Intro

As a children's nurse you'll deliver skilled, evidence-based care to children and young people, working in partnership with their parents, carers and families. You'll be part of a multidisciplinary team of health and social care professionals. 

Our accredited children's nursing degree will provide you with the skills and knowledge to become a caring and compassionate professional. 

Simulated healthcare in our clinical skills and simulation suites, and nursing skills zone will ensure you can confidently apply theory to practice. 

Clinical practice placements are offered in a range of hospital and community settings, working alongside a variety of multi-professional teams.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Falmer

UCAS code B730

Full-time 3 years

This course meets the NMC 2018 education standards and course graduates are eligible for registration

This course is open to UK applicants only.

To be considered for this course you must submit your application by 29 January 2025.

What are my next steps?

Apply now with UCAS for 2025

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

UCAS tariff
112 points.

A-levels
BBC, must include a science or social science subject at grade B.

BTEC
DMM in a health or science subject. 

International Baccalaureate
28 overall with three subjects at Higher level.

Access to HE Diploma
pass with 60 credits overall. Health studies, nursing or science. At least 45 credits at level 3, with 18 credits at distinction and 27 credits at merit or above.

T-level
Merit in the Health, Healthcare Science or Science T-level. Other T-levels are not accepted.

GCSE (minimum grade C or grade 4)

  • with Access course – maths and English.
  • with A-levels, BTEC or K101 – at least three GCSEs including maths and English.

Functional Skills 2 will be accepted in lieu of GCSE English and maths.

If you do not have the required GCSEs, find out which equivalent qualifications we accept instead.

A range of other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis, eg Open University K101 and K102.

For all nursing courses leading to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a nurse, you must be able to demonstrate the following:

  • completion of 10 years general education
  • successful completion of literacy and numeracy assessments during the interview process
  • evidence of study within the last five years is desirable
  • evidence of commitment to the profession
  • passing of Occupational Health and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
  • ability to meet travel requirements to attend placements
  • ability to follow a shift pattern that could cover any part of a 24-hour 7-day cycle.

Foundation degree
Successful completion of our Health and Social Care Practice foundation degree  with 120 credits at level 5 may enable you to start in year 2 of our nursing degrees – Nursing (Adult), Nursing (Child) or  Nursing (Mental Health).

Age requirement
Applicants must be aged 18 or over on the day the course begins.

Studied before or got relevant experience?
A qualification, HE credits or relevant experience may count towards your course at Brighton, and could mean that you do not have to take some elements of the course or can start in year 2.

Candidates are advised that places for entry into year 2 of this course are very limited. We normally welcome these applications but high demand for all nursing courses will restrict availability. 

Deferred applications
We are not able to accept applications for deferred entry onto this course. If you wish to apply for a later year of entry, we recommend waiting until the admissions cycle for that year opens – this is usually in October of each year.

Occupational health screening and vaccinations
You will need to complete an occupational health screening and we strongly encourage that you get all of the required vaccinations. Particular vaccinations are a requirement of certain NHS placement providers and are in place to protect you and the patients. Without the appropriate vaccinations you will not be able to undertake some placements – and this may impact on your ability to complete your course. The list of required vaccinations is updated by the NHS and may change over the course of your studies.

Interviews
Students successful at the application stage will be invited to attend an interview.

Read our nursing application and interview tips.

We embrace diversity and welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including those who form part of minority groups.

Interviews

If your application is successful, you will be invited to attend an interview.

Interview dates for applicants wishing to start in September 2025 will be published soon.

Contextual admissions

When you apply to Brighton we want to hear about who you are. Grades are never the whole picture; we're interested in things like creativity, resourcefulness, persistence and the capacity to think big and find new ways of doing things. And we recognise that not everyone has the same background. That's why we treat everyone who applies as an individual. We recognise many qualifications and we care about all of your achievements and the experiences you've had that set you apart.

Find out more about contextual admissions.

Graphic with the text 'Potential + possibility'

Course content

Top reasons to choose this course

  • Accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
  • Placements with NHS and non-NHS healthcare providers in both acute and community settings.
  • Learn in our clinical skills and simulation suites, and practice independently in our nursing skills zone.
  • You’ll share some modules with students on our adult and mental health nursing degrees, allowing you to benefit from interprofessional collaboration. 
  • Support throughout your degree from our student-run Nursing Society.
  • 100% of our graduates are in work or further study 15 months after their degree, 100% of working graduates in highly skilled work as nursing professionals – Graduate Outcomes Survey.
  • Non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each academic year.
  • Brighton is in the UK top 25% for graduate earnings in nursing and midwifery, three years after graduating – Longitudinal Education Outcomes 2022.
male and female nursing student

Course structure

Throughout the degree you will develop understanding of child development and the importance of a child and family-centred approach – this includes looking after unwell children and young people and well children and young people through child health surveillance.   

In each year of the degree, you’ll engage with both theory and practice learning, alternating between academic terms of lectures and workshops and blocks of practice. University learning is Monday to Friday with independent study days. Practice placement blocks are 37.5 hours per week and between 5 and 12 weeks long.

You’ll share some modules with students on our adult and mental health nursing degrees, allowing you to benefit from interprofessional collaboration. Other modules are child field specific, allowing you to explore the basis of nursing children and young people and begin to forge your professional identity.

Recognising that patients come first in everything the NHS does, and the values of the NHS constitution – respect, dignity, compassion and working together for service users – are embedded in our curriculum.

As a student on this course you’ll also get to participate in Schwartz Rounds - hour-long sessions where students come together to listen to stories and share reflections in a supportive and confidential environment. The sessions offer the opportunity to reflect on the emotional aspects of clinical practice and are designed to support students and recent graduates working in complex settings.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through Student View.

students reading notes

Year 1

You will be introduced to the nursing profession and begin your development of the required knowledge and skills for children’s nursing practice. You will also develop an understanding of the structure and function of the human body. You’ll spend around 50% of your time on placement.

Modules

  • Nursing Assessment in Partnership with People

    This module will enable you to undertake a holistic nursing assessment of a person in terms of their mental, physical, social and spiritual needs. You’ll learn the importance of completing an assessment in partnership with the person, taking into account their circumstances, characteristics and preferences.

    You will also gain an understanding of the role of the nurse in assessing the person’s needs as a member of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

  • Planning Nursing Care in Partnership with People

    This module will enable you to plan nursing care based on the information gained from a holistic nursing assessment. You’ll learn the importance of identifying priorities in the mental, physical, social and spiritual needs of the person and formulating a plan of care in partnership with the person and the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

  • Human Biology for Nursing

    This module will enable you to explore human biology in relation to the health, well-being and illness of a person across the lifespan. You’ll develop an understanding of how human biology and altered physiology underpins your developing nursing practice.

  • Practice Learning for Nursing Year 1

    This practice assessment of the course is divided into three parts. This module comprises part one, which will enable you to begin developing the knowledge, skills and values required for nursing practice.

    You will integrate learning from your placement and at university in order to meet the Future Nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses (Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC] 2018).

students sitting in chairs

Year 2

In year 2 you will continue to build your skills, knowledge and professional identity. You will gain insight into children’s health services and nursing roles within public health, acute services, community, and research. Around 50% of year 2 will also be spent on placement.

Modules

  • Quality Improvement Using Evidence-based Nursing Practice
  • Nursing to Promote Health and Prevent Illness
  • Child Development and Transitions
  • Assessing and Planning Complex Care in Children's Nursing
  • Practice Learning for Children’s Nursing Year 2.
lecturer demonstrating to students

Final year

In your final year you will continue to specialise in the field of children's nursing, focussing on the more complex care needs of children, young people and their families.

In addition to your placement, you will undertake an individual project and develop your professional practice and identity further in the areas of leadership, physical assessment and decision making. You’ll also consider the wider context of children and young people’s healthcare as you prepare to enter the profession as a registered nurse and member of the children’s workforce.

Modules

  • Contemporary and Future Nursing Practice
  • Enhanced Physical Assessment of the Child and Young Person
  • Leading and Managing Nursing Care and Effective Teams
  • Children's Nursing in Context
  • Practice Learning for Children’s Nursing Year 3
students with a baby mannequin

Facilities

Clinical Skills and Simulation Suite

Clinical skills and simulation rooms provide an invaluable tool for assessment and monitoring your progress throughout your studies.

You will benefit from practising children’s nursing skills under supervision in an environment that simulates real-life professional experiences, so you can apply your knowledge and skills in professional practice with confidence.

nursing suite

Nursing skills zone – practice independently in a safe environment

Our nursing skills zones are fully equipped open access areas where you can practice your skills at a time to suit you.

You can practice skills including ECG electrode application, sterile glove application, nutritional assessment, basic life support, aseptic technique, urinalysis, physical measurements, personal hygiene, catheterisation, peak flow measurement, administration of medicines, A-E assessment and physical assessment.

Nursing skills zone

Placements and practice-learning 

You will complete 2,300 hours of practice-related activities over the course of your degree which includes approximately 20 weeks each year in practice placements across Surrey, Sussex and Kent

Our flexible approach and excellent links with local healthcare organisations enable us to offer clinical placements in a range of hospital and community settings. When on placement you’ll work alongside a variety of multi-professional teams.

Most children receive healthcare in the community and our placements reflect this. We offer experience in schools, GP surgeries, the Healthy Child Programme (health visiting and school nursing), minor injury units, residential units, child development centres and children’s community nursing teams.

Hospital placements offer experience in wards, units and specialist departments within NHS district general hospitals and the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton.

Placements are usually 37.5 hours per week, and you will be supported by a practice supervisor and practice assessor. Shift times vary according to the setting, but shifts can be between 8-12.5 hours long and may include weekends and nights.

Placements take place across Sussex, Surrey and Kent and can include rural settings - you may need to travel for up to 90 minutes to your placement location. You will need to arrange your own transport to your placement but can claim for reimbursement of excess travel costs via the Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses NHS bursary.

Nursing placements map

Supporting you

You will receive lots of support throughout your degree in children’s nursing. During your course you'll have access to:

  • Academic Assessor
  • Personal Academic Tutor
  • Practice Liaison Lecturers
  • Practice Supervisors and Practice Assessors in clinical practice
  • Student Support and Guidance Tutor

Nursing Society
Our student-run Nursing Society provides support for all nursing students at every stage of their degree.

The society facilitates group learning and extracurricular lectures from speakers across the multidisciplinary team.

Study abroad

We are committed to providing a global perspective to nursing and midwifery education.

Nursing students currently have opportunities to participate in an international placement in Year 2 or Year 3. 

The experience is two to four weeks long and is managed by different reputable organisations in collaboration with the student. International placements are only with partners with which we have an agreement – this ensures a good quality learning opportunity and safe experience.

Locations include Tanzania, Nepal, Philippines and Mexico.

For an insight into what life is like on a study abroad placement, read Sabrina Barnes' experience in our student views section.

Meet the team

Alison Taylor - course leader

Alison is a registered children’s nurse and completed her Bachelor of Nursing in 1997.

She worked as a staff nurse at Birmingham Children’s Hospital before travelling to Australia to work on children’s wards in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.

Alison relocated to Brighton in 2003 and worked in clinical and practice development roles having developed an interest in nurse education. She completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care Education in 2010 and from 2012-2015 was involved in the University’s partnership work to launch the first paediatric nursing course in Zambia.

Alison completed her  Master's dissertation in 2014 on culturally safe approaches to health partnership work.

Alison continues to practise alongside her academic career.

Read Alison's full profile. 

Alison Taylor

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Careers

Careers and employability 

As a graduate you will be eligible to apply for registration as a children's nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and are entitled to practise anywhere in the UK.

The degree provides an excellent foundation for working in a range of health contexts and for further professional development in clinical practice, education, management and research.

Our children's nursing graduates have developed successful careers in both hospital and community settings. Many of our graduates leave university with a firm offer of employment.

After a period of consolidation and further study you can work as a specialist practitioner in such fields as community children's nursing, health visiting, school nursing, or as a nurse practitioner. There are a wide a range of roles caring for children and young people needing emergency, medical, surgical, high dependency, palliative, complex continuing care and neonatal care in hospitals and community settings.

Successful completion of the course will enable you to access further academic study at masters and doctoral level.

students with a child mannequin

Fees and costs

Course fees

UK (full-time) 9,250 GBP

Additional funding support

UK students studying nursing, midwifery and some allied health professions subjects receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each academic year. Find out more on the NHS website.

Fee information for this course for 2025 entry will be updated here no later than December 2024.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

What's included

Here you’ll find details of specific resources and services that are included in the tuition fee for our nursing and midwifery students. To help you to budget for your studies, there is also information on any additional costs that you may have to pay or can choose to pay in addition to your tuition fee.

Find out how tuition fees enable us to support all of our students with important services, facilities and resources across the university and check out our finance pages for info about fees, funding and scholarships along with advice on international and island fee-paying status.

You can chat with our enquiries team if you have a question or need more information.

What's included in your tuition fee

  • An initial set of specialist uniforms.
  • DBS checks and occupational health checks.
  • Where health course includes a placement: UK students – travel costs which are over and above your daily journey to university and dual accommodation costs may be reimbursed by the NHS learning support fund.
  • Course books, magazines and journals are available in the university libraries. You do not need to have your own copies. See the subject area in the library for an up-to-date list of key subject journals and databases.
  • You will have access to computers and necessary software on campus – and can borrow a laptop from us if yours is broken or you don’t have a computer at home. Specialist equipment is provided to cover essential learning.

Additional course costs

  • Where health course includes a placement: Overseas students are not covered by the NHS learning support fund. This means that any additional travel or accommodation costs for this course will be your responsibility. Travel to placement may be up to 90 mins each way/travel on public transport at peak time cost, and you may incur additional accommodation and living costs if staying away from your usual home base for the length of your placement.
  • You’ll need to budget for printing and stationery for personal study, and books if you decide to buy your own.   
  • In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes which would involve an extra cost.   
  • Many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices, but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.

Location and student life

Campus where this course is taught

Falmer campus

Set in the South Downs, our Falmer campus is around four miles from Brighton city centre. Students based here study a range of subjects including education studies, teaching, sport and exercise, nursing and midwifery, allied health professions and medicine. Brighton and Hove Albion's Amex stadium and beautiful Stanmer Park are right next door.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence on site, as well as a library, restaurant, cafes and the students' union shop and bar.

The campus has extensive sport and leisure facilities including a fitness suite, swimming pool, outdoor grass football and rugby pitches, sports hall, tennis and badminton courts, and dance and spin studios.

Specialist learning facilities at Falmer include the curriculum centre used by teaching and education students, which houses over 30,000 teaching resources, clinical skills and simulation suites used by health students, and labs and a strength and conditioning suite used by sport students. We’ve recently redeveloped the Falmer campus - learn more about the many facilities our students have access to.

Cycle lanes link Falmer with our other campuses and the city centre. There are regular bus services to the city centre and other campuses. Falmer train station is right next to campus and a nine-minute journey to central Brighton.

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Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students. So if you applied for halls by the deadline you are guaranteed a room in our halls of residence.

Brighton: Falmer

Halls of residence
We have self-catered halls on all our campuses, within minutes of your classes, and other options that are very nearby.

  • You can apply for any of our halls, but the options closest to your study location are:
    • Paddock Field and Great Wilkins halls offer a range of rooms on our Falmer campus, minutes from your classes, and on the edge of the South Downs.
    • Varley Park is a popular dedicated halls site, offering a mix of rooms and bathroom options at different prices. It is around two miles from Falmer campus and four miles from the city centre, and is easy to get to by bus.

Want to live independently? We can help – find out more about private renting.

Outside views at Falmer accommodation

Outside views at Falmer accommodation

student outside the sport and health complex at Falmer

Extensive facilities at Falmer sports centre

Students dining at Westlain

Students dining at Westlain

Local area

About Brighton

The University of Brighton is at the heart of our city's reputation as a welcoming, forward-thinking place which leads the way when it comes to the arts, music, sustainability and creative technology. Brighton is home to a thriving creative community and a digital sector worth £1bn a year to the local economy, as much as tourism.

Many of the work-based learning opportunities offered on our courses such as placements and guest lectures are provided by businesses and organisations based in the city.

You can also get involved with city festivals and events such as the Brighton Festival, the Fringe, Brighton Digital Festival, Brighton Science Festival, the London to Brighton bike ride, and the Great Escape festival of new music to name but a few. Other annual highlights include Pride, the Brighton Marathon, and Burning the Clocks which marks the winter solstice.

You'll find living in Brighton enriches your learning experience and by the end of your course you will still be finding new things to explore and inspire you.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Brighton to central London and there are daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton
Brighton Beach sunset

Maps

Falmer campus

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Support and wellbeing

Your course team

Your personal academic tutor, course leader and other tutors are all there to help you with your personal and academic progress. You'll also have a student support and guidance tutor (SSGT) who can help with everything from homesickness, managing stress or accommodation issues.

Your academic skills

Our Brighton Student Skills Hub gives you extra support and resources to develop the skills you'll need for university study, whatever your level of experience so far.

Your mental health and wellbeing

As well as being supported to succeed, we want you to feel good too. You'll be part of a community that builds you up, with lots of ways to connect with one another, as well having access to dedicated experts if you need them. Find out more about how we support your wellbeing.

Sport at Brighton

Sport Brighton

Sport Brighton brings together our sport and recreation services. As a Brighton student you'll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition. 

Find out more about Sport Brighton.

Sports scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about sport scholarships.

Students playing frisbee

Student views  

Maddie Allam

I LOVE the course; I couldn’t have chosen anything better to do.

The best part about the course is definitely going to placements, you learn so much more being on the wards and in the community where you can begin to hone your skills. It can be so rewarding. 

Being on the wards within a hospital has helped me to really understand what it is a nurse does. I was only 18 when I started the course and I had never been in a hospital, and never worked in healthcare of any kind, so it reinforced what I would be doing.

The sessions where we talk to our senior lecturers about our experiences and reflect on them are great as we learn from each other about how we could do better next time to improve our skill set.

The mentors have helped me so much that I would like to eventually become a mentor and help other students too, and possibly do my masters, but this is a long way in the future I think!

Maddie Allam

Sabrina Barnes

"I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in Kathmandu, Nepal on placement  in three different paediatric wards; general medicine and surgery, neonatal intensive care and paediatric intensive care. In this time, I was able to learn how different the Nepali culture was and both the differences and similarities between nursing in Nepal and the UK. 

"I was also able to learn a lot about myself and my own nursing practice and share some of my experiences with the Nepali nurses. I had never travelled alone before so even before I got to Nepal, I had done something new and when I got there, I was able to meet lots of other nurses doing exchange placements from across the world. This enabled me to learn about other people’s experiences of healthcare and I also met friends that I went travelling with recently to Pokhara, Nepal.

"My experience in Nepal taught me a lot about family centred care and I have been able to take this in with my nursing practice as a qualified nurse. In particular my time on the intensive care unit in combination with my second year placement on HDU, inspired the title of my dissertation, which had a focus on supporting family involvement in intensive care environments."

Sabrina Barnes in Nepal

Stay in touch

Ask a question about this course

If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

01273 644644

 

Statistics

Find out more about how the academic year and degree courses are organised, and about learning and assessment activities you might get to grips with at Brighton. More specific information about this course is detailed in the programme specification (linked below). You can find out also about the support we offer to help you adjust to university life.

Course and module descriptions on this page were accurate when first published and are the basis of the course. Detailed information on any changes we make to modules and learning and assessment activities will be sent to all students by email before enrolment, so that you have all the information before you come to Brighton.

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Course specification

Course specifications are the approved description of each course. They contain a breakdown of the content and structure of the course, learning outcomes and assessment. Course specs are updated following course changes.

Course specification

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