Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (School Nurse) - PgDip
Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.
Do you have a desire become a School Nurse? The Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) course is aimed at registered nurses or midwives who wish to develop their knowledge and skills within the context of Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (School Nursing).
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time
- Award PgDip
- Start date September 2025, February 2026
- Subjects
- Location City South
This course is:
Overview
Do you have a desire become a School Nurse? The Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) course is aimed at registered nurses or midwives who wish to develop their knowledge and skills within the context of Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (School Nursing).
What's covered in this course?
As a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, School Nurses uphold school-aged children's and young people's rights. They provide a collaborative, culturally appropriate, personalised, evidence-based, and inclusive service that advocates for the optimum health of all school-aged children and young people.
As a School Nurse, you will understand the wider determinants of health and the impact these can have on individuals across their lifetime, allowing you to address health inequalities through health education, health promotion, and evidence-based interventions that are age and maturity appropriate.
Our Specialist Community Public Health Nursing – School Nursing course is underpinned by research and evidence and provides you with a balance of academic and practical learning opportunities. The course has been co-produced with people who have experience of the service and practice partners who will support you in your learning in practice. The course will help you develop as an autonomous practitioner in public health and adopt a life-course approach to your evolving practice. You will also acquire skills to effect change that reduces health inequalities.
Your learning and development will be supported by academic assessors, practice assessors, and practice supervisors in line with NMC guidelines (2023).
Upon completion of the course, our aim is for you to be able to demonstrate the development of your knowledge, skills, and behaviours by achieving the NMC Standards of Proficiency for Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (NMC, 2022) reflecting the six spheres of influence:
- Autonomous specialist community public health nursing practice.
- Transforming specialist community public health nursing practice: evidence, research, evaluation and translation.
- Promoting human rights and addressing inequalities: assessment, surveillance and intervention.
- Population health: enabling, supporting and improving health outcomes of people across the life course
- Advancing public health services and promoting healthy places, environments and cultures.
- Leading and collaborating: from investment to action and dissemination
Successful completion of the course will make you eligible to register your qualification with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and lead to professional recognition in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing in School Nursing.
Accredited By
This course is accredited by:
Why Choose Us?
- This course offers comprehensive support from a team of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge, ensuring you are well-prepared to enter a specialist practice profession. The course runs over 52 weeks is approximately 50 per cent theory and 50 per cent practice.
- We accept direct applications to the University and to seconding Trusts (visit NHS Careers for adverts) or employing organisations.
- Theory and practice are integrated throughout the programme, culminating in approximately 10 weeks of practice learning at the end of your course
- We’ve recently upgraded our simulation facilities, which now include mock wards, a home environment space, a 'simbulance', an operating theatre, and digital anatomy tables.
- Throughout the course, you will have protected practice learning time, providing you with the opportunity to develop and embed your skills and knowledge.
OPEN DAY
Join us for an Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.
Next Event: 28 June 2025
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
Applicants are normally expected to have a minimum of a 2:2 honours degree or have successfully completed some equivalent level (Level 6) study.
First level registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Nurse and/or Midwife is required.
If awaiting confirmation of registration, there must be evidence of successful completion of a pre-registration nursing or midwifery programme and evidence of application for NMC registration.
It is essential that students secure a secondment opportunity or fixed term contract with an employing organisation before applying.
Enhanced DBS and Occupational Health Clearance is required with the employing organisation prior to course entry.
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: PgDip
Starting: Sep 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
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TBC
Award: PgDip
Starting: Feb 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
-
TBC
International students
Sorry, this course is not available to International students.
Application deadlines
We advise you to apply early to allow sufficient time for you to prepare to start your studies. Please apply by Friday 18 July for a September start or Friday 9 January for a February start to allow time to arrange accommodation, student finance and visas where required.
Late applications will be accepted where places are still available, but please note that Welcome Week for September entry begins on Monday 15 September 2025, and teaching begins on Monday 22 September 2025. International students are invited to arrive from Monday 8 September 2025.
To find out more, see our application timeline.
This course is not available to International Students
Please note: All communication from the University is sent via email. Please ensure that you supply an email address on your application form that you check regularly.
Personal statement
You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.
If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.
Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.
Course in Depth
Level 7
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
Health is a positive concept, which emphasises physical, social, and personal resources and capabilities. Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health (WHO, 1986). This module will facilitate students’ knowledge, skills, and behaviours to enhance children’s young people’s, family, and population health by working in partnership, adopting a strengths-based approach to promote health, prevent disease, and reduce health inequalities across the life course. Students will examine and reflect on their own advancing communication using simulation opportunities and will be equipped to critically apply the evidence base concerning validated assessment tools. Additionally, during the module, there will be interprofessional learning opportunities for students from different professional disciplines to develop student's professional identity and to promote interprofessional working in health and social care practice.
All children and young people have a right to be safeguarded. The purpose of this module is to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of child safeguarding. The module emphasises the adoption of a public health and trauma-informed approach to address the many aspects of child safeguarding and maximise the health and wellbeing of children, young people, and families. You will gain the necessary expertise to effectively respond to the complex challenges of safeguarding children, and explore the legal frameworks, policies, and procedures that underpin safeguarding children and public health.
Public health is defined as the ‘art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society’ (Acheson, 1988). This module will enable the students to critically examine the key concepts of public health and health promotion in the context of Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN). Students will develop knowledge and skills in accessing and analysing data to enable them to identify health inequalities and health needs. Students will debate how health promotion approaches and interventions can address contemporary public health issues that support people and communities to meet their health optimum.
This module aims to cultivate a spirit of inquiry and advance your knowledge and skills as an evidence-based practitioner.
It will help you construct focused clinical research questions; develop your literature searching skills to find evidence; identify and interpret different types of evidence such as quantitative or qualitative, primary, or secondary, relevant to what you need to know; demonstrate competent skills in the appraisal of different types of evidence; describe, interpret, and evaluate both quantitative and qualitative findings.
It will also enable you to justify a primary or secondary research design and its associated underpinning philosophy, data collection and data analysis strategies to address an unanswered pertinent research question. In addition, it will help you consider issues related to applying evidence to inform clinical decision-making to bring about change in your field of practice.
It will contribute to personal and professional development and foster independent study regarding the development of practice. It is envisaged that this module will also help prepare you to undertake a primary piece of research or a systematic review for an MSc Dissertation.
This year-long module is designed to empower and equip Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN) with the necessary opportunities and skills to meet the Standards of Proficiency in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (NMC, 2022) and develop into culturally competent, autonomous practitioners within Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) (Health Visiting and School Nursing) to lead in an ever-changing and diverse health and public health landscape. You will be supported in practice by appropriately skilled and qualified Practice Assessors, Practice Supervisors and Academic Assessors who will facilitate and support learning experiences and continually assess your progress and development as a developing SCPHN practitioner in the frontline of public health utilising the Practice Assessment Document (PAD).
Download course specification
Download nowCourse structure
Specialist Community Public Health Nurses lead and deliver public health services for children, young people, and families. The aim of the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) course is to prepare you with the skills and knowledge needed to provide leadership and innovation in community public health.
The wider aims are to improve population health, particularly the health of children, young people, and families, and to prevent illness. These aims are based upon the NMC standards of proficiency for SCPHN (NMC, 2022).
How will I be assessed?
A variety of assessment methods are used to enable students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding. The assessment methods are designed to enable you to apply theory to your developing SCPHN practice; develop critical thinking and analytical skills in your field of Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN).
Assessment methods include formative assessments such as group work presentations, professional skills profiles, self-assessments, regular placement learning reviews, and quizzes. A range of summative assessments are also used, including essays, presentations, and a practice assessment document.
This course is accredited by:
The Nursing and Midwifery Council
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) works with partner organisations to set and maintain high standards of nursing and midwifery education across the UK.
This course has been approved and monitored by the NMC to make sure that the education and training on offer meets their standards.
To work as a nurse or midwife, you must pass an NMC approved course at a higher education institution (HEI) in pre-registration nursing and midwifery, leading to registration with the NMC.
Employability
Enhancing employability skills
This course will give you the opportunity to expand your knowledge and move into more senior roles.
Diane Edkins was working as a school nurse and was hesitant to take on a degree, despite it being the logical step in improving her employability. Once she started studying the course, however, she completely changed her mind.
I thought the teaching was excellent, as were the facilities. I had lots of support, whether it be in assignment writing, using electronic resources or solving a personal issue.
The course helped my career, as I have been promoted to a higher band within school nursing. I am not sure what my plans for the future are, but I feel I now have more choices due to undertaking this course.
Diane Edkins
Placements
We’re committed to ensuring the quality of your experience on placement so that you consolidate your learning in practice and develop you confidence.
In partnership with our practice learning partners, you will be supported on placement by a practice assessor and practice supervisor in line with the NMC standards for Student Supervision and Assessment (NMC, 2023). We aim to support individual learning needs and make reasonable adjustments if needed to ensure you have the best opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills while on placement.
Facilities & Staff
We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.
Mock Wards
These are set up to look like typical hospital wards, with four-six bays. Depending on the topic in hand, different manikins can be used as patients and relevant equipment is provided to practise clinical skills. Some of the manikins are interactive and can simulate different scenarios e.g. some allow you to cannulate, check pulses, intubate etc, and some can talk to you. One ward is often used as an adult ward, and the other as a child ward.
These rooms also allow for scenarios to be set up for other professions such as dietetics, paramedic science and social work.
The Operating Theatre and Recovery Suites
The operating theatre and recovery suite gives you the sense of what it would be like in a real surgical environment.
These spaces emulate the full surgical journey from anaesthetics, through surgery and into recovery. ODP students can practice a range of skills including gowning, hand washing, preparing instrument trays, and working with a patient. Nurses and midwives may experience a surgical placement and need to go to theatre or be part of the midwifery team involved with caesarean sections. Many other Allied Health Professionals may also see patients in recovery if necessary.
Home Environment Room
This space is used to simulate non-clinical settings, as not everything health professionals deal with is hospital based. This is used for simulations of home visits and home births. It also houses soft matting and a bubble machine that are used by the Learning Disability Nursing team.
Assisted Living Space
This space replicates a flat and is used for scenarios such as home visits. The sitting room area provides a different space to practise skills and simulations and work with service users and other students.
Assisted Kitchen
This specially designed kitchen has different areas where you can practice cooking, cleaning, boiling the kettle etc., with someone who has actual or simulated vision impairment. There are adapted devices to help, and simulation glasses for you to wear to experience vision impairment.
Physiotherapy Room
This is a space for physiotherapy students to use, with various equipment to practise client meetings.
Radiotherapy Planning Computer Suite
Our computers allow you to plan hypothetical treatments, in terms of angles and directions, ensuring that radiotherapy reaches where it is needed on a patient’s body.
Radiography Image Interpretation and Reporting Stations Computer Suite
These facilities allow you to view and analyse x-rays.
VERT - Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training
This room contains 3D technology to view virtual patients and look at trajectories for treatment.
Radiotherapy
This room contains the same bed/couch used when patients are given radiotherapy treatment. While students of course do not administer radiotherapy in this room, it does allow them to practise adjusting the equipment to make sure both it and a patient would be in the correct position to receive treatment.
Telehealth Room
This room allows for small group teaching in a central area (large boardroom type table) with five small telehealth booths down either side. These are to allow all our health professions students to practise delivering healthcare and advice remotely, either over the phone or on a video call. This addition to our teaching reflects moves in the sector to offer more flexible access to healthcare services, particularly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Imaging Academy
This new facility is a larger version of our existing image interpretation computer facilities and forms part of the Midlands Imaging Training Academy, funded by Health Education England. These expanded facilities will mean we can further develop our courses and expertise in radiography and imaging.
Speech and Language Therapy Resource Room
Our Speech and Language Therapy Team have developed a collection of tools, books and resources to help you learn and understand the implications of a speech or swallowing limitation. You can practise one to one client meetings and clinics and use the video recording equipment to review role play scenarios.
Ultrasound simulation suite
You have access to a wide range of Ultrasound simulation equipment to develop your clinical skills and aid in training. The equipment includes two ultrasound machines with a range of phantoms, scan training stations and eve body works.
Our staff
Laura Maguire
Senior Lecturer – Post Qualifying Practice Department
Laura’s professional background is in midwifery and health visiting. She has worked in both hospital and community settings, here in the UK and in Australia. She joined Birmingham City University in 2014 as a PhD student and Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant (GRTA). Her interests include offering excellence in teaching and...
More about Laura