Children's Nursing MSc
Subject and course type
- Nursing, midwifery and healthcare
- Postgraduate
Make a positive difference to the lives of children, young people and their families. Studying an MSc in Children's Nursing at Kingston will give you the specialist knowledge and clinical skills you need to become a registered children's nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
You are reading:
Change lives for the better
Deepen your expertise and open doors to a rewarding career with life-enhancing impact.
Our Children's Nursing MSc is ideal for careers in frontline and specialist nursing, as well as a range of leadership opportunities. You will study the foundations of nursing and healthcare, as well as the context of nursing within a range of client groups in your specific field.
You’ll learn first-hand from experts in children's nursing, mental health and learning disabilities nursing. Our experienced academic team has a wide range of clinical experience including children’s acute healthcare, children’s complex and palliative care, cancer care, care of children and young people in critical care settings such as children’s / neonatal intensive care and A&E as well as community healthcare, sexual health and mental health.
Through intra-professional learning with experts in a range of fields, you will enhance your care skills and understand the complexities of nursing at individual and organisational levels.
You’ll even receive a £5,000 per year, non-repayable NHS Training Grant to support your studies. Check out the NHS Business Service Authority website to find out more.
Why choose this course
While you study, you’ll benefit from high-quality teaching at Kingston University. Not only are we ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, we are also top in London for Nursing and Midwifery (The Complete University Guide 2026).
We even won Teaching Innovation of the Year for our public health elective placement at the 2023 Student Nursing Times Awards and have been nominated for other teaching and learning innovations such as the Peer-enhanced Hospice E-Learning Placement.
A portion of your learning will take place within our award-winning simulation suite, which creates authentic environments to help you develop skills in clinical, community and practice health settings in a safe space.
You’ll take part in innovative simulations, where role players and full-body manikins will offer unique opportunities to build the knowledge and behaviours needed for safe and effective patient care.
At the end of your first year, you’ll have the opportunity to take a national or international elective placement of your choice.
Many of our staff are active in research, often in partnership with NHS trusts. That means they bring the latest thinking and best practice to your studies, with recent themes including integrated working, genomics, children's critical care, children's complex and palliative care and more.
Kingston University is top in London for Nursing and Midwifery (The Complete University Guide 2026).
Top University in London for Children’s Nursing, The Guardian University Guide 2026.
Accreditation
This degree confers both an academic award and a professional qualification in nursing. On successful completion of the programme, you will be recommended to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for professional registration.
Course content
The first year is divided into two parts. In part one you will undertake a bridging module introducing you to the foundations of nursing and healthcare. In part two you will look at the context of nursing within a variety of client groups within your specific field of nursing.
In your second year (part three) you will learn about the analysis and application of research and evidence-based healthcare and the complexities of nursing at individual and organisational level as well as preparing for your transition from student to newly-registered nurse.
Year 1 modules (parts one and two)
Year 1 introduces the foundations of nursing and healthcare, and their various client groups.
Core modules
15 credits
This module is a core requirement for all MSc Nursing students. The content of the module is designed to help you develop your knowledge and understanding of human anatomy and physiology in relation to nursing, which is an essential element of nursing proficiency. Pathophysiology will be introduced in relation to common conditions, and you will also begin to develop your knowledge of pharmacological concepts.
The main features of the module are to enable you to apply scientific principles to nursing care. It will also support you to identify and understand current nursing practices underpinned by scientific theory.
30 credits
This module will introduce you to the fundamental elements of nursing and person-centred care, compassionate communication, evidence-based practice and contemporary health policy. It will enable you to develop critical knowledge, skills and professional attributes for the delivery of safe and effective person-centred care of individuals and their families or carers across a variety of settings.
You will begin to establish a sense of their nursing field identity but also that of other fields in order to promote effective interdisciplinary and integrated care. The skills required for evidence-based healthcare will also be developed and digital healthcare as a concept introduced.
30 credits
This module will enable you to acquire the knowledge and skills required to assess, plan, implement and critically evaluate holistic quality nursing care for children and young people with acute healthcare needs, incorporating physical, psychological and the spiritual/cultural needs of the child and family. You will critically evaluate how to provide individualised evidence-based care in partnership with children, families and the interdisciplinary team.
Non-credit bearing credits
This module is the Practice Assessment Module which is designed to support you with the achievement of the NMC proficiencies and practice assessment requirements. The module focuses on practice preparation, reflection following practice experiences and the development of your numeracy skills. All elements need to be satisfactorily completed for you to complete part 1 and to be allowed to progress.
30 credits
This module provides you with the fundamental clinical knowledge and skills required for parts 1 and 2 of the programme. You will be prepared for your role in practice, enabling you to provide evidence based, person centred care to people at any stage of life who may have a range of physical, mental, cognitive or behavioural health conditions.
You will be prepared to make evidence-based decisions by collating and rationalising relevant evidence to ensure safe, high-quality person and family-centred care in digital healthcare environment. You will also be introduced to foundational pharmacological and medicines management knowledge to enable you to safely develop your skills and knowledge in the administration of medicines to clients, patients and service users. You will develop your understanding of the regulatory, legal, and ethical frameworks that influence medicines management and the underlying pharmacological science. Issues such as concordance will be explored, and the skills required to access resources to support medicines management practice.
Embedded within the module is simulated practice learning that will support the development of your clinical knowledge and skills. Personal tutor groups are integrated into this module as is time with your course director and year lead. This is a shared learning module with some key field specific elements.
15 credits
This module will introduce you to the principles and practice of public health and the nurse's role within this. It will develop your knowledge, skills and attitudes to make a positive impact on the health of individuals, communities and populations.
You will be introduced to the central themes of public health practice and the NMC Future Nurse standards (2018) Platform 2. You will gain an understanding of the aims and principles of health promotion and protection and prevention of ill health. You will also develop a foundational awareness of the four core elements of public health nursing practice: Search for health needs, stimulation of awareness of health needs, influence on policy effecting health, facilitation of health enhancing activities.
You will be equipped with essential digital skills, including the use of public health intelligence to survey and assess a population's health and wellbeing. You will develop an understanding of how the social/wider determinants of health are important drivers of health inequalities. This module will also consider approaches to reducing these disparities.
You will gain an understanding of public health policy and be supported to reflect on the ethical dimensions of public health practice. The module will also introduce you to the global dimensions of health, and its links with UK health outcomes. This includes the impact of climate change and the need for sustainable development and environmental management for the benefit of public health.
Year 2 modules (part three)
Year 2 examines the analysis and application of research and evidence, and the complexities of nursing at individual and organisational levels.
Core modules
30 credits
This module will enable you to critically explore issues relating to caring for children and young people in the community and other health, social care and education settings. You will develop your knowledge, skills and beliefs related to local, national and global contemporary and future public health issues; applying principles of quality of life, health promotion, protection and improvement of health and be able to evaluate the impact of these on care delivery.
You will have the opportunity to critically reflect on the wider determinants of health and wellbeing outcomes and the impact of socio-political drivers that can impact on partnership with children, young people and their families.
Non-credit bearing credits
This module is the Practice Assessment Module which is designed to support you with the achievement of the NMC proficiencies and practice assessment requirements. The module focuses on practice preparation, reflection following practice experiences and the development of your numeracy skills. All elements need to be satisfactorily completed for you to complete and to be allowed to progress.
Non-credit bearing credits
This module is the Practice Assessment Module which is designed to support you with the achievement of the NMC proficiencies and practice assessment requirements. The module focuses on practice preparation, reflection following practice experiences and the development of your numeracy skills. All elements need to be satisfactorily completed for you to complete this level and to be allowed to progress to registration.
30 credits
This module will provide you with the underpinning knowledge and skills required for your future leadership role in coordinating and managing the complex and palliative care needs of children and young people in partnership with their family across a range of organisations and settings. You will develop knowledge and skills related to caring for children with complex healthcare needs including clinical skills. You will critically reflect on how the wishes of children, young people and their families can be incorporated into complex care planning and decision making. The organisation of complex care and the political landscape in which it is delivered will be critically reflected on and evaluated. You will also develop the clinical skills and proficiencies required for Part 3 of your programme through skills and simulated practice learning activities. You will build on your knowledge of partnership and collaborative working and critically examine and appraise the cultural, political, psychosocial and technological influences on nursing care, resource management and finances.
30 credits
From the point of first registration, newly qualified registrants are expected to be models of integrity and leadership for others to aspire to (NMC, 2023). With that fundamental principle as its focus, this module provides you with the theoretical knowledge and skills needed to work safely and effectively within healthcare teams critically reflect on this. The module also covers the more practical skills required to be a modern leader in healthcare including business planning, local workforce planning, and understanding human factors, all within the context set by the obligations and boundaries of relevant legislation and regulation.
Through participation in this module, you will become equipped with an understanding of what is needed to be a leader such that you ensure the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality nursing care. Theories of leadership and group dynamics will be applied to contemporary nursing practice while you will also critically examine and evaluate how we know whether your nursing care is safe and effective and what you can do to measure, influence and improve the care that we provide.
60 credits
Navigating the transition from student to a registrant who understands the professional and political environment in which they will be working is critically important to the delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality health care. This module aims to explore the key areas that will enable you to transition and fulfil the role of a registered nurse and also to prepare you for your role as a practice supervisor. The module is designed to prepare you for professional nursing practice by further developing your knowledge and skills to enable you to be an accountable and compassionate registrant within the health and social care system. There is a focus on the mechanisms that underpin care organisation and delivery, how nurses are integral to and can influence this and aims to develop your critical understanding of the factors influencing the environment in which you will be working.
The module will also develop your collaborative learning and teaching knowledge and skills enabling you to work with peers, people and families/carers. You will integrate your knowledge of learning theories, communication and relational skills to enable you to work collaboratively with others, critically reflecting on the challenges this can pose. You will also develop the clinical skills and proficiencies required for Part 3 of your programme through skills and simulated practice learning activities. You will have the opportunity to critically discuss inter and intra professional working alongside developing strategies for managing challenging communication. Personal tutor groups are integrated into this module as is time with your course director and year lead. This is a shared module that all students will undertake together, providing opportunities for intra-professional discussion and learning.
Career opportunities
After you graduate
Recent Kingston postgraduates have gone on to a variety of nursing careers in a range of acute, complex and community children’s settings within the NHS and independent sector. Options include roles in specialist children’s hospitals, district general hospital wards, community settings, children’s hospices and critical care settings such as neonatal and children’s ICU and specialist settings such as children’s cancer care.
Links with the health sector
We have a range of strong links with the health sector, which means big opportunities for you during and after your studies.
- Bromley Healthcare
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- The Children's Trust
- Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
- Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
- Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Frimley Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – including Frimley Park and Wexham Park Hospitals
- Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
- Hounslow Community (West London NHS Trust)
- King's College NHS Foundation Trust
- Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
- St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust
- Shooting Star Children's Hospice
- St Peters Hospital (Chertsey)
- University College London Hospital
- West Middlesex University Hospital
- Your Healthcare
Teaching and assessment
Scheduled learning and teaching on this course includes timetabled activities including lectures, seminars and small group tutorials.
It may also include placements, project work, practical sessions, workshops, conferences and field trips.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking and preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS – the online virtual learning platform.
As a student at Kingston University, we will make sure you have access to appropriate advice regarding your academic development. You will also be able to use the University's support services.
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 180 credits across a year (typical for a postgraduate course) would equate to 1,800 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- 20% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
Assessment methods include: essays, exams, presentations and reports and clinical skills assessed in our simulation suites and by practice supervisors and practice assessors in practice placements.
The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows:
- Year 1: 58% coursework; 42% exams
- Year 2: 67% coursework; 33% exams
Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. If your course includes optional modules, this breakdown may change to reflect the modules chosen.
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Fees and funding
| Fee category | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | £9,790 |
| International | |
| Year 1 (2026/27): | £19,900 |
| Year 2 (2027/28): | £20,700 |
Fees for future course years
Full time
If you start your second year straight after Year 1, you will pay the same fee for both years.
If you take a break before starting your second year, or if you repeat modules from Year 1 in Year 2, the fee for your second year may increase.
NHS Training Grant
Nursing students on pre-registration courses will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year which doesn’t need to be paid back, subject to eligibility criteria. For more information, please visit the NHS Business Service Authority.
Scholarships and bursaries
Interested in studying a masters in Children's Nursing at Kingston? The following funding support is available:
Full-time students qualify for the same support for tuition fees and living costs as undergraduate students. You can access loans from the Student Loans Company, or visit our Fees and Funding page to find out about the options available to you.
Nursing students on pre-registration courses from September 2020 will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year which doesn’t need to be paid back, subject to eligibility criteria. For more information, please visit the NHS Business Service Authority.
The government provides grants to support you while you do your clinical placements. You do not have to pay these back. Here’s what’s on offer through the NHS Business Services Authority:
- £2,000 Child Dependants' Allowance
- Up to £3,000 for exceptional hardship
- Reimbursement of additional travel and accommodation costs over normal daily travel to clinical placements
Please note, you can’t apply for a pre-registration masters qualification in the same profession that you are already registered in. For example, if you hold a BSc Nursing in Adult Nursing, you won’t be able to apply for a Mental Health Nursing masters.
Kingston University offers a 10% discount on full-time and part-time postgraduate degree course tuition fees to our alumni. Visit our postgraduate funding page to find out more about our alumni discount.
Find out more about scholarships and bursaries for international students.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations: Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
Placements
Placement expenses for travel and accommodation may be reimbursed by NHS Bursaries where, for example, the requirement exceeds that of attending university; or requires additional accommodation to that of the usual term time location. These expenses may need to be covered initially by the student before any applicable reimbursement is received. Please note: EU and international students may not be eligible for support for travel and accommodation.
The University will pay for your application to be processed, but you’ll need to subscribe to the Update Service for £16 per year. This allows universities and potential employers to view any changes to your DBS.
We provide you with a uniform. You will need to purchase appropriate shoes (£20–£60) and a fob watch (£5–£20) for practice. Additional uniform items will be available for purchase if you want them.
Professional body membership fees will be about £10 while you’re studying this course. When you qualify, it costs £120 to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council for a year.
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop-down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to UCAS where you will complete your application. You should:
- Submit your application between the beginning of the September before you come to university and mid-January if you're a UK or EU applicant
- Visit the UCAS website for exact dates and more information
- Complete your application in full, including your personal details and academic record
- Supply a reference and personal statement
- Submit your application as early as possible to have the best chance of receiving the right offers.
- The UCAS code for Kingston University is K84.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
