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Supporting Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Support children and families in maintaining good mental health. Critically examine a range of needs across different phases of education and contexts. Gain credits to transfer towards obtaining a full master's degree.

School pupils sitting in a classroom with their hands up
LevelShort courses and CPD
Duration10 weeks
Course codeCID1417

Course summary

This short course is ideal for teachers, SENCOs, or other educational and care professionals who want to develop their knowledge of how to support children and families in maintaining good mental health. It's been designed in response to strong market demand for practitioners to be given the opportunity to enhance their understanding of evidence-based approaches to supporting those with mental health needs. The course will help you meet the demands and challenges associated with the rising prevalence of SEMH needs nationally, regionally, and locally.

Upon completing the accredited version of the course, you'll gain 30 Level 7 credits which can be transferred to further study, providing an achievable way of gaining a full master's degree, for example, our MA Education or MA SEND.

What you'll study

The purpose of the course is to critically examine a range of needs across different phases in education and contexts. You'll explore the challenges associated with defining these needs, both politically and when related to research. You'll also look into the challenges associated with creating effective policy to meet learners with SEMH.

You'll have opportunities to critically appraise the factors that can lead to ill mental health in children, young people, and adults, plus those who support them. The course draws on theoretical approaches which can then be applied to different educational contexts, and the assessments are designed to reflect the variety of environments that you work in, helping you to improve.

How you'll learn

The course is delivered over 10 weeks, with a three-hour session taking place on campus in Sunderland each week.

The course will be delivered through a variety of tutor-directed and student-centred learning activities, together with an emphasis on supporting independent self-study and participative learning.

Acquisition of learning outcomes is gained through a combination of taught seminars, directed tasks and tutor-directed study, and independent self-directed study. You'll be encouraged to proactively undertake independent reading both to supplement and consolidate learning, and broaden your individual knowledge.

Entry requirements

Fees and finance support

The course fees vary depending on your status:

  • Accredited course fee: £1032
  • Partnership school fee: £495
  • Alumni fee: £826.

You may be eligible to receive this course fully funded through the UKSPF Sunderland Skills and Inclusion Programme.

To be eligible for this funding, you must be employed by a Sunderland-based company, excluding the public sector.

For further information about funding opportunities, please email skills@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

Apply now

Contact the Corporate and Professional Education team for further information about applying for this course by calling 0191 515 3361(opens in new tab) or emailing cpd@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).