Curious about studying Children's Nursing with Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)at Bucks New University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
High Wycombe Campus
Full Time
Oct 2026
4 Year
Children’s nurses care for children from birth to adulthood and support their families to care for them. Children’s Nurses bring a detailed understanding of children and young people’s health and wellbeing, clinical and technical skills and skilled communication to enable families to feel safe in their care. On our Children’s Nursing degree you'll learn the skills you need to be able to join a dedicated team committed to delivering exceptional child and family-centred care, whilst being a pillar of support. This course is also offered as a four-year programme, with an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate degree. On successful completion of the course, you’ll be eligible to apply for your NMC registration, meaning you’ll then be able to practice as a qualified nurse.
Why study BSc (Hons) Children’s Nursing at Bucks?\
Placements\ Throughout the course, you’ll allocate approximately half of your time to clinical practice and the remaining half to University-based learning. Our strong partnerships with various NHS Trusts and independent care providers in the region ensure that students have diverse and enriching clinical placements. Many of our students are employed by the Trust that they worked with during their time at the University.
Facilities\ Our facilities offer a high-fidelity environment, which includes the use of NHS approved consumables, genuine functioning equipment and technology enhanced manikins. The essential element of de-brief in simulation is undisputed; audio/visual technology is available and widely used by the teaching teams to enhance feedback to learners. You will also benefit from up-to-date PROMPT advanced models where you’ll practice resuscitation using authentic equipment. All the technology and equipment supplied to you enables you to become familiar with kit used within the local hospital trusts.
What will I study?\ Becoming a children’s nurse is an extremely rewarding yet challenging career. You’ll have experiences from neonatal units to general children’s wards, children’s own homes to paediatric intensive care and everything in between, giving you a rounded view of children and young people’s healthcare and learn the theory and evidence that informs that care. The programme develops and nurtures you as you gain the skills and knowledge you need to meet and manage the health needs of children, young people and their families. You’ll learn how to perform a range of nursing skills with proficiency, predicated on contemporary knowledge and the understanding of best practice. You’ll also learn how to practice in a non- judgemental and anti-discriminatory way, prioritising the needs of children, young people and their families, respecting their choices and individual wishes and promoting health. As well as this you’ll be taught how to assess and review mental, physical, cognitive, behavioural, spiritual and social needs to identify the priorities and requirements for evidence-based nursing interventions and support. From understanding and being able to refer to policies and procedures, to pharmacology, treating, assessing and making the right care-decisions for a young patient, you’ll learn how to work within a team as critically reflective, resilient practitioners, with an ability to learn from experience and solve problems. Our team of experienced and dedicated lecturers have a collective wealth of knowledge from working in a range of children and young people’s healthcare and clinical environments across the NHS and private sector. Upon successful graduation you’ll be a compassionate, proficient, confident, and digitally able children’s nurse, who is able to adopt a child and family centred approach, working autonomously and accountably, within the integrated care system.
Foundation Year
The module covers fundamental academic skills. You’ll engage in interactive sessions that emphasise academic writing, research techniques, and the ability to evaluate relevant literature. Practical exercises will enhance numerical literacy, a skill integral to understanding health and social care-related data.
Foundation Year
The course covers self-awareness, goal setting, and resilience. There’s a strong focus on teamwork and collaboration within appropriate care settings. Practical scenarios and group projects facilitate the development of effective communication, conflict resolution, and collaborative problem-solving skills.
Foundation Year
This is designed to prepare you to communicate effectively as health & social care professionals. We’ll consider anti-discriminatory language, conflict resolution and communicating with patients, service users and people with lived experience who are disengaged. Models in relation to verbal, non-verbal and written communication will be covered.
Foundation Year
This module emphasises the importance of evidence-based practice in delivering high-quality care. You’ll learn principles of evidence-based care and develop the ability to identify and to appraise reliable literature. Ethical considerations, inherent in the utilisation of evidence within health and social care settings, are also explored.
Foundation Year
Building upon previously acquired academic skills and taught sessions during the module, you’ll work in discipline specific action learning sets to complete a project. You’ll need to collaborate to investigate, understand and analyse issues arising from a discipline-specific person-centred scenario.
Foundation Year
You’ll explore ethical theories and principles, examining their practical application in real-world scenarios across different care disciplines and their impact on patient/client care. You’ll gain an awareness of the moral responsibilities inherent in professional practice care, considering the diverse ethical challenges that may arise.
You'll be introduced to nursing as a profession and explore the fundamental underpinnings of professional practice as set out in the NMC Code. You'll study the importance of the four themes set out in the Code to everyday professional practice as a nurse or nurse associate, as well as being introduced to key legal frameworks governing healthcare.
This module introduces fundamental approaches and skills for delivering care for people across all care environments. You will begin practising universal nursing skills in safe simulated clinical environments. This simulation practice learning contributes to the 2300 practice learning hours requirement.
You'll be introduced to fundamental themes and principles of human anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology as a basis to understand health and diseases. It aims to equip you with a depth and range of understanding of human functioning through use of systems approach. This will help you to recognize physiological parameters.
The aim of the module is to facilitate and develop your knowledge of pharmacology and numeracy in healthcare, in addition to clinical skills in medicines administration. This module aims to equip you to participate knowledgeably in the safe administration of commonly encountered oral, topical, subcutaneous and intramuscular medicines.
This module will examine how biological, psychological, social, and individual factors contribute to patterns of health breakdown and ill health and explore how this can impact individuals with diverse identities. A lifespan approach will be implemented to enable students to care for people across all four fields of nursing in their own homes, community, hospital, or any healthcare setting.
This module spans the first year and enables you to integrate your learning from other modules. Reflection on practice learning experiences and how learning from other modules supports children’s nursing practice is a key part. You will also conduct a learning needs analysis on yourself and engage in academic skills development to meet those needs.
This is an introduction to nursing practice. You will attend clinical environments in a supernumerary capacity for allocated periods and participate in the direct care of service users under direct supervision of qualified experienced practitioners who are trained as supervisors. This module also includes practical elements of mandatory training.
You'll design and present a research project and develop an academic research poster. You'll practice research methods and their application, to equip you with the skills to draw on research to inform your practice.
The aim of this module is to enable you to understand the legal and professional requirements of registered practice. The focus is on applying aspects of health care law and ethics to practice settings across fields, to enable you to develop confidence in your ability to take part in raising concerns, reporting incidents and providing evidence to enquiries into complaints, in addition to meeting professional standards and safeguarding responsibilities.
You'll explore a range of health conditions and their impact on children and families. You'll study the inter-relationship between physical, mental and social aspects of common health conditions and illnesses. Understanding children’s, young people’s and families lived experiences of illness, injury and care is central to the module.
This module focuses on the development of nursing skills and the care required for the acutely unwell child in a variety of healthcare settings. High quality communication skills are further developed to engage and manage relationships with people of all ages and with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challenges.
This module will support you to integrate your learning from the other Year 2 modules and practice experience in order to develop your competence and resilience as a children’s nurse. The concepts of emotional labour and resilience are central to the module and are addressed recurrently through Schwartz rounds throughout Year 2.
You will continue to develop and extend your competence and confidence in practice. You will attend clinical environments in a supernumerary capacity for allocated periods. You will participate in the direct care of service users under supervision of qualified experienced practitioners who are trained as supervisors.
This module aims to build on your learning of pharmacology and numeracy from Year One and assimilate it and your existing practice learning with further legal, professional and pharmacological principles and field specific issues. This will facilitate and develop your readiness to manage medicines professionally in practice after registration.
This module provides a platform for you to examine theories and practices around leadership, delegation, collaboration, and management within healthcare settings and to introduce healthcare regulation. You'll also get to enhance your problems solving skills and further develop your communication skills in challenging situations.
You'll consolidate your knowledge and skills in the care and management of children and young people with complex healthcare needs within a range of settings. You'll develop critical knowledge of complex pathophysiology in relation to complex needs. You will learn about NHS policy in this field and apply it the nurse’s role with children and young people with complex needs. Highly effective communication skills are further developed in order to engage and manage relationships with children, young people and their families with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challenges.
This module aims to further develop your research literacy and skills to evaluate research evidence in order to enhance evidence–based practice in your field. Approaches to practice development will also be introduced.
This module aims to focus on the transition from student nurse to Registered Children’s Nurse. You will have the opportunity to reflect on your learning across their programme and develop a professional, academic portfolio that demonstrates your readiness for registration. Career opportunities will also be discussed.
This is the opportunity to enhance your therapeutic skills and clinical decision-making, beginning to take responsibility for leading care and practise delegation, supervision and supporting others. You will attend clinical environments in a supernumerary capacity for allocated periods and deliver care under indirect supervision.
4.4Bucks New University (BNU) is a student-focused university based in High Wycombe, with over 130 years of educational his...
