PgDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting)
Course Overview
The PgDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) (Health Visiting) course offered by the University of Bolton is designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the Health Visiting profession and equip you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to succeed in your career. Our programme was the first in the country to be accredited by the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI), which recognises programmes that focus on supporting all families to develop close and loving relationships with their newborns and to understand the importance of this for their baby's development. We also provide training in the Solihull Parenting Approach, which supports practitioners in promoting emotional health and wellbeing in children and families.Studying a course curriculum developed in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards of proficiency for specialist community public health nursing (2022), you'll cover subjects like sustainable population health, collaborative working for health improvement, advocating for children, young people and families at risk, early intervention for improving outcomes across the lifespan, synthesising the evidence-base for innovative specialist practice, and promoting mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan. You can also get hands-on and build your practical skills in partnership with us and our practice learning partners.
Upon successfully completing this course, you'll be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) and have your name registered as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (HV) on the NMC's professional register.
Highlights
- We've successfully delivered healthcare programmes for decades, and our Health Visiting course has a longstanding, excellent reputation.
- Our dedicated academic team has a wealth of experience working in NHS settings and engages in relevant research, bringing their expertise and passion for service excellence to their teaching.
- Our students have the opportunity to benefit from supportive learning opportunities in partnership with our practice learning partners.
Key Features
- This course is designed to take account of the changing healthcare climate with a curriculum that combines flexible learning with the knowledge and insight to respond to industry developments.
- Our teaching team has many years of experience working in healthcare and NHS settings, particularly in the fields of public health, early intervention, and safeguarding, incorporating relevant legislation.
- The course curriculum is regularly reviewed to ensure that contemporary theories are adopted.
- We offer a supportive learning environment, including small group lessons, one-to-one sessions, cross-programme workshops, and access to IT facilities and WiFi across campus.
Entry Requirements
- Application to this programme is open to NMC registered nurses (level 1) or NMC registered Midwives who have an active entry at the time of application. Applications can be made through various methods, including NHS recruitment sites, NHS organisation websites, other partner organisations, and independent enquiry. Please contact the programme leader for details of the application procedure. You can find their name, email address and phone number in the Programme Contacts section of this page.
- You're required to hold a degree qualification or evidence equivalent experience and have the ability to work at postgraduate academic level HE7.
- Experience in this specialist field is beneficial, although not essential.
- You'll be asked to attend an interview if your application is successfully short-listed. The interview process will involve an individual interview with a university member of staff, a representative from the partner organisation and a service user. You'll also be assessed on your values, behaviours, communication and problem-solving skills, and undertake a presentation or written assessment.
- You'll be required to produce satisfactory professional and academic references, pass occupational health screening and a DBS.
- RP(E)L for exemptions from modules in this course. Any applications for accreditation of prior learning will be considered before admission, on an individual basis, by the RPL panel. Claims need to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes in theory and practice as defined within the specific module specification.
- This course involves regulated activity so you must gain an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting your studies. Charges are payable to cover the cost of the DBS Enhanced Disclosure application and annual registration with the online Update Service. (Normally your sponsoring organisation will organise this.) Please note that your DBS must have been completed within three years of the course start date.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 7.0 with normally no less than 6.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- 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.
Career Opportunities
This PgDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) course is designed to prepare practitioners for registration with the NMC as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (Health Visitor). If you're a nurse or midwife and wish to further develop your career by working with children, young people, families, and communities to improve health, it should interest you.
Health visiting consists of developing, leading, and managing activities that aim to promote health and wellbeing, prevent health breakdown, and improve ill health through working with individuals, families, and communities. Health Visitors seek to help individuals, families, and communities take control of their lives and protect vulnerable members of society by promoting social inclusion and reducing inequalities.
The course aims to help you gain a wide range of skills and supporting knowledge, including leadership, communication, enquiry, advocacy, critical reflection and analysis skills. We'll support you as you learn how to think, read and write critically about contemporary issues in order to become a flexible, autonomous and highly skilled practitioner.
What can I do with this qualification?
Health visitors are employed mainly by the NHS. Health Visitors undertake home visits and see children, young people, and families in clinic settings to positively influence future health outcomes. The role may also involve organising and attending clinics and sessions in the community, children's centres, and educational settings.
Universities and other academic institutions employ experienced Health Visitors to work as lecturers or tutors. Some Health Visitors decide to go into clinical academic research, which is a fast-growing career pathway for healthcare workers. Types of clinical research programmes include master's in clinical research, clinical doctoral research fellowships and clinical lectureships.
Upon successfully completing the PgDip, you'll be eligible to progress to a top-up to MSc Community Public Health Nursing (top-up).
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possibilities include:
- Children and families social work
- Teaching and education
- Research
- School Nursing
- Voluntary sector
- Health promotion
- Health service management
- Community development
- Counselling
- Mental health
- Probation
Professional Recognition
The University of Bolton's PgDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) programme is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
After successful completion of the course, you'll have your name registered on part 3 of the NMC's professional register.
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
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.
How to apply
Home Applicants
Please contact the programme leader for details of the application procedure. You can find their name, email address and phone number in the Programme Contacts section of this page.
International Applicants
Please contact the programme leader for details of the application procedure. You can find their name, email address and phone number in the Programme Contacts section of this page.
Teaching & Assessment
This course is split equally in terms of theoretical and practical learning. We'll expect you to attend timetabled lectures and other sessions, where we'll explore concepts and principles through presentations, discussions, and group work. We'll help you build on this core content in workshops and sessions incorporating simulation. We use a blended learning and teaching style, including online delivery and engagement where appropriate. You'll also need to complete self-guided learning, such as background reading and preparation for lessons. Our virtual learning environment is another tool you can use to your full advantage, with resources available 24/7.
You'll also attend seminars, where you'll have the opportunity to engage in group discussions and debates. Occasionally, we may ask you to lead the discussion or prepare a presentation. Group and one-to-one tutorials may also be arranged. These sessions can be used to discuss your development and any issues you may have.
Several assessment strategies will be used to measure your progress and ensure you're meeting the expected learning outcomes. These techniques include essays, practice-based assessments, portfolio entries, observed structured clinical examinations (OCSEs), time-constrained examinations, and a viva voce. At the beginning of the course, you'll be given access to a module handbook where you can find out more about the assessments specific to each module.
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.
- Synthesising The Evidence-Base For Innovative Specialist Practice
- Sustainable Population Health Across The Life Span
- Professional Practice and Compassionate Leadership in Health Visiting
- Early Intervention For Improving Outcomes Across the Lifespan
- Advocating For Children, Young People and Families at Risk
- Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing Across the Lifespan
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 55% Practical exams 37% Written exams 8% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 38% Placement/study abroad 50% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 12% |
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.
