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Assistant Practitioner (Health) Mental Health

  • Foundation Degree in Science
  • 2 Years
  • Full-Time
  • 7 September 2027
  • Undergraduate
Taunton Campus
Awarded by:
University of the West of England, Bristol
More about University Centre Somerset

Course options

2027-2028
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Course summary

Please note: Applicants must be employed in a health or care setting for a minimum of 30 hours per week. If you aren’t in relevant employment, you could apply to do this course as part of an apprenticeship instead. Find out more and check for current apprenticeship vacancies by searching ‘assistant practitioner apprenticeship’ on the University Centre Somerset website.

Assistant Practitioners have skills and experience in a particular area of clinical practice. Although they are not registered practitioners, they have a higher level of skill through their experience and training and work across both the NHS and other areas of healthcare services.

This Foundation Degree is designed for those working across mental health services. You will be supporting individuals experiencing a wide range of mental health conditions in both community and inpatient settings. You will develop the knowledge and skills to provide compassionate, recovery-focused care that promotes resilience and wellbeing.

You will explore mental health across the lifespan, including early intervention, crisis support, and long-term management. The course places strong emphasis on communication, safeguarding, and reducing stigma.

Learning occurs in the workplace and draws on your current employment experience. This enables you to gain, develop and demonstrate the additional theoretical, practical and professional knowledge and skills required by an Assistant Practitioner, supporting you to deliver enhanced care to your patients.

Modules may include:

  • Developing your Clinical Practice in Mental Health 1

  • The Management of Risk for Mental Health

  • Developing your Clinical Practice in Mental Health 2

  • The Principles of Professional Assessment for Mental Health.

This Higher Technical Qualification is approved against occupational standards decided by employers.

Learn more about Higher Technical Qualifications

Assessment method

Assessments are a mix of written assignments, presentations and exams.

This course has restrictions on who can apply.

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • Taunton Campus

Study options

  • Foundation Degree in Science • Full-Time • 2 Years

Start dates

  • 7 September 2027

Apply by
13 January 2027

This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.

Application codes

Course code:
APMH
Institution code:
B70
Campus name:
Taunton Campus
Points of Entry:
Year 1

University Centre Somerset has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?

How to apply

This course has restrictions on who can apply.

This course is not accepting applications from students requiring a Student visa. For more information, please contact the course provider.

Apply by
13 January 2027

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
APMH
Institution code:
B70
Campus name:
Taunton Campus

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Typical qualification requirements

UCAS Tariff
Offer: 48

Typically entrants will possess:

  • A minimum of 48 UCAS Points from a full Level 3 qualification
  • GCSE maths and English at grade 4 and above, or equivalent.

Applicants must be employed in a health or care setting for a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

At UCS, we recognise an individual’s potential to succeed and flourish. In order to do this, we consider qualifications and experience in the context of each applicant’s background. We make offers based on evidence that suggests a student’s suitability to succeed on their chosen course of study. As such, where appropriate, we will consider making a contextual offer to study with us to recognise life experience and potential, as well as previous academic achievement.

Learn more on the University Centre Somerset website

Historical entry grades data

This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).

It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.

Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Per year tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland & EU£8950

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Subject to the maximum fee limits set out in regulations, we will review the fees and may increase them in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI-X)

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