Child Protection & Welfare

Course Overview
The Postgraduate Diploma in Child Protection and Welfare, which is sponsored by the Child and Family Agency, is a multi-disciplinary course offering a postgraduate qualification to practitioners and service managers whose work involves the protection and welfare of children. The course aims to enhance the knowledge base of professionals in statutory and voluntary services meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families. The course places particular emphasis on the multi-disciplinary nature of child protection and family support interventions. It will assist professionals in becoming research-focused and enhance their ability to become more evidence based in their practice.

A second year leading to a M.Sc. in Child Protection and Welfare is available to eligible candidates who have completed the Postgraduate Diploma with a 2.1 or better result. The M.Sc. is designed to build on the Postgraduate Diploma and aims to develop applied research skills in the field of child protection and welfare and is delivered completely online.

Is This Course For Me?
Those working at managerial or main-grade levels in the following fields are eligible to apply: public health nursing, social work, psychology, childcare, public health and general medicine; service planning and training; the criminal justice field, including probation and welfare and the Garda Síochána; child and adolescent psychiatry; youth and community work, family support services, education, and services for those with a learning or physical disability; and child and family law.

Course Structure
The Postgraduate Diploma runs for one academic year, from September-May. Students attend the university full-time for one week per month over nine consecutive months. It is also expected that the equivalent of one day per week in the participant's agency is spent on course-related work.

Candidates who successfully complete the Diploma course and meet the eligibility criteria for the M.Sc. in Child Protection and Welfare may proceed to a second year to complete the Masters programme.

The course consists of the following modules: Child Protection Perspectives and Practices; Child Law; Child Development; Interventions with Children and Families; Research Methods; and Contemporary Issues.

In addition, seminars and workshops are held on areas of relevant and topical interest.

Admission Requirements
For Diploma applicants only: Applicants must have a degree or equivalent professional qualification. In addition, a minimum of three years’ professional experience working with some aspect of child protection and welfare is required. Applicants may be shortlisted for interview.

Closing Date 31st July 2024

1 year part-time

Next Intake: September 2024

Career Opportunities
The diploma is undertaken by practitioners already working in statutory and voluntary organisations providing child protection and welfare service. Feedback from former course participants indicates that successful completion of the course provides them with opportunities for change and promotion within their organisations. A number of students go on to complete further study up to doctoral level. The multi-disciplinary nature of the course also provides linkage opportunities between different services, and each cohort of students represents a network of practitioners which endures long after the completion of the course and continues to promote inter-agency and inter-professional collaboration.