FdA Health and Social Care (Assistant Practitioner (Health) Higher Apprenticeship Route)

• 40 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
• 40 UCAS points
• Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
• Applicants should have four GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics. If an applicant has yet to achieve appropriate Level 2 English and Mathematics qualifications, then with their employer's support, they can complete suitable equivalents locally or with assistance from the University before commencing the apprenticeship. Please contact apprentices@bolton.ac.uk for a list of acceptable GCSE equivalents, further information and support.
• Applicants will be asked to attend a joint interview with their employer and the University of Bolton.
• Previous experience in the health and social care sector may be taken into account if an applicant doesn’t meet the academic entry requirements for the course. We may ask applicants to undertake additional assessment(s) to determine their suitability for the course.
• Admission to this programme is only available to applicants who meet ESFA eligibility criteria, including the following: 1) They are employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week in a role relevant to the apprenticeship. 2) They have the right to live and work in the UK. 3) Their employer is willing to sponsor them to spend a minimum of six hours per week of their time in off-the-job training, including attending the University (times and dates to be determined) for the duration of their course. Please note that an apprentice cannot be self-employed. ESFA eligibility criteria may change so please contact apprentices@bolton.ac.uk for up-to-date information.
• This course involves regulated activity so applicants must gain an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting their studies. Charges are payable to cover the cost of the DBS Enhanced Disclosure application and annual registration with the online Update Service. Please note that the DBS must have been completed within three years of the course start date.
• To be eligible for tuition fee funding through the Apprenticeship Levy, candidates should not normally have already completed a qualification at the same level as the proposed apprenticeship, unless that qualification was gained in a completely unrelated discipline.
• Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The University of Bolton's FdA Health and Social Care (Assistant Practitioner (Health) Higher Apprenticeship Route) is designed to meet the Level 5 Assistant Practitioner (Health) Apprenticeship Standard (ST0215). The standard underpins a highly relevant qualification and professional development pathway that educates apprentices ready for the role of Assistant Practitioner.

Assistant Practitioners have direct contact with patients, service users or clients and work as part of the wider health and social care team to provide high-quality and person-centred compassionate care. Occupying the crucial gap in care delivery between a care support worker and a registered practitioner, the job title of Assistant Practitioner is applied to a wide variety of roles developed locally by employers to meet individual service needs.

Assistant Practitioners can be found working in a range of areas across health and social care, such as acute, social care services, community, physiotherapy, mental health, general practice, hospice care, genito-urinary medicine, orthopaedics, occupational therapy, cancer services, and learning disabilities, as well as in hybrid roles that cross traditional occupational areas.

What can I do with this qualification?

Apprentices will not be expected to pay tuition fees towards this programme. If your organisation has a wage bill of more than £3 million per annum, then it may be able to fund this apprenticeship through its Apprenticeship Levy contributions. If your organisation does not pay the levy, it will be eligible for government support to fund apprenticeships. This support, called co-investment, covers 95% of the apprenticeship's tuition fees, with your organisation funding the remaining 5% of the fees.

Home/EU Fees

Apprentices will need to be employed by your organisation for a minimum of 30 hours per week. Your organisation will also need to commit to sponsoring apprentices to complete this qualification.

For further information on how your organisation can access funds to support apprentices, please e-mail apprentices@bolton.ac.uk.

Whether you’re an employer, employee or school leaver, please visit our Apprenticeship web page for support and advice regarding apprenticeships.

International Fees

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

There are no bursaries associated with this programme.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

To make this course as beneficial as possible for you and your apprentices, we apply a range of learning, teaching and assessment methods. These are designed to fully engage apprentices, helping them develop the skills, knowledge, competencies, values and attitudes essential to service excellence as a health and social care Assistant Practitioner, with particular reference to their specific clinical or professional area in your organisation. Learning focuses on your workplace environment and builds the transferable body of knowledge and skills demanded by the Assistant Practitioner role both generally and within your organisation or service area. Your apprentices will spend the majority of their time gaining on-the-job knowledge and experience. They will also complete at least six hours per week in off-the-job learning, including studying at the university.

To complement lectures that introduce the course content, seminars and group-based activities allow apprentices to explore subjects, policies and practices in greater detail. Tutorials help them to clarify their understanding of the topics we cover in lectures and seminars. At the same time, we use case studies, practical scenarios and role-playing to help apprentices apply their newly acquired knowledge and theory to real-life problems and gain valuable insights into health and social care practice. Apprentices also have the chance to develop their practical skills in our clinical skills laboratory, and we'll encourage them to use our extensive online learning resources to support their self-directed learning.

In addition, we offer masterclasses with practitioners from the health and social care sector, plus insightful sessions with guest speakers who either provide or use health and social care services to widen their views.

Our assessment methods are designed to reflect what will be required of Assistant Practitioners in your health and social care setting. For example, the course requires apprentices to submit written reports, give presentations, develop their practice portfolio, analyse care plans, review relevant literature, analyse complex cases and discuss how to manage change. We also expect them to write essays and reflective accounts, take practical and written tests, and play an active part in group discussions. Some assessments contribute to their final module marks, while others help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and where they need to seek extra support from course tutors.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Enhancing Communication and Academic Study Skills
• Accountability and Ethical Practice in Health and Social Care
• Anatomy and Physiology for Health and Social Care
• Principles of Care and Support Across the Lifespan
• Introduction to Research Evidence-Based Practice
• Working Within Allied Care Profession (Level 1)
• The Impact of Social Policy in Health and Social Care
• Fundamentals of Perioperative Practice
• Mental Health and Well-Being
• Negotiated Studies
• Leadership in Health and Social Care
• End Point Assessment
• Negotiated Studies
• Principles of Medicines Management
• Person Centred Health and Social Care
• End of Life and Palliative Care
• Social Inclusion, Empowerment and Health
• Children and Families
• Management of Long-term Conditions
• Acute Illness Management
• Understanding and Working With Alcohol and Substance Misuse
• Mental Health and Wellbeing - Children and Young People
• Mindfulness and Equanimity in Practice Striking the Balance Between Compassionate Care for Self and Others
• Health and Applied Positive Psychology Interventions
• Collaborative Working in Health and Social Care
• Disability Support and Enablement
• Care and Support for An Ageing Society
• Developing Clinical Skills
• Working Within Allied Care Profession (Level 2)
• Human Anatomy and Assessment (Lower Limb)
• Human Anatomy and Assessment (Upper Limb)

Assessment methods

Learning Activities

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.