Program Overview

MSc Advanced Residential Child Care

The MSc Advanced Residential Child Care is a unique program in the UK, offering a Masters-level award specifically in residential child care. It has been developed to support the development of direct practice and leadership in the residential child care sector in Scotland and beyond.

Key Facts

• Start date: September
• Accreditation: Meets management aspect for registration with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
• Study mode and duration: 24 months part-time
• Application deadline: Friday, 27 June 2025

Why this Course?

The course is designed to support the development of direct practice and leadership in the residential child care sector. It aims to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and capacities required to work effectively in residential child care settings. By taking this course, students can expect to experience development in their knowledge, skills, and relational capacities in practice, as well as contribute to professional leadership, practice development, and research and evaluation in their own agency and possibly beyond.

What You'll Study

The course comprises six modules, plus a dissertation. Students will attend the University for six days per module. The modules are:

• Critical perspectives on residential child care
• Understanding and assessing in children's life-spaces
• Ethical leadership and management in residential child care
• Skilled and reflective use of self in residential child care
• Intervening effectively in residential child care
• Methods: ethical and effective research in residential child care
• Professional enquiry in residential child care: dissertation

Accreditation

Both the MSc and the Postgraduate Diploma meet the management part of the requirement for registration with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) for managers in residential child care.

Teaching Staff

The core teaching team includes:

• Laura Steckley
• Graham McPheat
• Phil Coady

Learning and Teaching

Students will be encouraged to explore, challenge, and build upon their existing knowledge and experience. Classes may involve some lecture-style content, but will be mostly dialogical, with discussions based on interrogating relevant research, theory, and social policy as it relates to practice.

Assessment

Assessment is made up of group or individual presentations and essays, both of which apply research, theory, and social policy to practice and the practices in the student's place of work. In one module, assessment will involve reflections on a video recording of the student's communication in practice.

Entry Requirements

• Academic requirements/experience: Degree (minimum 360 SCQF credit points) or equivalent qualifications and experience. Applicants with HNC/SVQ3/SVQ4 qualifications will be asked to provide a supporting written assignment.
• Applicants must be working full-time in residential child care or a closely related area, as all coursework requires students to apply their learning to their practice and the practices in their employing organization.

Fees and Funding

• Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in the offer letter.
• All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.
• Annual revision of fees: Students on programs of study of more than one year should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually.
• The University will take a range of factors into account, including UK inflation, changes in delivery costs, and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding.
• Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study, and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.

Student Testimonials

• Neil McMillan: "I knew that completing the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care would qualify me for registration. Also, the qualification had such a good reputation in the residential child care sector because of the curriculum content and the quality of teaching on the program."
• Elaine Hamilton: "The conversations, observations, and sharing of insight amongst my classmates really made the course for me. I found myself surrounded by people who really got it...This gave me a real sense of community within the sector and opened my eyes to the realization that others shared my passions and desires."