PGCert Approved Mental Health Professional Practice

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• (part-time)
  UK students (per annum): £4,500
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £5,100

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

The unit aims to produce students who can:

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding and an ability to synthesise information in relation a range of mental health legislation, including the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, the Human Rights Act and childrens legislation.

2. Retrieve and accurately apply the legislation to formulate solutions for complex ‘real-world’ problems, under conditions where there are time-management pressures.

3. Corroborate their interventions by citing the relevant statute law, statutory guidance or case-law.

4. Accurately corroborate their interventions by citing the relevant statute law, statutory guidance, or case-law.
 

Students should be able to:

1/ The teaching will be provided on campus via face-to-face lectures.

2/ Assignment guidance will be provided via face-to-face seminars and this will be supplemented with asynchronistic content on the Nearpod platform. Following the end of the timetabled dates, further online sessions will be offered to support students with the assignment. These will include formative learning opportunities.
 

KU1  Demonstrate an ability to understand and synthesise information in relation a range of mental health legislation, including the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, the Human Rights Act and childrens legislation. 

IS1  Critically appraise the moral and ethical issues incumbent in the application of the AMHPs statutory responsibilities.

PS1  Accurately apply the legislation to formulate solutions for complex ‘real-world’ problems, under conditions where there are time-management pressures.

PS2  Accurately corroborate their interventions by citing the relevant statute law, statutory guidance, or case-law.
 

TS1 Assimilate, analyse and synthesise information from various sources.
 

All students will receive detailed feedback on their assignment submission via Turnitin and have the opportunity for a 1:2:1 tutorial if required.

Blakley, L., Asher, C., Etherington, A., Maher, J., Wadey, E., Walsh, V.  and Walker, A. (2022) 'Waiting for the verdict': the experience of being assessed under the Mental Health Act. Journal of Mental Health. 31(2):212-219.

DfCA (2007) Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice. London: The Stationery Office

Department of Health (2015) Code of Practice: Mental Health Act 1983. The Stationery Office

Jones, R. (2022) The Mental Health Act Manual. Sweet and Maxwell.

The Kings Fund (2021) A tale of two Acts: the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, and their interface. 

Law Society (2024). Deprivation of Liberty. A Practical Guide.

NHS Digital (2023) Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, 2022-23.

NICE (2018) Decision-making and Mental Capacity

39 Essex Chambers (2023) Mental Capacity Guidance Note: Assessment and Recording of Capacity

Case-law

A Local Authority v JB [2021] UKSC 52

A PCT v LDV [2013] EWHC 272

P v Cheshire West & Chester Council; P & Q v Surrey County Council [2014] UKSC 19

AM v SLAM [2013] UKUT 365

TW v London Borough of Enfield [2014] EWCA Civ 362

Rabone v Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust [2012] UKSC 2