Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Children in Schools
Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Children in Schools
With a Diploma in child counselling, you’ll gain the skills and experience you need to become a fully qualified child counsellor. Our Diploma also includes a supervised placement in a Place2Be school.
Overview
Applications for September 2024 are now closed.
For those who want to apply for our next course, please register your interest to receive updates on applications opening for the September 2025 course.
Course details
Course breakdown
- 400 hours of contact time with tutors and 100 supervised clinical hours over the two years
- at least 30 hours a year of personal therapy
- one day of tuition and one day on placement in a Place2Be school
- two training weekends in Year 1 and three training weekends in Year 2
- substantial reading and written work outside of contact hours.
Topics covered
A combination of academic and experiential learning, covering a range of topics, including:
- the use of play and creativity
- self-awareness
- child development and observation
- counselling skills using an integrative therapeutic approach
- person-centred, psychodynamic, systemic, transcultural work and attachment theories
- assessment, referral and multi-agency working.
Useful for those who want to:
- become a qualified and registered child counsellor
- learn how to work therapeutically with children and their families within a multi-agency setting
- receive training in child development, systemic thinking and integrative theory
- develop skills as a creative and reflective counselling practitioner
- apply for clinical roles at Place2Be.
Helpful documents
Download full course specification (PDF 198KB)
Meet our Postgraduate Diploma team
Entry requirements
To submit your application and meet the entry requirement for this course, you must have or completed all of the following:
1. A counselling certificate
You must have, or are studying towards, at least one of the following:
- Place2Be's Intermediate Child Counselling Skills (Level 3 Certificate)
- a Level 3 Certificate in counselling completed face-to-face over 9-12 months with Place2Be or another accredited facility*
- a Diploma in Counselling (Level 4 or above in England and Wales, or equivalent diploma at SCQF Level 9-11 in Scotland)
- a degree or masters in Counselling, Psychotherapy or Art Therapy.
*If you completed your Level 3 Certificate elsewhere, the course must have included:
- at least 10 hours of clinical skills practice
- 92 hours of theory-guided learning, with at least 65 of those hours being in-person training
- evidence of self-awareness through a reflective journal or group process
- an overview of safe and ethical therapeutic practice.
Please note that, unfortunately, we are unable to accept courses that have more than 30% taught online.
2. A degree and/or professional qualifications
You must have a degree or equivalent professional qualification. If you have not completed a degree, you can still apply, but you must submit a 1,500-word essay as part of your application. Your essay will be titled My Philosophy of Counselling. Your typed essay should include a minimum of three sources and a bibliography.
3. Additional skills and experience
You must have:
- received at least six hours of counselling or psychotherapy yourself (this does not include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy/CBT)
- significant experience working with or having meaningful interactions with children and/or young people that demonstrate your ability to achieve the standards of the course.
- a willingness to be playful and creative
- a commitment to be self-reflective and committed to self-development
- spoken and written English to GCSE level.
Please note that our course require assignments to be submitted online, there is an expectation that all students can use and are familiar with Microsoft office to type their assignments and submit them.
Desirable
We would like it if you also have the following:
- attended a Taster Day with Place2Be; while not mandatory it is highly recommended for those new to Place2Be and School-Based Child Counselling
- an interest in difference and anti-oppressive practices as shown through reading, listening and viewing for personal interest.
References
We need two references to support your application for the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Children in Schools. We will ask you to give these during your application. One reference must be from a previous employer, and the other must be a clinical/tutor reference. Please note that we will only contact these references if you are offered a place on the course. Your place will be conditional on receiving satisfactory references.
Course fee
The fee for the Postgraduate Diploma 2024/26 intake is £6,365 per year. The fee for the Postgraduate Diploma 2025/27 intake is £6,620 per year. You have three options to pay the total course fee.
Payment options
Each payment option includes a non-refundable deposit as part of your first instalment.
Payment will be required only if offered a place to study.
Option A - Two payments one year apart (full course fee).
Option B - Six payments every four months (termly).
Option C - 20 payments (monthly).
Financial support through Place2Be's bursary scheme
If you struggle to fund this level of training, you can apply for a financial support package.
We offer three options for our Postgraduate Diploma bursary, which give you different levels of financial support:
- a partial tuition fee bursary
- a full tuition fee bursary, but you’ll have to pay £100 to secure your place on the course
- a support fund, which you can use to cover costs of personal therapy, travel and learning materials.
For more information, look at our information about:
- our bursaries, including information about eligibility
- applying for your bursary, including a helpful guide about everything we ask about on the application.
More information
For more information, please read our counselling training FAQs or get in touch through our enquiries form. You can also call us on 0207 923 5558.
Accreditation
Our Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Children in Schools is:
- accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
- awarded by the University of East London (UEL).
Endorsements
I was bowled over by how interactive the course was - a far cry from sitting in a classroom being talked at. When you’re preparing people to support children with social and emotional difficulties, presentations and conversations can only go so far.
Cherrelle, Postgraduate Diploma graduate
Register your interest
Applications for our 2024 intake are now closed and will reopen in November 2024. Please register your interest to receive updates on applications opening for the September 2025 course.