Celebrating the newest graduates of Place2Be’s Postgraduate Diploma

Seventeen graduates from Place2Be's Postgraduate Diploma recently gathered in London to mark the start of their journeys as qualified child counsellors.  

The ceremony for Place2Be’s 2023 graduates took place on 1 February 2024. The graduates were celebrating two years of dedicated part-time study to earn their Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Children in School, awarded by the University of East London (UEL). 

Graduates, Place2Be staff, UEL staff, family, and friends came together for the ceremony at King’s Cross Impact Hub in London. Broadcaster, journalist, and Place2Be Ambassador Katie Thistleton delivered the keynote speech. She reflected on her own counselling training and the powerful impact practitioners can have on others.   

Place2Be’s Chief Executive Catherine Roche also spoke, acknowledging the dedicated students and tutors who work hard to deliver high-quality, expert learning. Place2Be's courses are all based on the charity’s 30 years of grass-roots service delivery in schools. 

Our Postgraduate Diploma provides students with the skills and experience to become fully qualified child counsellors. The course, accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), includes a supervised placement in a Place2Be school. 

All seventeen graduates are now working in counselling roles, with six employed in Place2Be schools.  

Launch of Place2Be’s new bursary scheme  

As part of Place2Be’s wider ambitions to grow the children’s mental health workforce and increase diversity within the profession, we've introduced our new bursary scheme. These bursaries will support those passionate about working therapeutically with young people but find the financial requirement a barrier to entry. 

We now offer bursaries for the Postgraduate Diploma and our Introduction to Child Counselling Skills (Level 2 Award), Intermediate Child Counselling Skills (Level 3 Certificate) and Level 4 Diploma in School-Based Child Counselling.