in our Virtual Placement 1 – Working with Children, Young People and Families unit. You will further apply these skills in our Virtual Placement 2 – Working in Youth Justice unit to practice your ability to apply and evaluate the occupational standards of a youth justice practitioner. Building on this, you will be supported in planning your career in our Skills for Employment unit, that will help you identify your personal values, strengths and transferrable skills and subsequently articulate this in a confident way to help you secure your desired career pathway, including as a youth justice practitioner.
How will you be assessed?
A variety of teaching methods are employed across the FdA in order to encourage the acquisition of subject knowledge and foster the subject specific and transferable employability skills associated with the course learning outcomes. These teaching methods include lectures, discussion-based seminars, presentations by class members, group-work, tutorial activities, problem solving, computer-based activities, problem based learning, and online interactive activities using
Careers
The curriculum is designed to meet the growing demand for qualified people trained to take up a career within youth justice in the statutory, voluntary and growing private sectors. It also opens the way to further study at degree level in a related field such as Childhood and Youth Studies BA (Hons) or Criminology BSc (Hons).
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 English
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 English
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard fee for a Foundation Degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250. These are the full course fees covering each year of study.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
International students cannot apply for Foundation Degrees.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard fee for a Foundation Degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250. These are the full course fees covering each year of study.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
International students cannot apply for Foundation Degrees.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
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