Public Services HND

Public service careers are rewarding but demanding. If you are keen to enter a profession allied to public services - perhaps as a police officer or in the field of criminology - then our Level 5 HND in Public Services offers you an excellent preparation for a range of uniformed and non-uniformed careers. The course intends to develop your knowledge of how public services and allied professions can impact on society, from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It also provides you with a foundation on which you can build the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the public services sector.

 The course content is a mixture of theory and written work with an active-based programmes which is closely linked to the emergency services and allied professions. Our expert tutors will guide you as you gain practical, professional and subject specific skills. You course will cover the key knowledge required for a career in public services and cover organisational structures and culture, equality and diversity, mental health, and professional practice. You'll also be able to advance your knowledge by developing your wider understanding and skills in areas such as serious and organised crime, terrorism, forensic psychology, the justice system, international policing and cyber security.

You'll also complete an individual research project, where you'll have the opportunity to develop and apply your skills in independent enquiry and critical analysis to investigate a current topic of public services. We'll support you as you develop cognitive, intellectual and thinking skills, and gain valuable key, personal and transferable skills ready for employment or further study.

Course Highlights

• Our tutors are highly knowledgeable and are ex-professionals with first have policing experience.
• We work closely with a range of public sector organisations and encourage you to gain valuable career experience through voluntary work.
• Upon completion of this programme, you'll be awarded a Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Public Services.
• Bolton College scores highly in student satisfaction surveys for our HE provision, and we take pride in being able to offer you the opportunity to learn from industry-experienced staff.
• We aim to help you become adaptable and flexible in your approach to public services, supporting you to develop resilience under pressure, team-working skills, independence and initiative, as well as gain the organisation and problem-solving skills necessary to meet challenging targets with a given resource.

Key Features

• This course offers essential subject knowledge to help you progress into the world of work or onto further study.
• We offer you an insight into the roles within public services and the importance of collaboration at all levels. We'll work to develop your knowledge and understanding of culturally diverse organisations, cross-cultural issues, diversity and values.
• Our teaching approach is 'student-centred'. We'll work with you on an individual basis, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
• You’ll have the opportunity to develop and enhance crucial skills such as communication, teamwork, organising and planning, numeracy, problem solving, flexibility and adaptability, action planning, self-awareness, initiative, personal impact and confidence, environmental sustainability, and social, public and ethical responsibility.

The modules listed below are a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules as part of the course.

• Organisational Structures and Culture
• Equality Diversity and Fair Treatment
• Crime and Substance Misuse
• Terrorism and Counter Terrorism
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Third Sector and Public Services
• Psychology of Behaviour
• Public Services in Contemporary Society
• Research Project
• Serious and Organised Crime
• Justice, Punishment and Rehabilitation
• Youth Offending
• Applied Forensic Psychology
• Reflective Professional Practice
• Cyber Security

• Any subject s are acceptable at Level 3
• 5 GCSEs at grade C or above / 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English and maths.
• Entry is also available to those who have extensive relevant work experience within the public services sector - if you don't have the academic qualifications required but have extensive appropriate work experience, we'll consider your application.
• If English isn't your first language you'll need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications - click here to find out more.
• If you want to progress on to a top-up degree course at a university after completing this HND, you will usually need GCSE English and maths at grade c/4 or above (or equivalent). If you have not already achieved this, please speak to the course leader about taking GCSE English and/or maths while completing this course.

You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of your work.

This qualification has been developed by Pearson closely with experts from employers, vendors, professional bodies, universities and colleges so that you'll gain the skills necessary to success in this area.

What can I do with this qualification?

The Public Services HND prepares you for careers in public services, including areas such as local government, Police Service, the security industry, immigration, MI5, British Transport Police, British Nuclear Fuel, retail security, corporate security, HM Revenue & Customs, Military Police and Ministry of Defence Police, along with UK Border Agency, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Marines, the Prison Service, G4S and the Fire and Rescue Service.

You can also progress onto a higher level qualification if you complete the Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND in Public Service. You will be able to apply for advanced standing to bachelor’s degrees, such as the University of Bolton’s BA (Hons) Crime and Criminal Justice (Top-up).

Other related degrees you might be interested in areas such as criminology, policing, public services management, applied social sciences, leadership in the public sector, and fire and rescue.

Other career options:

• Teaching
• Research and development
• Charity and non-profit organisations
• Social research
• Government and Civil Service
• Housing
• Education administration
• International aid/development
• Paralegal
• Consultancy
• Youth work
• Politics

The varied nature of this HND programme means that we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. In order to ensure you acquire and develop the appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills, we combine timetabled classes with student-centred and independent learning. You can expect to attend lectures, practical sessions, workshops, tutorials and informal group study sessions. There will also be opportunities to go on field visits to see how various areas of the public services operate, and attend guest lectures by specialists from industry or other academic institutions.

There are significant opportunities to spend time with the tutors and technicians during timetabled classes, practical work and tutorials. However, we’ll still expect you to devote a significant amount of time to personal study. For example, this time might be spent engaging in general background reading, revisiting practical work or working on assignments.

We use a range of assessment methods, depending upon the learning outcome in question and the type of module content being assessed. You’ll have opportunities to test your understanding of subjects informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark or grade. Each module/unit will normally contain at least one piece of practice or ‘formative’ assessment for which you’ll receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades/marks you receive for them do not count toward your module/unit mark or grade.

There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module/unit. Methods include a range of assessment such as exams, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, and final year major project. The grades from the formal assessments count towards your module/unit mark or grade.

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up to date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Tim Woodward
Programme Leader, Bolton College
Email: Tim.Woodward@boltoncc.ac.uk 
Telephone: +44 (0)1204 482623