Healthcare Professions’ Support for England HTQ

HTQ courses

Two female students working on their laptops

This course aims to equip you to become a professional, self-reflecting individual who can meet the demands of employers in the healthcare sector and thrive in a constantly changing world.

Year of entry

2025-26 2026-27 2027-28

Location

CU London (Dagenham, London)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

2 years full-time

Course code

HQ04

Start date

September 2027
November 2027
January 2028
March 2028
May 2028
July 2028

How to apply

Book an Open Event

Download a prospectus

Course overview

By successfully completing this course, you should be able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the basic concepts, values, and principles of healthcare practice, and learn the skills needed to perform effectively as a support worker in different settings in the healthcare sector.

Around a third of your learning will take place in diverse practice-based learning environments applying theoretical knowledge to real-world practice. You will receive ongoing support from experienced registered professionals. Please see the ‘How you will learn’ section for more details.

You will also complete a practical learning assessment and development portfolio log (PLAD) throughout your mandatory placements². The PLAD is used to journal your experiences and document your progress, evidence your learning and demonstrate your competence to future employers.

Why you should study this course

Developed with the NHS and independent sector employers, this course aims to:

equip you with the healthcare practice skills, knowledge, and understanding necessary to achieve high performance in the global health and social care environment.
provide insight and understanding into the diversity of roles within the healthcare sector, recognising the importance of collaboration at all levels.
provide opportunities for you to enter or progress in employment in healthcare, or progress to higher education qualifications such as an honour’s degree in healthcare or a related area.

support you in understanding the local, regional, and global context of healthcare practice, management, and health promotion.
provide you with opportunities to address contemporary health and care issues facing the sector, and society at large, with particular emphasis on integrated and compassionate care, and person-centred approaches to providing healthcare to individuals across their lifespan.

Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) status

This course is approved as a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) by the UK government as part of its Skills for Careers initiative. This means it meets employer-led standards for technical knowledge and skills and is aligned to specific occupational requirements.

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the Skills for Careers website.

What you'll study

In your first year, you will learn how to apply legal, regulatory and ethical frameworks that govern practice across health and social care. You will explore and reflect upon the associated professional, knowledgeable and skills approaches to practice, and cover the concepts of quality, diversity, and inclusion in a healthcare setting.

Modules

Professional Principles and Values in Health and Social Care - 30 credits

This module covers the key concepts of reflective practice, involving self-observation and evaluation to refine practice on an ongoing basis. You will explore the benefits and challenges of reviewing your practice, helping you understand why it's important for ongoing development. You'll then learn about theoretical models and techniques for active, real-time reflection.

Compulsory

Law Politics and Ethical Practice - 30 credits

This module aims to equip you with the knowledge and skills to work proficiently, safely, and ethically in healthcare settings like hospitals, primary care, and public health. You'll learn about key laws, policies, and codes of practice that healthcare professionals must follow.

Through practical exercises, you’ll apply these principles to real-world situations, including navigating conflicts between policies and ethical codes. You’ll also learn how to find guidance when you’re unsure about the right course of action.

Compulsory

Evidenced Based Practice and Principles of Health Education - 30 credits

This module explores evidence-based practice in healthcare. You'll learn how research informs quality care, integrated approaches, and the well-being of patients.

This module should teach you the steps needed to take to complete a literature review, the academic conventions for presenting literature and how it forms the rationale for a personal research project.

In this module, there is also a focus on health education involving both giving information and training individuals and communities to bring about better health outcomes, which is the key feature of the role of nurses and other healthcare practitioners.

You should also develop skills in delivering health education and equipping individuals and communities with the knowledge and tools to improve their well-being.

Compulsory

Applied Anatomy and Physiology in Healthcare - 30 credits

This module aims to provide you with background knowledge and understanding of how the healthy human body works. It will examine the potential changes that may take place during ill health, both physical and mental. You will explore how body systems function both individually and collaboratively during both good and ill health. This will be focused on your work/placement area to ensure relevance.

There will be a focus on managing risks to health, for example, infection, dehydration and malnutrition, pressure sores and the importance of early warning systems that recognise and respond to individuals whose condition is deteriorating. On successful completion of the module, you should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to directly improve care and outcomes for patients with complex conditions.

Compulsory

Building on your first-year studies, your second year equips you with advanced healthcare knowledge, skills, and industry expertise.

Modules

Participatory Actioned Research - 30 credits

In this module, you will conduct your own action research project on service improvement, directly impacting public health and healthcare. You will identify a suitable research project, or extend a proposed study devised in your first year.

You should develop a deeper understanding of the types of research conducted in public health, developing your research skills further to carry out a research study using your research questions. You will then go on to design your research methodology and carry out a piece of action research. Finally, you will produce findings for a range of audiences.

Compulsory

Practice and Care Planning in Healthcare - 30 credits

This module provides you with an opportunity to further develop your skills as a reflective practitioner. The evidence for the module will be based on theoretical considerations as well as practice within the workplace. It requires you to bring together your classroom and workplace learning across the course, demonstrating your professional development using reflective approaches. Learning in the workplace will be supplemented with a wider understanding and knowledge from all parts of the course. Through this module, you will be supported to take responsibility for your own learning, demonstrate your capacity to continuously learn and grow, reflect on your own practice and encourage others to develop their practice.

Compulsory

Long Term Health and End of Life Care Planning - 30 credits

This module explores the complexities of managing long-term health conditions, both chronic and acute, which impact various aspects of individuals' daily lives and often require specialised, continuous healthcare. It emphasises holistic care, addressing both physical needs and emotional needs for conditions such as dementia or mental health disorders.

You should develop skills in holistic assessment, personalised care, effective communication, medication administration, mobility support, and partnership working. The course highlights the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration to meet comprehensive needs, preparing you for roles in diverse healthcare settings, including home care, care facilities, and acute health settings. This module aims to enhance your abilities to provide consistent, skilled, and compassionate care, supporting your progression towards nursing or allied health professions.

Compulsory

Mentoring, Coaching and Project Management in Healthcare - 30 credits

This module aims to equip you with the skills needed for effective mentorship and project management in health and social care. It emphasises mentorship's role in supporting personal development and lifelong learning through leadership, mentoring, and coaching. You will learn to differentiate and apply these concepts in practice, enhancing your confidence, motivation, and interpersonal skills through self-reflection and understanding. You will review relevant theories and principles and implement a mentoring period in the workplace.

The module also covers project management principles, including independent research, project implementation, decision-making, problem-solving, and critical analysis. You will assess concepts and practices within a work-based context to determine appropriate outcomes and solutions, presenting evidence and recommendations clearly.
Compulsory

Compulsory

We regularly review our course content to keep it relevant and current for our students. Consequently, we may update modules to reflect the latest industry standards.

How you'll learn

We understand that everyone learns differently, so this course will consist of structured teaching sessions which can include:

on-campus lectures, seminars and workshops
group work
self-directed learning
placements².

Placements² will be mandatory in both the first year (HNC) and second year (HND) of the course. You will be responsible for sourcing your own placements, although support will be given by CU London (Dagenham) staff. In order to successfully complete this HTQ you must complete the mandatory placement hours outlined below.

Teaching contact hours

As a full-time undergraduate student, you will study modules totalling 120 credits each academic year. A typical 30-credit module requires 300 hours of study. Study hours are made up of teaching contact hours and guided and independent study.

Teaching hours

Teaching hours may vary, depending on where you are in your studies, but on average, you will have between 10 and 12 teaching and learning hours each week. You will also have the option to attend additional sessions, including time with a progress coach or to meet with staff for advice and feedback. As you progress through your studies, teaching hours may reduce.

Placement hours

The placement hours are in addition to the teaching hours above.

Within your first year of study (HNC) you will be required to complete a minimum requirement of 225 hours work placement or experience in a minimum of one statutorily registered healthcare setting, or any health-related social care setting providing direct healthcare to service users. (Minimum number of 75 hours at any one setting).

Within your second year of study (HND) you will be required to complete a minimum of 225 hours of work placement or experience in a minimum of two statutorily registered healthcare settings, or any health-related social care setting providing direct healthcare to service users. (Minimum number of 100 hours at each setting).

The HND requires a total of 450 mandatory placement hours to be completed over the two years.

Guided and independent study

Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent study to make up the required study hours per module. You’ll be digging deeper into topics, review what you’ve learned and complete assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress through your studies, you’ll spend more time in independent study.

Online learning:

As an innovative university, we use different teaching methods including online tools and emerging technologies. So, some of your teaching hours and assessments may be delivered online.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods may include:

essays
group work
presentations
reports
projects
coursework
individual assignments.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Entry requirements

Typical entry requirements:

What we're looking for
80 UCAS tariff points. GCSE maths and English at grade 4 / C or Functional Skills Level 2, or other equivalent Level 2 awards. Minimum two A2 levels or BTEC equivalent qualification. Overall grade of Pass (C or above on the Core) in the T level qualification in any subject.

Students will be subject to satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal record disclosure. Please refer to the full requirements in the disclaimer section⁵.

At CU Group we are committed to recognising achievements in the context of which they were achieved as we understand that barriers may make it more challenging for some applicants to achieve course entry requirements.

We aim to reduce the barriers that may be preventing access to higher education by looking beyond the grades that applicants have achieved or expect to achieve.

Contextual/Fair Access Offers

If you meet the criteria for our Fair Access Offer, you could automatically receive a contextual offer which is 16 UCAS points lower than our standard entry requirements. View the criteria for our Fair Access Offer.

Fees and funding

Student	Full-time	Part-time
UK	2027/28 fees TBC 2026/27 fees: £9,790 per year	Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Fees and Funding page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the table above for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permits an increase in tuition fees, the university may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI), a UK measure of inflation that tracks changes in the cost of living.

For international students, we may increase fees each year, but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) you may be charged the tuition fees in force at the time you take that additional period of study, and/or in line with any legislative changes that apply at that time.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:

Any optional overseas ﬁeld trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad) which may include costs of travel, accommodation, equipment or uniform required for the placement and any visa-related costs.

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.

How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?

We assess your fee status using the information in your application. This status determines your tuition fees and the scholarships or financial support you can get. The Department for Education sets the rules for who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees in England.

The regulations list which students can pay the home fee rate. Because these rules are complex, the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides fee status guidance to help you find the right category. If you meet all the criteria for one category, your institution must charge you the home rate.

Facilities

CU London Dagenham campus is in the Civic Centre building and is easily accessible by road, bus and rail.

Facilities include⁴:

classrooms with interactive teaching capabilities
Industry specialist health equipment
comprehensive library and learning services
study areas, laptops/open-access computers and social spaces
student support and careers advice teams.

Facilities are subject to availability⁴. Access to some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and/or may have reduced availability or restrictions where the university is following public authority guidance, decisions or orders.

Careers and opportunities

Those who successfully complete the Higher National Diploma in Healthcare Professions’ Support HTQ will be able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the basic concepts, values and principles of healthcare practice, and the skills to perform effectively as a support worker in different settings in the healthcare sector.

The skills offered as part of the Level 5 Higher National Diploma can provide you with the opportunity to work in many different areas of the health and social care sector.

Below are some examples of job roles the qualification could lead to:

Occupational therapy assistant practitioner
Operating department assistant practitioner
Prehabilitation and rehabilitation assistant practitioner
Maternity care assistant practitioner
Community care assistant practitioner
General health and care worker.

Further study

The Level 5 Higher National Diploma is recognised as meeting admission requirements to many relevant health and social care related courses², for example:

How to apply

View our courses on UCAS

Visit UCAS

UK students

Full-time UK undergraduate students apply through UCAS from May 2026. Otherwise, you will need to apply to CU London directly. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.

How to apply

Apply via UCAS

If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.

+44 (0)24 7765 6565

ukadmissions.cu@coventry.ac.uk

Complete our contact form

Disclaimers

Coventry University, Coventry University London, Coventry University Wrocław, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough, and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the University) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University.

¹Accreditations, partnerships and memberships

Some of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply. See the relevant body website for more details). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships are subject to successful renewal in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the University maintaining the same high standards of course delivery. If the accreditation, recognition or membership of this course changes, we will notify applicants and students as soon as possible.

²UK and international opportunities

Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or international opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be unpaid and/or subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel, public authority guidance, decisions or orders and visa requirements. Before seeking an overseas placement, read our visa advice page.

³Tuition fees

The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first academic year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year.

For UK (home) students, if the Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

For international students, we may increase fees annually but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (for example to repeat a year or resit examinations) you may be charged the tuition fees in force at the time you take that additional period of study, and/or in line with any legislative changes that apply at that time.

⁴Facilities

Facilities are subject to availability. Access to some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised. Availability and access may be reduced or restricted when the University is following public authority guidance, decisions or orders or internal health and safety requirements.

⁵Placements

Satisfactory health clearance and enhanced criminal record disclosure are also required. As part of the health clearance checks, you will be required to provide information about your immunity and vaccination status. The information you provide will be used to determine your eligibility to go on placement(s). Placements are provided at the placement provider’s discretion. The University is, therefore, unable to guarantee the provision of placements or the location and type of placement offered.

Student Contract

By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the University. A copy of the current 2025/26 contract is available for information purposes only. The 2027/28 contract will apply to the 2027/28 intakes and may differ from the current version. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the University will owe to you. You should read the applicable Student Contract carefully before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the University.

Your next steps

Student life

Accommodation

Fees and funding

Healthcare Professions’ Support for England HTQ

Year of entry

Location

Study mode

Duration

Course code

Start date

Course overview

Why you should study this course

Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) status

What you'll study

Modules

Modules

How you'll learn

Teaching contact hours

Teaching hours

Placement hours

Guided and independent study

Online learning:

Assessment

Entry requirements

Contextual/Fair Access Offers

Fees and funding

*Irish student fees

Facilities

Careers and opportunities

Further study

How to apply

¹Accreditations, partnerships and memberships

²UK and international opportunities

³Tuition fees

⁴Facilities

⁵Placements

Student Contract

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Useful links

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Healthcare Professions’ Support for England HTQ

Course features

Year of entry

Location

Study mode

Duration

Course code

Start date

Course overview

Why you should study this course

Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) status

What you'll study

Modules

Modules

How you'll learn

Teaching contact hours

Teaching hours

Placement hours

Guided and independent study

Online learning:

Assessment

Entry requirements

Contextual/Fair Access Offers

Fees and funding

*Irish student fees

Facilities

Careers and opportunities

Further study

How to apply

You may also like

Health and Social Care BA (Hons)

Public Health and Community Studies BA (Hons)

Your next steps