BSc (Hons) Children and Young People's Nursing
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Science
- UCAS Course Code
- B730
- Typical Offer
- BBB
- Contextual Offer
- BCC
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2025
Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Learn to excel in an important and highly valued area of nursing. As a Children and Young People’s Nurse, you can have an incredibly positive impact on the lives, health and wellbeing of young people, from newborn infants through to young adults.
Our unique programme includes working in tandem with other healthcare professional students, allowing you to gain a unique insight into a range of perspectives and approaches. This will help you develop the collaborative and adaptable approach that is essential to a successful nursing career.
On this children and young people’s nursing course, you’ll discover the many dimensions of the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people. You’ll learn how to enable their physical, social and psychological growth and development through supporting and caring for them and their families. You’ll be taught how to care for children and young people who are acutely unwell, either mentally or physically, as well as how to promote healthy lives and prevent physical and mental ill health. You’ll also learn how to help them and their parents, guardians or carers to foster healthy behaviours contributing to positive health and well-being into young adulthood.
At UEA, you’ll benefit from our innovative approach to teaching nursing, as well as from our many facilities, connections, and opportunities. You’ll be able to take advantage of a wide range of placements including hospitals, community, public health, specialist care unit settings, hospices and complex needs schools. In addition, our anatomy suite, up to date simulation skills rooms, and equipment will provide you with the practical skills necessary for a smooth transition into the workforce.
As a graduate of our Children and Young People’s Nursing course, you’ll be able to meet the physical, cognitive, emotional and social developmental needs of children and young people with a variety of clinical conditions and complex health challenges, in a wide range of healthcare settings. With the NHS Constitution at its core, the Children and Young People’s Nursing degree provides rigorous education, varied placement opportunities and is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Accreditations
The course is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Study and Modules
Structure
In your first year you'll focus on professionalism in nursing, enabling you to deliver evidence-based, safe, effective, person- and family-centred care. You’ll learn about specific topics such as legal and ethical issues, professional values, professional relationships, boundaries and academic skill development.
Alongside this, you’ll take a life course approach in your studies, allowing you to learn about the prevention of illness and promotion of good health at the individual, family and population level.
Throughout, you’ll learn theory and practical skills in preparation for registration with the NMC. You’ll receive a variety of both core and field-specific instruction, helping you to develop professional values in both practical environment and classroom simulations. Practical activities will include basic life support, physiological observations and recognizing unwell patients.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Our degree course uses various ways of learning to connect the theory and practice of nursing. During your studies, you'll get better at learning on your own and with others, such as other healthcare teams. In classes, you'll have small-group sessions, lectures (both in person and online), and study by yourself. In your practical placements, you'll learn by doing, working alongside registered nurses and other team members. These placements are set up to match the usual work of a qualified nurse.
Assessment
You’ll be assessed with a variety of methods, carefully formulated to show your ability to connect theory and practice.
Assessments you’ll encounter during your first year include written assignments, presentations and posters.
Structure
In Year Two, you'll learn how to apply life and social sciences to contemporary nursing practice. We’ll provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to assess, plan, deliver and evaluate safe and effective care across different settings, connecting theory and practice.
You’ll delve into more a more complex understanding of both core concepts and specialization areas with an emphasis on professional values. Practical activities include cardio-respiratory assessment, medicines management and head injury assessment.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
You'll have access to educational resources like presentations, workbooks, posters, virtual classrooms and other online learning resources. You’ll also be able to learn firsthand from folks who've been through healthcare services.
During your practical placements, you'll learn with the help of registered nurses, other healthcare team members, and people who use healthcare services. What you learn in theory will help you out in practice, so you'll be able to provide safe and effective nursing care.
Assessment
You’ll be challenged in your second year by more practice-based assessments including examinations, case studies and written assignments.
Structure
Your final year will introduce you to complexities and innovations in nursing practice. You’ll build on your existing knowledge and experience to develop higher academic skills, independent learning and a creative and ambitious reflective practice. You’ll learn advanced care, leadership and management skills and practice service improvement, preparing you for your transition into the role of registered nurse.
You’ll be able to dive deep into a specific area of nursing, and will continue to build on both core and field-specific concepts with increasing complexity. You’ll focus on professional values in both practice placements and simulation sessions in school. We also run a simulated critical incident day, which will allow you to demonstrate your leadership and clinical assessment skills.
Furthermore, you’ll have the unique opportunity to take on a professional development placement during your final year. Our expanding portfolio offers a range of local and international placement options, providing diverse and enriching experiences that contribute to your professional growth and development.
In addition to these modules, you’ll engage in Interprofessional Learning activities exploring collaboration and teamworking with other healthcare students across the faculty, an essential skill for effective person and family-centred care.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
You'll closely engage with children, young individuals, and their families and caregivers, fostering the confidence necessary to embark on your career as a Children and Young People’s Nurse upon graduation.
You'll be encouraged to explore and critically engage with a diverse range of sources to enhance your learning. Access to various resources will support your learning journey and facilitate the development of effective independent study skills and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Upon completion of your studies, you'll have compiled an individual learning profile, demonstrating your fulfillment of the requirements for professional registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Assessment
In your final year, you’ll undertake a project demonstrating your profound grasp of the interplay between nursing theory and its practical application. Alongside this, you’ll prepare a poster and a brief explanation concerning your chosen option module. Additionally, you’ll maintain an audio diary to document your professional development and learning journey.
Each year you’ll also be assessed in practice during your placements and you'll complete an online medicines calculation exam.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade 4 or grade C.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider:
- Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics
- Essential Skills Wales L2 Application of Number
- Essential Skills Northern Ireland L2 Application of Number
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A levels
BBB.
Contextual offer: BCC.
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: DDM
Contextual offer: DMM
See BTEC / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 section below for further information on accepted subjects.
Combinations of BTEC and A levels
Diploma: DD plus B at A level.
Contextual Offer: DD plus C at A Level.
Extended Certificate: D plus BB at A level.
Contextual Offer: D plus BC at A Level.
BTEC in Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration are all excluded from our BTEC offers.
See BTEC / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 section below for further information on accepted subjects and combinations.
Access to HE Diploma
Pass Access to HE Diploma with Merit in 45 credits at Level 3, in a Health, Care or Science subject.
T levels
Obtain an overall Pass including a B in the core of the T Level and a Merit in the Occupational Specialism. Acceptable subjects: Health, Healthcare Science, Science.
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
Bachelor's Degree (hons)
2:2 or above.
BTEC / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3
Grade requirements:
- DDM (made up of Extended Certificate, Diploma or Extended Diploma subjects)
- DD (made up of Extended Certificate or Diploma subjects) plus B at A level
- D (Extended Certificate) plus BB at A level
Subject requirements:
BTEC Public Services, BTEC Uniformed Services and BTEC Business Administration are not accepted to make up any grades.
Certificate of Higher Education
60% or above.
Diploma of Higher Education
60% or above in Year 2.
Foundation Degree
60% or above in Year 2, in a Health, Care or Science subject.
Foundation Year
65% or above in a Foundation Year of an undergraduate degree programme at a UK university, in a Health, Care or Science subject.
International Baccalaureate
31 points overall.
Irish Leaving Certificate
2 subjects at H2, 4 subjects at H3.
NCFE/CACHE Level 3 Diploma
Grade B or above in Child Care and Education (Early Years Educator).
NCFE/CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma
Grade B or above in one of the following subjects:
- Children's Care, Learning and Development
- Children and Young People's Workforce
- Health and Social Care (including Technical Level)
Open University
60 credits at 60% or above, in a Health, Care or Science subject.
Scottish Advanced Highers
CCC or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
Scottish Highers
AABBB or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
Additional Information
We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications, and we also recognise that some students might take a mixture of some of the qualifications above. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
Please note that we do not consider A Levels in General Studies or Critical Thinking, Apprenticeships, NVQs (any level) or Work-based Level 3 Diplomas (previously NVQs) to meet the minimum academic entry requirements, although these can be used as evidence of recent study.
Graduates may wish to consider our accelerated Masters programmes.
- Non-Academic Entry Requirements
Offers will be made to applicants after completion of successful interviews, and will be subject to a satisfactory occupational health check (including evidence of appropriate immunisations), an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and two satisfactory references. Where applicable, an Overseas Police Check may be required. We will let you know what you need to do (and when) to meet these conditions if you are successful in gaining an offer.
If you have previously studied at degree level in a health based subject, we will want to see that you have passed all of the study that you have undertaken. We’ll be unable to consider you for this course if you’ve obtained an academic fail from a previous health based degree programme, including where an exit award has been achieved.
- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting (or being predicted to meet) the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview.
Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your UCAS application. For more information on the application process and what to expect at each step, take a look at our handy Applying to HSC infographic, which explains the application journey from start to finish.
Interview format
Our interviews for 2025 will take place on our campus. You will be invited to book your interview for a morning or afternoon session by email. The email will include the arrival time and building location. We use a variety of the buildings on our campus for interviews, but they will either be on our Main Campus or on our West Campus (which is around a 20-minute walk from the centre of the Main Campus, near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital). The session will last no longer than 3 hours in total. Applicants who are based outside of the UK at the point of applying will be offered an online interview. The format will match the process outlined below as closely as possible.
As part of the session, you will take part in ‘multiple mini-interviews’ with academic members of staff from the School of Health Sciences at UEA, clinicians from the profession, service users* and/or current UEA students from the course.
*A ‘service user’ is someone who has access to use health or social care services or could be affected by the services of health and social care professionals.
You will undertake your ‘multiple mini-interview’ alongside another applicant for the course. Together, you will be taken to your interview room, which will be furnished with two interview stations. You will attend each interview station in turn, swapping with the other applicant you have been paired with.
Before you visit each interview station, you will be given time to read some information. The information will include the interview questions or topics that you will be asked about. You will then be given a set amount of time with the interviewer(s), who will ask you the questions verbally.
The other applicant that you have been paired together with will be following the same process as you at the same time. They will be speaking to alternate interviewer(s) to you simultaneously. You will both be interviewed at both interview stations.
Separate to the ‘multi mini-interviews’, you will be grouped with 2 or 3 other applicants to complete an interview with local school children. You will be taken into a separate room for your interview as a group. The room will be furnished with three or four interview stations.
You will attend one of the interview stations. The interviewers at the station will ask you some questions verbally, and the questions will also be written down for you. You will just visit one interview station in this room. The other applicants that you have been grouped with will be following the same process as you at the same time at different interview stations.
As part of your interview day, you may also have an opportunity to join some other sessions, for which you will not be assessed. The sessions are an opportunity for you to learn more about the course, the university, the students that study here, and for you to ask questions of current students and teaching staff. There may be an opportunity to undertake some practical skills during some of these sessions, if possible. There may also be an opportunity to tour the teaching facilities. These parts of your interview day are not compulsory, and do not form part of the assessment.
Interview questions
At each interview station you will be asked questions that focus on a particular domain. The order in which you are asked about these domains will be variable. The domains are:
- Your knowledge of the professional field for which you are applying.
- Your personal qualities and suitability for the profession. To help with discussion around this domain, you may be asked to consider a scenario and asked questions about how you would respond to it. You will be given time to read the scenario before you approach the interview station, and it will also be read to you by the interviewer(s).
- Your understanding of and suitability for the course at UEA.
On all interview stations, interviewers will also consider your understanding of the values that are required of a healthcare professional. This will include your understanding of moral and ethical values, competence, commitment to improve and personal accountability. You won’t necessarily be asked specific questions about these areas, but the information you include in your answers to all questions will be considered when the interviewer(s) assess you.
Interview Skills for Nursing Applicants - Free Course
Take advantage of our free course through Future Learn: Interview Skills for University Nursing Programme Applicants
This free one-week course aims to increase your chances of being accepted onto a UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved Nursing programme in the UK. You’ll be guided through the interview process to help you understand the purpose of the interviews and how they’re conducted. We introduce a range of resources, which will help you develop your knowledge of the Nursing profession and potential career pathways. Through information, guidance, and activities, you’ll learn how to identify transferable skills and relevant experiences that you can draw upon during your Nursing course interview, giving you the best chance of success.
Experience of healthcare
We are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. First time applicants to Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions will all be in a similar situation.
Clinical work experience will not generally be a requirement for applying to train in healthcare. We will be looking for you to show that you are able to work with people, that you appreciate the health and social care setting, and that you understand what a career in health will involve. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.
Note that your experiences are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. It is important that you think about how you might be able to demonstrate your understanding of healthcare, that you can relate this to experience or research, and that you can explain what you have learned.
What type of experience or research do you need?
Any activity, life experience or research that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:
- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular, the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.
Practical ways to gain experience
Keep a reflective diary on what is happening in the news and online. Listen to what healthcare professionals have to say and reflect on this. All healthcare professionals can be a valuable source of information and experience, not just those that work in the specific profession that you are applying for. Demonstrating that you have a sense of all healthcare professions (and how they work together) will help you in both your personal statement and interview.
Volunteer in your spare time if you can, all forms of voluntary work can provide helpful work experience. If volunteer work in the NHS isn’t something that is available to you, think about what else you could explore i.e. working with other people in a caring or service role. Voluntary commitments to community groups (for example groups related to the work of churches, mosques and temples, or other groups such as Scouts or Guides) and online community support groups may also provide valuable experience of taking on responsibility, dealing with people and communicating effectively.
Remember: what is important is what you learn about yourself and about other people, and what you learn about how effective care is delivered and received. How you learn these things is only a small part of the story; it is how you communicate what you learnt that matters.
- Placements
During the course, no less than 50% of your time will be spent on practice placement. This might be in a variety of settings that include hospitals, community services, general practice, social services and voluntary or private organisations. Placement allocation occurs throughout the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
Assessing your fitness to become a registered healthcare professional
Please see our guidance on assessing your fitness.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Recent Study
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
- Age on Entry
Applicants for this course need to be aged 18 or over by 31 December 2025. This is owing to the integrated nature of placements within the first year of the course and safeguarding implications. In view of this, applicants who will not be 18 years old or over by this date, should consider applying for deferred entry.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade 4 or grade C.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider:
- Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics
- Essential Skills Wales L2 Application of Number
- Essential Skills Northern Ireland L2 Application of Number
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
A levels
BBB.
Not accepted: Critical Thinking and General Studies.
International Baccalaureate
31 points overall.
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. For specific details about your country, view our information for International Students.
- INTO UEA
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 7.0 overall (minimum 7.0 in reading, speaking and listening, with 6.5 in writing)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:
-
- Non-Academic Entry Requirements
Offers will be made to applicants after completion of successful interviews, and will be subject to a satisfactory occupational health check (including evidence of appropriate immunisations), an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and two satisfactory references. Where applicable, an Overseas Police Check may be required. We will let you know what you need to do (and when) to meet these conditions if you are successful in gaining an offer.
If you have previously studied at degree level in a health based subject, we will want to see that you have passed all of the study that you have undertaken. We’ll be unable to consider you for this course if you’ve obtained an academic fail from a previous health based degree programme, including where an exit award has been achieved.
- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting (or being predicted to meet) the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview.
Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your UCAS application. For more information on the application process and what to expect at each step, take a look at our handy Applying to HSC infographic, which explains the application journey from start to finish.
Interview format
Our interviews for 2025 will take place on our campus. You will be invited to book your interview for a morning or afternoon session by email. The email will include the arrival time and building location. We use a variety of the buildings on our campus for interviews, but they will either be on our Main Campus or on our West Campus (which is around a 20-minute walk from the centre of the Main Campus, near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital). The session will last no longer than 3 hours in total. Applicants who are based outside of the UK at the point of applying will be offered an online interview. The format will match the process outlined below as closely as possible.
As part of the session, you will take part in ‘multiple mini-interviews’ with academic members of staff from the School of Health Sciences at UEA, clinicians from the profession, service users* and/or current UEA students from the course.
*A ‘service user’ is someone who has access to use health or social care services or could be affected by the services of health and social care professionals.
You will undertake your ‘multiple mini-interview’ alongside another applicant for the course. Together, you will be taken to your interview room, which will be furnished with two interview stations. You will attend each interview station in turn, swapping with the other applicant you have been paired with.
Before you visit each interview station, you will be given time to read some information. The information will include the interview questions or topics that you will be asked about. You will then be given a set amount of time with the interviewer(s), who will ask you the questions verbally.
The other applicant that you have been paired together with will be following the same process as you at the same time. They will be speaking to alternate interviewer(s) to you simultaneously. You will both be interviewed at both interview stations.
Separate to the ‘multi mini-interviews’, you will be grouped with 2 or 3 other applicants to complete an interview with local school children. You will be taken into a separate room for your interview as a group. The room will be furnished with three or four interview stations.
You will attend one of the interview stations. The interviewers at the station will ask you some questions verbally, and the questions will also be written down for you. You will just visit one interview station in this room. The other applicants that you have been grouped with will be following the same process as you at the same time at different interview stations.
As part of your interview day, you may also have an opportunity to join some other sessions, for which you will not be assessed. The sessions are an opportunity for you to learn more about the course, the university, the students that study here, and for you to ask questions of current students and teaching staff. There may be an opportunity to undertake some practical skills during some of these sessions, if possible. There may also be an opportunity to tour the teaching facilities. These parts of your interview day are not compulsory, and do not form part of the assessment.
Interview questions
At each interview station you will be asked questions that focus on a particular domain. The order in which you are asked about these domains will be variable. The domains are:
- Your knowledge of the professional field for which you are applying.
- Your personal qualities and suitability for the profession. To help with discussion around this domain, you may be asked to consider a scenario and asked questions about how you would respond to it. You will be given time to read the scenario before you approach the interview station, and it will also be read to you by the interviewer(s).
- Your understanding of and suitability for the course at UEA.
On all interview stations, interviewers will also consider your understanding of the values that are required of a healthcare professional. This will include your understanding of moral and ethical values, competence, commitment to improve and personal accountability. You won’t necessarily be asked specific questions about these areas, but the information you include in your answers to all questions will be considered when the interviewer(s) assess you.
Interview Skills for Nursing Applicants - Free Course
Take advantage of our free course through Future Learn: Interview Skills for University Nursing Programme Applicants
This free one-week course aims to increase your chances of being accepted onto a UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved Nursing programme in the UK. You’ll be guided through the interview process to help you understand the purpose of the interviews and how they’re conducted. We introduce a range of resources, which will help you develop your knowledge of the Nursing profession and potential career pathways. Through information, guidance, and activities, you’ll learn how to identify transferable skills and relevant experiences that you can draw upon during your Nursing course interview, giving you the best chance of success.
Experience of healthcare
We are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. First time applicants to Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions will all be in a similar situation.
Clinical work experience will not generally be a requirement for applying to train in healthcare. We will be looking for you to show that you are able to work with people, that you appreciate the health and social care setting, and that you understand what a career in health will involve. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.
Note that your experiences are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. It is important that you think about how you might be able to demonstrate your understanding of healthcare, that you can relate this to experience or research, and that you can explain what you have learned.
What type of experience or research do you need?
Any activity, life experience or research that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:
- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular, the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.
Practical ways to gain experience
Keep a reflective diary on what is happening in the news and online. Listen to what healthcare professionals have to say and reflect on this. All healthcare professionals can be a valuable source of information and experience, not just those that work in the specific profession that you are applying for. Demonstrating that you have a sense of all healthcare professions (and how they work together) will help you in both your personal statement and interview.
Volunteer in your spare time if you can, all forms of voluntary work can provide helpful work experience. If volunteer work in the NHS isn’t something that is available to you, think about what else you could explore i.e. working with other people in a caring or service role. Voluntary commitments to community groups (for example groups related to the work of churches, mosques and temples, or other groups such as Scouts or Guides) and online community support groups may also provide valuable experience of taking on responsibility, dealing with people and communicating effectively.
Remember: what is important is what you learn about yourself and about other people, and what you learn about how effective care is delivered and received. How you learn these things is only a small part of the story; it is how you communicate what you learnt that matters.
- Placements
During the course, no less than 50% of your time will be spent on practice placement. This might be in a variety of settings that include hospitals, community services, general practice, social services and voluntary or private organisations. Placement allocation occurs throughout the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
Assessing your fitness to become a registered healthcare professional
Please see our guidance on assessing your fitness.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Recent Study
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
- Age on Entry
Applicants for this course need to be aged 18 or over by 31 December 2025. This is owing to the integrated nature of placements within the first year of the course and safeguarding implications. In view of this, applicants who will not be 18 years old or over by this date, should consider applying for deferred entry.
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
You can find information regarding additional costs associated on our Fees and finance webpages.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:
Employability
After the Course
As a UEA Children and Young People’s Nursing graduate, you’ll be a highly sought-after healthcare professional. On graduation and subsequent registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), you’ll be equipped to start your career in a series of demanding, yet rewarding, environments including children’s wards and adolescent units, neonatal intensive care units, specialist nursing roles, emergency care, children’s community nursing teams, school and education settings, and many more. No matter what you do after graduation, you’ll enter the workforce with all of the professional, practical and personal skills you need for a great career.
Careers
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
- UK NHS and private healthcare providers
- International Nursing
- Nursing Research
- Practice Education
- Specialist and Advanced Practice
- Schools and Higher Education Institutes
Discover more on our Careers webpages.