This course offers a professional progression route for counsellors seeking to gain counselling knowledge, skills and professional development in working with children and young people (CYP) aged 4–18 years old.

The course is aligned with the BACP Competency Framework for CYP training curriculum for ethical and effective practice with CYP. The course follows flexible Humanistic-Relational principles of therapy with an emphasis on experiential, creative and reflective practice. 

To apply for this course candidates must be a qualified counsellor to L4 Diploma standard. Please see full entry requirements below. 

The course runs on 12 Saturdays over 10 months September - July. Class dates are listed below.

Who is this course for?

The L6 Diploma in Working With Children and Young People is for Post-qualified counsellors who wish to begin working with CYP.

Key Study Areas:

• Ethical and Professional Practice
• Child Protection and Safeguarding
• Child and Adolescent Development and Transitions
• Communication with CYP
• Beginnings and endings with CYP
• Risk Assessment
• Working in the Context of the Counselling Settings
• Cultural diversity
• Theory and developmental transitions
• Collaborative assessments, risk and outcomes
• Engagement, relationships and emotions
• Mental Health and pharmacology

Entry requirements:

• Qualified Counsellor to minimum L4 Diploma level
• Membership of BACP or equivalent professional body.
• Two referees (one of whom should be your counselling supervisor)
• Enhanced DBS Check
• Counselling Supervisor with established CYP experience.
• Previous experience of working with CYP desirable.
• Currently in practice as counsellors/psychotherapists.
• External candidates will be required to submit an assignment prior to interview

Therapy:

• Candidates are required to undertake a minimum of 20 sessions of therapy during the course

Placement:

Candidates must complete a placement of supervised practice with clients in the age range they are wishing to qualify to work with. The two age ranges are 4 - 10 years old and 11 - 18 years old. Candidates must therefore achieve: 

• 50 placement hours with age range 4 - 10 years old to qualify to work with this age range only
• 50 placement hours with age range 11 - 18 years old to qualify to work with this age range only
• 100 placement hours, 50 in each range, to qualify to work with all ages

If you choose to work with both age ranges, you will have one extra academic year to complete your additional 50 hours of placement work (ie achieving a total of 100 hours of practice) and there will be an additional admin cost of £200 to cover the extra marking and re-registration for the additional time. 

Candidates’ supervisors must be trained and experienced in working with the appropriate age group for the student’s placement. 

Assessment:

• There will be a creative presentation integrating theory and practice, weekly journals and a log of 100 placement hours. There are two casework assignments and a placement and supervisor report. All the work will be assessed and marked; the qualification is awarded on attainment of a pass mark.

Dates & Times 2025-26

12 Saturdays, 7 hours per class; 9.30am – 4.30pm 

2025: Sept 6th, Sept 27th, Oct 18th, Nov 8th, Dec 13th
2026: Jan 10th, Feb 7th, Mar 21st, Apr 25th, May 16th, June 6th, July 4th

Fees:

£1,950 for all tuition and registration. A deposit of £450 will be required before starting the course. 

Payment options following the initial deposit:

• We are happy to spread the remaining fees over 10 monthly payments of £150 each
• You can pay the remaining course fee in full
• If a third party organisation is paying your fees we will need a purchase order number from them and full payment must be made before the start of the course

How to apply

Click the Apply for Course button below to complete our online application form. If you need any further information before applying, please use the Got Questions button.