UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities
Awarding and teaching institution:
Final award:
Programme title:
Programme accredited by:
Duration:
UCAS code:
Subject benchmark statement:
Date produced:
Date amended:
University of Bradford
PG Cert/PG Dip/MA [English National Qualifications
Framework level H]
Mental Health Practice
University of Bradford & Higher Specialist/Advanced
Award in Mental Health Social Work by GSCC
3 years part-time
Not applicable
April 2008
June 2009
The Department of Social Sciences and Humanities has well-established provision in
relation to social work education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in addition
to a buoyant research programme in this area. This foundation provides an excellent
context in which to study post-qualifying awards. The Department places emphasis on both
teaching and research, believing the two activities to be interdependent. With reference to
teaching and learning, the Department aims to:
 provide a supportive, structured environment in which students are encouraged to
develop independent learning skills;
 facilitate the development of subject knowledge and understanding, and provide
education in discipline skills to enable graduates to pursue further programmes of study
or careers in areas where social science skills are required or desirable;

facilitate the development of personal transferable skills to enable a significant
proportion of graduates to pursue further programmes of study or careers in noncognate fields.
This programme has been designed in accordance with General Social Care Council
(GSCC) written guidance1. There are three interdependent elements in this qualification:
(i) Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) training; (ii) GSCC Post Qualifying (PQ)
awards – the Higher Specialist Social Work Award in Mental Health and the Advanced
Award in Mental Health; and (iii) a University postgraduate award of either a Postgraduate
Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MA in Mental Health Practice.
AMHP is not a qualification, it is a professional status (legally defined) conferred by local
authority employers on employees who have provided evidence that they are competent to
fulfil the role. AMHPs have a legal role in the compulsory detention of individuals requiring
psychiatric treatment against their wishes. Local authorities have the responsibility to
approve suitably experienced and trained people as AMHPs. AHMP training is accredited
by the GSCC. Suitably qualified and experienced social workers, occupational therapists,
nurses and psychologists are eligible to undertake AMHP training and upon successful
completion of the training may be recognised by a local authority as an AMHP.
The PQ Higher Specialist Social Work Award in Mental Health is part of the PQ framework of
awards for qualified social workers. This award is made up of the AMHP competences with
additional training in supporting, supervising and managing staff. The Advanced Award is
1
General Social Care Council. (2007). Specialist standards and requirements for post-qualifying social work education and
training: Social Work in mental health services (revised September 2007). London: General Social Care Council.
General Social Care Council. (2005). Post-qualifying framework for social work education and training. London: General Social
Care Council.
2
made to students who successfully complete the Master’s dissertation. Only qualified social
workers are eligible for this award.
The Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and the MA in Mental Health Practice
are University awards that are open to all students who undertake AMHP training:
 to be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate students must successfully complete
three modules: SS-4011D Law, policies and procedures; SS-4013D Risk: evidencebased decision-making and communication; and SS-4012D Mental distress/Mental
health difficulties: Models for practice
 to be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma students must additionally successfully
complete the five modules of the AMPH course and the ‘Supervising, Supporting and
Developing Staff’ module;
 to be awarded the Master’s degree students must successfully complete all the work
necessary for the Postgraduate Diploma and also pass the Master’s dissertation.
In relation to the University qualification successful students receive either the Certificate,
the Diploma or the MA.
The course is open to practitioners in social work, nursing, occupational therapy and
psychology who have both appropriate experience in the area of mental health and a
recognised professional qualification. However, only registered social workers will be
eligible for the GSCC post-qualifying awards. Students will be sponsored by their employer
and will be required to complete 600 hours learning (80 days) of which at least 150 hours (20
days) will be in the University with the remaining hours being completed on supervised
practice placement.
Programme aims
The primary aim of this programme is to ensure that you have the necessary competence to
carry out statutory responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 2007. In order to do this at
the end of the AMHP modules you will be able to:
 carry out the specific functions and duties required of AMHPs;
 represent and maintain the values, integrity and relevance of the social perspective
on mental distress and mental health needs in working with people who use services,
relatives, carers and other professionals;
 articulate the social perspective through the specific role, responsibilities and duties
laid upon you by legislation, codes of practice and policy frameworks;
 work appropriately with people with a range of mental disorders and with their carers
and relatives;
 have the knowledge, skills and values required to make appropriate decisions, in
consultation with people who use services, relatives and carers;
 act independently under appropriate mental health legislation and be accountable for
the decisions that you make;
 promote equal opportunities and challenge and confront racism and other forms of
discrimination in mental health practice.
Additionally, on completion of the Postgraduate Diploma you will be able to supervise,
mentor and support other staff. On completion of the MA dissertation you will be able to
design, plan and carry out an applied research project in the area of mental health practice.
Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes indicate what a graduate should know and understand, and be able to do
on successful completion of the programme. They have been developed with reference to
the subject benchmark published by the QAAHE.
When you have completed the first three modules you will be able to:
3

critically relate values and ethics to professional practice with people experiencing
mental distress or mental health difficulties;
 critically understand the law in relation to the diagnosis and management of mental
health;
 articulate both social and medical understandings of mental health;
 assess risks to yourself and others that may be posed by people suffering from
mental distress or ‘experiencing mental health difficulties’;
Successful completion of the first three modules will make you eligible for the award of
Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health Practice.
To become an AMHP, you will complete a further two modules (and the practice portfolio)
and, in addition to the learning outcomes for the PG Certificate you will be able to:
 provide care (or support) for or treatment of mental distress/‘mental health difficulties’
in an interprofessional context;
 communicate your practice decisions clearly to a wide range of people in a variety of
settings.
To be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health Practice you will complete a sixth
module and, in addition to the learning outcomes for the PG Certificate and AMHP you will
also be able to support, mentor, supervise and manage others and help them to explore
issues and improve their own practice.
On completion of the MA you will also be able to design, plan, research and write-up a
mental health-related dissertation.
Personal transferable skills
You will be able to write essays and case studies and undertake practice with service users,
carers and colleagues from a range of professional disciplines that demonstrate your ability
to:
 reflect on values and ethics in professional practice;
 undertake complex assessments and communicate them to a wide range of people;
 work in partnership with service users and carers and other professionals in health,
social care and law.
The curriculum
As mentioned above there are four components to the course – Postgraduate Certificate
AHMP, Postgraduate Diploma and MA. These components are incremental and build on
each other:
 To be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate, students must successfully complete
the first three modules of the programme
 AMHP status is conferred by the employer after the successful completion of the first
five modules listed below and the linked practice placement.
 To meet the requirements for the PQ Higher Specialist Social Work Award in Mental
Health and the Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health Practice, you must show how
you will support, mentor, supervise or manage others enabling them to identify and
explore issues and improve their own practice (PQ Framework, section 50 Award
level criteria (viii)).
 To meet the requirements for the MA in Mental Health Practice you will complete the
dissertation module and write up in a dissertation an empirical piece of mental health
related research.
4
Unit code
Credits Semester Level
Unit title
SS-4011D
SS-4012D
20
20
1
1
M
M
SS-4013D
SS-4014D
SS-4015D
20
20
20
1
2
2
M
M
M
Law, policies and procedures (and AMHP role)
Mental distress/mental health difficulties: models for
practice
Risk: evidence-based decision-making and communication
Partnerships in mental health practice
Values and ethics (and AMHP role)
SS-4016D
20
2
M
Supervising, supporting and developing staff
SS-4017Z
60
M
Dissertation
Practice placement: As part of the first five modules, you are placed by your employer in a
practice setting (where you are not currently working) with a practice assessor who will
supervise the 450 hours (approximately 60 days) of practice learning. You will compile a
practice portfolio that will provide evidence of practice competence in relation to each
academic module.
The practice portfolio relates to the total 450 hours (60 days) of practice and provides
evidence of your practice competence. It consists of a number of case studies (between 1012,000 words in total) in which you have played an active role, evidence of presenting a
case at a legal hearing, and a competence grid that maps the evidence of competence
against the competence requirements. At least one of the case studies will be concerned
with a community-based intervention resulting in admission to hospital.
You are required to show that you have evidence that you have met all of the 35 practice
competences identified by the General Social Care Council.
The practice portfolio is marked by a suitably qualified representative of the employer and a
service-user or carer examiner and/or a member of the University. Both examiners will be
approved and accredited by the employer providing the placement and the University.
The curriculum may change, subject to the University's course approval, monitoring and
review procedures.
Assessment regulations: a summary
The assessment of students’ academic work and practice competence is the responsibility of
the University.
The full text of the progression regulations is maintained on the Web at:
http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/taught_courses.html
Assessment considers both academic abilities and practice competence. The practice
portfolio will be assessed by an employer representative and a University-accredited service
user or carer and/or a member of the University.
University assessment regulations apply except that you must achieve at least 40% in all
academic assignments and must pass the practice portfolio. You may re-take all failed
assignments on one occasion only. If you do not achieve a mark of at least 40% for all
academic modules you will be deemed to have failed the course.
Attendance is compulsory and you must achieve an 80% attendance record for all academic
modules. If you fail to achieve this you will be deemed to have failed the module(s) for which
5
you do not have evidence of 80% attendance and you will be required to retake the whole
module(s).
If you are not a registered social worker you are not eligible for the GSCC post-qualifying
social work awards. However, subject to the successful completion of the required modules
you will be eligible for the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health Practice,
Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health Practice or Master of Arts in Mental Health Practice.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies
Our proven skills in teaching rest upon a commitment to clear learning outcomes, a
structured system of progression, integrated assessments and the provision of safe,
stimulating learning environments. Lecturers have a variety of specialist practice, academic
and research skills as well as a commitment to providing high quality teaching and learning.
Teaching will occur in blocks in both semester one and two; employers will make appropriate
arrangements for you to be given time to attend teaching sessions and to study
independently. This arrangement is ratified in the contract between the University and the
employer partners (see Appendix 2).
All assessments test skills in critical analysis and reflective practice in the integration of the
practice and theory of mental health. Assessment for most of the modules will usually be an
essay or a case study.
The course has four ‘stopping-off’ points:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
On successful completion of the first three modules (having attained 60 credits)
you will be eligible for the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health
Practice;
On successful completion of the first five modules (thus having attained 100
credits) and the practice portfolio, you will have completed the AMHP
competences and may thus be recognised by your employer as an Approved
Mental Health Professional. At this point you will return to your employer and
commence practice as an AMHP.
Following approximately twelve months of practice, you may return to the
University to complete the module entitled ‘Supervising, supporting and
developing staff’. On successful completion of this module you will be eligible for
the award of Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health Practice and registered
social workers will also be awarded the Higher Specialist Social Work Award in
Mental Health.
You can opt to undertake a further period of study at this point, including a
research project, which on successful completion will lead to the award of MA in
Mental Health Practice (and, for social work candidates, the Advanced Award in
Mental Health).
This course will be taught by a range of academics, practitioners, service-users and carers.
All external teachers will be required to submit a Curriculum Vitae to the Programme Director
who will make a decision as to the suitability of all individual external teachers. The details
of all applicants and the decisions made regarding their suitability will be reviewed by the
Programme Management Board.
Admission requirements
Applicants can only be professional qualified social workers, nurses (including school
nurses), occupational therapists or psychologists who can be working in either the statutory
or voluntary and independent sector. There are two additional admissions criteria: employer
nomination and academic attainment. The admissions selection process will involve
employers, mental health service users and/or carers and University academics.
6
Employer nomination: All applicants must be nominated by a local authority or other
employer.2
Academic requirements: Usually applicants will have a good (minimum 2.2) first degree. In
exceptional cases candidates without a first degree may submit evidence of their ability to
study at postgraduate level – the Programme Director will assess this for suitability.
Applications for APL and APEL will be considered by the Programme Management Board on
an individual basis.
Applicants whose first language is not English will also be expected to possess a University
approved English Language qualification such as IELTS at 7.5 or TOEFL (paper) at 625680.
Student support and guidance
The University and the Department have a well-deserved reputation in this area. You will be
allocated a personal tutor who will generally have two publicly notified hours available each
week to see her/his tutees without appointment (other times by appointment). You will also
be supported in your studies by University and departmental student handbooks and by
module booklets. You will be given a personal development file which you complete at
points throughout the course: this is then discussed in detail with your personal tutor who
can then give direct help or advise on further sources of academic support (e.g. specific
module tutors). The support provided by the Department is enhanced by a strong University
infrastructure, brought together under the umbrella of Learner Support Services – and
including particularly the Disabilities Office, the Counselling Service, the Careers Service,
the Learner Development Unit and the Library and Computing facilities. Please see the
following for further information: http://www.brad.ac.uk/study/support/learner
Further information
If you would like more information about the University of Bradford, please check the
postgraduate prospectus. More details about the Department and its courses can be
obtained from the Postgraduate Admissions Co-ordinator, Department of Social Sciences
and Humanities, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7
1DP. Tel 01274 236695, email ssh-pg-info@bradford.ac.uk . Further information is also
available on the Department’s web pages (http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/ssh/).
2
General Social Care Council. (2007). Specialist standards and requirements for post-qualifying social
work education and training: Social work in mental health services (revised September 2007).
London: General Social Care Council. p.23
7
Appendix 1: GSCC requirements
Key Competence Area 1: Application of Values to the AMHP Role
 The ability to identify, challenge and, where possible, redress discrimination and inequality in all
its forms in relation to AMHP practice;
 Understanding and respect for individuals’ qualities, abilities and diverse backgrounds, and the
ability to identify and counter any decision which may be based on unlawful discrimination;
 Promotion of the rights, dignity and self determination of individuals consistent with their own
needs and wishes.
 Sensitivity to individuals’ needs for personal respect, choice, dignity and privacy while exercising
the AMHP role.
Key Competence Area 2: Application of Knowledge: The Legal and Policy Framework
 Application of knowledge of mental health legislation, related codes of practice and national and
local policy guidance;
 Application of knowledge of other relevant legislation, codes of practice, national and local policy
guidance, in particular the Children Act 1989 (3), Children Act 2004 (4), and the Mental Capacity
Act 2005(5);
 A knowledge and understanding of the particular needs of children and young people and their
families, and an ability to apply AMHP practice in the context of those particular needs;
 Racially and culturally-sensitive understanding in the application of knowledge of mental health
legislation;
 An explicit awareness of the legal position and accountability of AMHPs in relation to the
legislation, any employing organisation and the authority on whose behalf they are acting;
 The ability to evaluate critically local and national policy to inform AMHP practice;
 The ability to base AMHP practice on a critical evaluation of a range of research relevant to
evidence based practice, including that on the impact of the experience of discrimination on
mental health.
Key Competence Area 3: Application of Knowledge: Mental Distress/‘mental health difficulties’
 Critical and applied understanding of a range of models of mental distress/‘mental health
difficulties’, including the contribution of social, physical and development factors;
 Critical and applied understanding of the social perspective on mental distress and mental health
needs including personality disorder, in working with people who use services, their relatives,
carers and other professionals;
 Critical and applied understanding of the implications of mental distress for people who use
services, children, families and carers;
 Critical and applied understanding of the implications of a range of relevant treatments and
interventions for people who use services, children, families and carers;
 Critical and applied understanding of the impact of the experience of discrimination on mental
health
Key Competence Area 4 – Application of Skills: Working in Partnership
 The ability to articulate, and demonstrate in practice, the social perspective on mental distress
and mental health needs.
 The ability to communicate appropriately with and to establish effective relationships with people
who use services and carers in undertaking the AMHP role.
 The ability to articulate the role of the AMHP in the course of contributing to effective inter-agency
and inter-professional working.
 The ability to use networks and community groups to influence collaborative working with a range
of individuals, agencies and advocates.
 The ability to consider the feasibility of and to contribute effectively to planning and implementing
options for care such as alternatives to compulsory admission, discharge and aftercare.
 The ability to recognise, assess and manage effectively risk in the context of the AMHP role.
(3) Children Act 1989 (c.41).
(4) Children Act 2004 (c.31).
(5) Mental Capacity Act 2005 (c.9).
8






The ability to effectively manage difficult situations of anxiety, risk and conflict, reflecting on how
this affects themselves and others.
The ability to work with the conflict between the inherent power in the AMHP role and the
objectives of empowering the people who use services.
The ability to compile and complete statutory documentation, including an application for
admission.
The ability to plan, negotiate and, manage, compulsory admission to hospital or arrangements for
supervised community treatment.
The ability to manage and coordinate effectively the relevant legal and practical processes
including the involvement of other professionals as well as people who use services, relatives and
carers.
The ability to balance and manage the competing requirements of confidentiality and effective
information sharing to the benefit of the people who use services and other stakeholders.
Key Competence Area 5: Application of Skills: Making and Communicating Informed
Decisions.
 The ability to assert a social perspective and to make properly informed independent decisions;
 The ability to obtain, analyse and share appropriate information in order to manage the decisionmaking process including decisions about supervised community treatment orders;
 The ability to provide reasoned and clear verbal and written reports to promote effective,
accountable and independent AMHP decision making;
 The ability to present a case at a legal hearing;
 The ability to exercise the appropriate use of independence, authority and autonomy and use it to
inform their future practice as an AMHP, together with consultation and supervision;
 The ability to evaluate the outcomes of interventions with patients/service-users, carers and
others, including the identification of where a need has not been met;
 The ability to make and communicate decisions that are sensitive to the needs of people who use
services.
In order for social workers to meet the requirements for the PQ Higher Specialist Social Work Award,
AMHP training modules must show how they will enable qualified social workers to:
• Support, mentor, supervise or manage others enabling them to identify and explore issues and
improve their own practice. (PQ Framework, section 50 Award level criteria (viii).)
 Knowledge and Understanding
(i)
Mental health legislation, related codes of practice and national guidance, including
related case law.
(ii)
Other legislation and policies related to the AMHP role.
(iii)
National and local policies, guidance and procedures relating to statutory mental health
functions.
(iv)
Child and adult protection procedures in relation to the AMHP’s wider role and duties.
(v)
Role and functions of courts, hospital managers’ hearings, Mental Health Review
Tribunals and associated regulatory bodies.
(vi)
Roles and responsibilities of the AMHP.
(vii)
Roles and responsibilities of other professionals involved in statutory mental health work.
(viii)
Models of, and approaches, to mental distress/‘mental health difficulties’, including the
biological, psychological and social characteristics and outcomes.
(ix)
The social perspective on mental distress/‘mental health difficulties’ and mental health
needs.
(x)
Methods of care and treatment for people experiencing mental distress/‘mental health
difficulties’.
(xi)
Knowledge of the impact and presentation of mental distress/‘mental health difficulties’
across the lifespan.
(xii)
Relevant research on the origins and treatment of mental disorders across specific group
including children and young people, people with learning disability, older adults and
people with sensory impairment.
(xiii)
Research relevant to the AMHP role and wider mental health practice.
(xiv)
Understanding complexity, including the interrelationship between drugs and substance
misuse and mental disorder/‘mental health difficulties’ and the implications for
intervention.
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(xv)
(xvi)
(xvii)
(xviii)
(xix)
(xx)
(xxi)
(xxii)
Local, regional and national resources, formal and informal, for the support of people
experiencing mental distress/‘mental health difficulties’, their families and carers.
Theories and models of crisis management.
Indicators associated with risk, risk assessment, management, promoting safety and
positive risk taking.
Care Programme Approach including care, crisis and contingency planning.
Partnership working with service users and carers.
The significance of and sensitivity to gender, culture, religion and spirituality in relation to
the experience of mental health distress/‘mental health difficulties’.
The impact of all forms of discrimination and oppression in mental health, including race
and gender.
The impact of organisational and institutional structures on behaviour, the effects of
power and authority in mental health work.
In order for social workers to meet the requirements for the PQ Higher Specialist Social Work Award,
AMHP training modules must show how they will enable qualified social workers to:
 Support, mentor, supervise or manage others enabling them to identify and explore issues
and improve their own practice. (PQ Framework, section 51 Award level criteria (viii) 6.
6
General Social Care Council. (2005). Post-qualifying framework for social work education and training. London: General
Social Care Council.
10
Appendix 2: PRACTICE PLACEMENT
AGENCY AGREEMENT
The University retains the responsibility for placement supervisors, registration and all other
administrative and supportive matters relating to the PQ.
The expectations of agencies providing practice learning opportunities for University of
Bradford students on the PG Dip/MA (Mental Health) with AMHPs (Allied Mental Health
Professionals) and PQ specialist and Advanced Awards in Social Work.
1. The agency will ensure that a suitable and sufficient range of work is available to the
student
2. The agency will ensure that the practice assessor, with the necessary level of skill
and experience, attends formal meetings throughout the placement with the student,
nominated employer representative and tutor as agreed throughout the course of the
placement.
3. The agency will, at the earliest opportunity, share with the tutor any concerns that
they have regarding the student’s progress. They will contribute to any plan
formulated to address student difficulties.
4. All those involved in student practice assessment are expected to practice within the
Statement of Expectations, taken from the GSCC/TOPSS ‘Guidance on the
Assessment of Practice in the Workplace’ (November 2002), and the GSCC
‘Specialist Standards and Requirements for Post-qualifying Social Work Education
and Training’ (December 2006) and ‘Post-qualifying Framework for Social Work
Education and Training’ (February 2005)
5. The employer will provide a currently approved AMHP, who is not the practice
assessor, to mark the student’s practice portfolio.
…………………………………………………….……………………………………………………
I agree to these conditions and to work within the Statement of Expectations
Signed………………………………………………Date…………………..
Please print name……………………………………………………………
Countersigned on
behalf of University………………………………...Date…………………..
Please return to:
Pat Wilkinson
University of Bradford
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities
Richmond Building
Bradford
BD7 1DP
01274 23 3520