Social Pedagogy: Providing Children and Young People with Nurturing Care and Education

This professional development short course offers a unique introduction to the concept of social pedagogy within the context of working with and caring for children and young people. By considering the child in a holistic manner, you will gain insight and learn new ideas for working creatively with challenging and difficult behaviour and in caring for children experiencing difficulties in their lives.

Social pedagogy is a well-established and popular discipline in mainland Europe, which is now seeing increasing levels of interest and is gradually being adopted throughout the UK within childcare settings. By studying this professional development course, you will enhance your knowledge in relation to this specific, contemporary approach to caring for and educating children and young people.

Who is the course for?

Though open to anyone with an interest in social pedagogy, this professional development short course will be of particular relevance to a wide-range of practitioners in the statutory, private, voluntary and charitable sectors including:

• Social workers
• Residential child care workers
• Family Support Workers
• Foster carers
• Youth and community workers
• Nursery assistants
• Play workers
• Childminders
• Teachers
• Teaching assistants
• Students studying subjects relating to health and social care and child development in schools and colleges

This professional development course will provide you with:

• an understanding of social pedagogy in the context of working with children and young people
• the knowledge and ability to employ a social pedagogical approach in a wide range of contexts and settings
• the ability to help children and young people to feel nurtured and cared for, with a view to improving their life chances

"I really liked to learn about the different social pedagogy models. Those I will definitely adopt to my work. Learning about different ways to reflect will help me a lot in every point of my life. I think it is really important to be more reflective about you and your fellow men."

Social Pedagogy feedback from the Short Course Experience Survey 2021

You will study this course 100% online. It comprises a range of activities including:

• Finding out about different social pedagogical theories through models and frameworks presented in diagrammatic form
• Undertaking activities to help you to reflect
• Reading extracts from texts and academic journals
• Watching short videos

There is no obligation for you to undertake every activity, but being involved in all aspects of the course will help you to achieve a well-rounded knowledge about social pedagogy.

There is no graded assessment. Upon completion of the whole course, you will be awarded with an e-certificate.

• Develop an understanding of social pedagogy in social care and education settings, gaining professional knowledge about legislation, policy, guidance and theory whilst considering different social pedagogical models and frameworks
• Gain valuable insight, knowledge and skills to apply social pedagogical approaches to practice situations by exploring ways in which social pedagogical approaches can be applied when working with children and young people and reflecting upon new ideas for working in this environment

A flexible course that fits in with working and family life

This learner led course is open for continuous enrolment, which means it can be studied at any time and delivered 100% online, allowing you to manage your studies around work and family commitments. This is a self-guided course which involves reflective activities to assess subject understanding whilst completing an action plan for use in the workplace. Our online short courses are designed to be intellectually stimulating, thought provoking and rewarding.

Fee: £300 (includes VAT)

The course is widely available for anyone to take part in regardless of age, location or education status.

However, there are some basic requirements. You will need access to the internet whether it is on your PC, tablet, mobile or other electronic devices, as well as a valid email address to register with our online learning environment in order to take part in the course.

You will need to agree to the terms and conditions before you start the course which will be available when you enrol.

Learners should have an understanding of the English Language and the ability to study in English.

How to enrol

This course is temporarily closed and is due to re-open in early 2026.

Contact us

If you want to find out more about studying a short course, please contact us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Course policies

• Learner charter
• Cancellation policy
• Code of conduct for learner discipline
• Terms and conditions