MA Advanced Child Protection
Chatham, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 5,700 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for International and UK
Key Summary
Study flexibly through distance learning and attend our annual knowledge sharing events to hear from international experts. Whether you're working in social work, education, health or policing, this course gives you the skills to lead on safeguarding with rigour and care.
Scholarship value
The award covers tuition fees, return airfares and living costs for a one-year taught Master's programme.
Deadline
Deadline for Commonwealth application: - 12 December 2024.
Hold an unconditional offer (with the only outstanding condition, international fee deposit) of a programme of study from the University of Kent - 31 January 2025
Criteria
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, candidates must:
- Hold an undergraduate degree at UK first-class level equivalent.
- Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by one of the eligible Commonwealth countries listed or be a British Protected Person.
- Be a permanent resident in one of the eligible Commonwealth countries listed above.
- To be committed to the University of Kent, you can apply for more than one course and/or to more than one University, but you may only accept one offer of a Shared Scholarship.
- Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country.
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
- Return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete. In some circumstances, a student may be permitted to remain in the UK if seeing doctoral study and satisfy certain strict conditions.
- Hold an offer by the deadline for a full-time postgraduate taught degree on one of the eligible courses at the University of Kent:
- MSc Artificial Intelligence
- MSc Infectious Diseases
- MSc Cyber Security
- MA International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- MSc Applied Actuarial Science
- MSc Conservation Science
- MA English and American Literature
Further details
Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, set up by DFID in 1986, represent a unique partnership between the United Kingdom government and UK Universities.
Funded by the UK Department of International Development (DFID), Commonwealth Shared Scholarships enable talented and motivated individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required for sustainable development. They are aimed at those who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK.
These scholarships are offered under six themes:
- Science and technology for development
- Strengthening health systems and capacity
- Promoting global prosperity
- Strengthening global peace, security and governance
- Strengthening resilience and response to crises - Access, inclusion and opportunity.
How to apply
To be considered for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship you must:
- Make a formal application for a postgraduate degree at the University of Kent commencing September 2025/26. This can be done online here.
- Complete the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) online application process. For information on how to do that and full details of the application process please go directly to the Commonwealth Scholarships webpages.
- Applications will be considered based on Academic Excellence and a completed application.
- The Commonwealth will accept applications until 12th December 2024 (closing at 16:00 GMT).
Stage 1
Compulsory modules currently include the following
- Child abuse through time: Tracing Historical and Contemporary Intersections in Child Protection
- UK Child Protection Policy and Advanced Practice Skills: Legal Frameworks and Practice Challenges in Multi-agency Working
- Research Methodologies - Design, Methods, Application and Critique in Child Protection
- Research Rethinking Child Protection: Critical perspectives on assessment and observation
- Organisational Dynamics in Child Protection: Examining Conscious and Unconscious Factors in the Workplace
- Child Protection Dissertation
Optional modules may include the following
- Supporting the Diverse Needs of Children and Families in the UK: Intervention, Services, Engagement and Accessibility
- International Child Protection Practice: Context, Modules and Interventions
You can use your experience on this course to progress into leadership roles in:
- Social work
- Education
- Healthcare
- Child protection
- Law enforcement
- Policy and advocacy
Our Master’s and stand-alone modules give you the opportunity to further your career and expertise in child protection. As well as benefiting from Kent’s academic excellence, you gain insight into multi-agency relationships and responsibilities.
The Centre for Child Protection attracts students from across social work, health, education, police, law, probation and the third sector, and widens your potential learning experience.
The distance learning delivery of the Master’s programme enables you to fit learning around your life and work commitments and you have the chance to apply your knowledge as you progress. Each cohort contains a unique mix of experiences and professions, providing a valuable opportunity for information exchange and networking.
Our teaching is informed by leading research, meaning that you are not only taught through award-winning methods, but the content of what you are learning is at the very forefront of the field and puts you in the driving seat for your career and future. Wherever you want to go in your career, Advanced Child Protection at Kent is a great first step to get you there.
Teaching and Assessment
Teaching methods
- Flexible online learning supported by optional live virtual study days and online simulation training days.
- Weekly content includes recorded lectures, peer-reviewed reading, case simulations and audio resources.
- Real-world scenarios and simulation tools help you practise critical decision-making in a safe environment.
- Forums and guided activities mirror real inter-agency working, encouraging peer-to-peer learning across sectors.
- Guest speakers and specialist videos add practitioner insight across key topics such as child exploitation, intersectionality and trauma.
Independent study
- Apply learning directly to your role, reflecting on professional challenges and decisions.
- Engage with critical readings, theory and case law to evaluate your practice.
- Optional modules allow you to focus on domestic or international child protection contexts.
- Dissertation support includes structured preparation, supervision and flexibility around your area of interest.
Assessment
- Assessments mirror the real challenges of child protection work and support different learning styles.
- Tasks include written essays, case studies, simulation scripts, group work and moderated online discussions.
- Each module features a formative task and detailed feedback, with space for one-to-one support.
- No exams – the focus is on practical, critical and creative application of theory, practice knowledge, and research.
- The dissertation enables you to explore a professional issue in depth, with freedom to shape the topic.
Support and opportunities
- Academic Advisers are assigned before term begins and offer regular one-to-one tutorials.
- Study skills support is embedded from day one and continues through to dissertation writing.
Weekly drop-ins, study day sessions and virtual communities offer rich peer and tutor support. - Learn alongside professionals from education, policing, health, child protection, the third sector, law, the faith sector, social work, and more – sharing insight and expanding your network.
Programme aims
For course aims and learning outcomes please see the course specification.
Study support
Postgraduate resources
This course offers you the opportunity to study child protection through distance learning using innovative and cutting-edge techniques and technology. Teaching is delivered through the use of inter-professional serious training games, expert lectures, in the form of audio and videoed podcasts, acted role plays, presentations, online discussion forums and discussion forums. You access materials and online forums via Moodle, the University's Virtual Learning Environment and are assigned an academic adviser to support you through the duration of the course.
Serious training games
The team at the Centre for Child Protection is leading the way in developing new and innovative ways to deliver training and opportunities for simulated role play for professional development. The serious game concept offers a safe medium to explore and reflect upon child protection assessment. It offers professionals, at all stages of their careers, a unique way to evaluate real-life situations.
The first in the series of simulation training packages includes the 'Rosie Suite'. 'Rosie 1', looks at a challenging home visit to 4-year-old Rosie and her family. A subsequent simulation in our Rosie Suite, 'Rosie 2', promotes the theme of inter-professional practice by exploring the boundaries and challenges of a joint visit to the family by a health visitor and social worker some 5 years after 'Rosie 1'.
'myCourtroom: Rosie’s Family Go to Court' sees the family a further 3 years later whereby a disclosure during private family proceedings leads the family into public family proceedings – supporting learning of professional practice and knowledge of the family courts.
The Centre also has a 'Grooming Suite' of simulations. This includes both 'Zak at University' and 'Young Zak the Gamer' which focus on aspects of internet grooming into extremist thinking and action. We also have 'Looking out for Lottie' which is our award-winning simulation that looks at child sexual exploitation and 'Myrian and Joe: Behind Closed Doors' which is focused on radicalisation and extremist thinking. Our 'Grooming Suite' of simulations offer valuable learning packages to support both professionals and young people to support knowledge and aid in protection from different forms of grooming and exploitation. Finally, we also deliver a powerful training package for professionals, 'Crossing the Lines', which looks at criminal exploitation, gangs, and knife crime.
The Centre for Child Protection’s series of serious game simulations provide research-based case studies and the opportunities to explore the complex dynamics involved in making professional assessments and decisions in these contexts.