A student nurse practising on a child mannikin in the skills lab
BSc (Hons)

Nursing (Children)

Prepare for a fulfilling career as a nurse for babies, children and young people with our accredited degree course.

Nursing really is a job for life. As a child nurse, you’ll make a difference to many people’s lives, including your own.

Study at ARU and gain the clinical knowledge, skills and confidence you need to succeed as a registered children’s nurse.

As well as developing your clinical skills, you’ll learn to communicate with young patients and their families, advocate for them, and place wellbeing at the centre of the care you deliver.

Why ARU?
  • Gain practical experience with 50% clinical placements in healthcare settings.

  • Get relevant, up-to-date training thanks to our partnerships with NHS Trusts.

  • Build your clinical skills in state-of-the-art simulation suites.

  • Benefit from wellbeing support, academic guidance, and career services.

  • Get a minimum of £5,000 per year non-repayable training grant.

  • Graduate ready to work as a registered children's nurse.

Logo: THE Awards 2023
 

Study at an award-winning university

We were named Times Higher Education University of the Year 2023. We've also been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework – a reflection of the outstanding education we offer our students.

Course options

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Key facts

  • STUDY OPTIONS 3 years
  • START DATES September
  • LOCATION Chelmsford
  • ENTRY UCAS code: B730
  • FEES
    • £9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)
Looking for different course options?
TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT

3 years full-time

In your first year, you’ll learn the fundamentals of safe and effective person-centred nursing care for patients of all ages with a range of health care needs, with a focus on treating patients professionally, equally and compassionately.

We’ll teach you about the prevention, impact and care of a variety of common conditions. You’ll learn how to make medicines calculations competently and safely. You’ll also develop a greater understanding of health and well-being, and how you can promote health and prevent ill health in your position as a nurse.

You’ll put this learning into practice on two placements. You’ll work alongside, and be supported by, healthcare teams and practice supervisors as you care for a variety of patients and develop your knowledge and skills. We’ll prepare you for these placements in our simulated skills labs.

To make sure you’re developing the skills and knowledge needed for professional practice as a paediatrics nurse, we use a range of assessment methods. These include essays, presentations, exams, case studies, project work and assessment of practice competencies in the clinical setting. We know feedback is essential for your progress and our lecturers take pride in giving you clear guidance on how to improve your expertise.

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location.

Core modules

  • Into ARU
  • Foundations of Communication and Professionalismfor Nursing
  • Fundamental Skills and Procedures for Nursing
  • Applied Health Science for Nursing Across the Lifespan
  • Epidemiology, Inequality, and Health Promotion for Nursing Across the Lifespan
  • Contemporary Nursing Practice 1
Module details

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location. If you have the choice of optional modules, these are indicated with a *.

Year 1
  • Into ARU
  • Foundations of Communication and Professionalismfor Nursing
  • Fundamental Skills and Procedures for Nursing
  • Applied Health Science for Nursing Across the Lifespan
  • Epidemiology, Inequality, and Health Promotion for Nursing Across the Lifespan
  • Contemporary Nursing Practice 1
Year 2
  • Supporting a Patient Safety Culture in Nursing
  • Supporting Learning and Professional Development in Nursing
  • Contemporary Nursing Practice 2
  • Assessing and Planning Care Across the Lifespan
  • Coordinating and Leading Integrated Care in Interprofessional Settings
Year 3
  • Clinical Decision Making in the Acutely Unwell Child and Young Person
  • Applying public health to children and young people’s nursing
  • Contemporary Children and Young People’s Nursing Practice 3
  • Leading and managing quality in the care of children and young people
  • Managing the Care of Children and Young People with Complex Care Needs
Module details

At ARU, you’ll learn in small, supportive group sessions led by our highly experienced staff. They’ll also offer support while you’re on placement, along with your practice supervisors and assessors.

Facilities

As a nursing student at ARU, you'll benefit from purpose-built nursing skills labs offering the very best in experiential learning. You’ll use sophisticated equipment to simulate many aspects of a working hospital ward.

You’ll also learn from registered, practising tutors and lecturers who’ll make sure you’re being taught the latest techniques and give you the support you need to succeed.

Accreditation

Nursing & Midwifery Council

Our Nursing degree courses are validated by the NMC and you’ll be linked to one of our eight NHS healthcare trust partners for your placements.

Nursing and Midwifery Council logo

Careers

Nursing really is a job for life. As a child nurse, you’ll make a difference to many people’s lives, including your own.

Specialist children’s nurses can build careers in a variety of fields. You may choose to become a specialist nurse practitioner, a consultant nurse or a modern matron. Or you could take your education further still, conduct research or go into healthcare management.

All our nursing courses require approval from the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), so you’ll be eligible to apply for registration with them when you graduate. We work with employers to make sure you gain the knowledge, skills and abilities they need. They help us review what we teach and how we teach it – and they offer hands-on, practical opportunities to learn through your placements.

100% of our graduates were employed six months after completing their degrees, with many getting job offers from their placement areas.

Nurse (out of shot) taking a child's temperature

Abbi

I had always wanted a career that was rewarding and enabled me to make a difference to other people’s lives. At ARU I immediately felt so welcomed.

Abbi

BSc (Hons) Child Nursing

Read Abbi's blog

Entry requirements

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Fees and paying for university

Apply now for Nursing (Children)

UK students

We also welcome applications from students from Ireland, and EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with settled status in the UK.

Two student nurses being given instructions on a dummy patient

Taster Days

If you want to know more about nursing at ARU, book your place at one of our Taster Days. Meet our lecturers and current students, explore the role of the nurse, find out more about our nursing courses and placements, and pick up tips for your application and interview.

Find out more about our Taster Days