BSc (Hons) Professional Policing Practice (Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship)

Our degree-level apprenticeship programme allows you to earn while you learn through a combination of work and study, preparing you to launch your life-changing career with the police.

Few careers can be more rewarding than that of a police officer and from 2020, all new police officers will be required to have a degree-level qualification.

Our Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship gives you the opportunity to achieve that qualification while you’re helping to fight crime and protecting people from harm as a Student Officer.

University of Staffordshire is partnered with three regional police forces, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia, to provide you with expert teaching and support you throughout your policing career. During the three years of your apprenticeship, you will be on probation with your chosen police force.

What will I achieve?

Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, you will achieve:

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing Practice
Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship Certificate

Location
Duration: 3 years
Start date(s): Various

Enquire now

Course content

Our three-year work-based learning programme will see you earning and learning whilst studying towards a University of Staffordshire degree in Professional Policing Practice. You'll have a student card and have access to all of our University facilities, as well as the support of a virtual community.

The Professional Policing Practice Degree Apprenticeship programme has been designed to ensure that our student officers meet the national standards set by the College of Policing (CoP), the professional body for all those working in the Police Service, and ESFA (Educational Skills Funding Agency) who are the governing body for apprenticeships in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Modules

Year 1

Introduction to Policing Practice and Professional Development
Introduction to Response, Roads and Community
Introduction to Investigation and Intelligence
Understanding Crime and Crime Prevention
Independent Patrol Status

Year 2

Policing Practice and Research Methods
Information and Investigation
Response, Roads and Community Policing
Crime and Society
Operational Competence

Year 3

Advanced Response, Roads and Community
Advanced Investigation and Intelligence
Advanced Policing Practice
Evidence Based Research Project

Entry requirements

Level 2 maths and English (GCSE, functional skills or equivalent) OR be demonstrating you are functional at Level 2 in both maths and English, this would be determined by initial assessments conducted by University of Staffordshire.
Level 3 qualification equal to 64 UCAS points.
Qualifications listed in your application must be evidenced with a certificate.
Calculate your UCAS points at the UCAS website

Fees

For levy-paying organisations the cost is paid from their digital account at a rate of £27,000 per apprentice.
For non-levy paying organisations there may be a financial contribution on 5% which equates to £1,350 per apprentice.

Delivery and assessment

Delivery

We are committed to supporting you to learn while you earn and have developed a blended learning approach to support this.

During your time as a student officer, the apprenticeship regulations state that 20% of your time will be dedicated to off the job learning. The rest of your time will be spent deployed operationally where you will be putting that learning into practice.

Your learning will be delivered by a combination of University of Staffordshire academics and police colleagues. You won’t need to travel to our Stoke-on-Trent campus for lectures, we’ll deliver academic excellence in locations across the region.

From week one you will be a probationary police officer, receiving your uniform ahead of your induction and attestation. You will undergo a period of in-force training and a University protected learning block to prepare you for your first operational deployment.

These depend upon force structure and during initial deployments you will be coached by one of our experienced tutor constables. They will support you to put theory learned during protected learning blocks into practice in an operational setting.

*Module content is the same across all of our forces but there is a slight variation in the order in which they are delivered. You’ll receive a course handbook relevant to your force at your induction.

Assessment

There are a number of elements that make up the assessment for the Degree Apprenticeship Standard, including:

Degree assessment i.e. formal assessment of the degree modules
‘On-programme’ assessment of operational competence
A work-based project i.e. part of the degree and an important element of the apprenticeship’s ‘end-point assessment’
A summative ‘end-point assessment’, which includes a review of the work-based project and the evidence produced as part of the ‘on-programme’ assessment of operational competence

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include:

study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills);
written English (including punctuation and grammatical accuracy);
academic writing (including how to reference);
research skills;
critical thinking and understanding arguments; and
revision, assessment and examination skills (including time management).

Additional support

Our AccessAbility Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment or learning difficulties. You will also have full access to our support services such as Student Guidance.

Feedback

Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations or assessments

Responsibilities

Employer must not ask the apprentice to contribute financially to the direct cost of learning
Ensure apprentice spends at least 6 hours per week of their time in off-the-job training
Enter into a contract with University of Staffordshire
Participate in reviews with the Apprentice and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets the needs of the apprentice
Provide apprentices with a contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship on the first day of their apprenticeship and be paid at least a wage consistent with the law for both the time they are in work and in off-the-job learning
Provide the apprentice with paid time to attend off-the-job training, including additional support for English and Maths, or support accessed for learning difficulties and/or disabilities
Recognise that the apprentice must complete the apprenticeship within their working hours
Support the apprentice to gain new skills

A citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA**) or have the right of abode in the UK, and have been ordinarily resident in the EEA for at least the previous three years on the first day of learning
Able to complete the apprenticeship in contracted working hours
Be an employee (have a contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship) on the first day of their apprenticeship and be paid at least a wage consistent with the law for both the time they are in work and in off-the-job learning
Be in a new job role (nine months or less), or in an existing job role, where significant new knowledge and skills are needed – employer statement of justification needed (relevant to the apprenticeship)
Be in full-time employment for typically 30 hours a week
Has the right to work in England
Maintain a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets your needs
Not be enrolled on another apprenticeship at the same time
Participate in reviews with the employer and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones

Administer the funding and running of the Apprenticeship Standard to an acceptable level of quality and in compliance with the DfE’s requirements
Agree jointly between the University, the Employer and Apprentice, an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) ensuring that satisfactory progress is achieved and to ensure that the contents of the ILP fulfil the requirements of the Apprenticeship Standard
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive learning environment, which meets the needs of the Apprentice
Provide off-the-job learning and assessment and oversee the on-the-job skills development as detailed in the ILP
Provide support on selection of the endpoint assessor, if applicable. The endpoint assessment will be completed by the learning provider for all integrated degrees

Careers

You will have access to Career Connect, our dedicated careers team who support you with professional branding, career mapping and realising your potential.

Enquire

You can apply directly to the partner police force that you wish to join using the links below. You can also use the corresponding email address to get in touch with us if you have any questions.

Staffordshire Police	StaffordshirePCDA@staffs.ac.uk	Find out more about Staffordshire Police
Warwickshire Police	WarwickshirePCDA@staffs.ac.uk	Find out more about Warwickshire Police
West Mercia Police	WestMerciaPCDA@staffs.ac.uk	Find out more about West Mercia Police