Childhood Development

Dive into the fascinating world of child and adolescent development. From first words to moral reasoning, you’ll explore how children grow physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively, and what influences that growth. 

You’ll explore behavioural science to understand children’s behaviour, build practical observation and ethical skills, and gain valuable experience working in our supportive on-campus Early Intervention Service. 

Explore the research, policies, and practices that support the wellbeing of children and young people. You'll be introduced to modules, frameworks and global and international approaches to children's and young people's wellbeing.  

You’ll explore research with children and adolescents, learning ethical and practical methods, and gain hands-on experience tackling real-world data with external partners while developing academic and professional skills. 

Explore the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma, and stress on children and young people, learning how these shape brain, behaviour, and wellbeing, and how to promote resilience and support through trauma informed practice. 

Explore how neurodiversity, disability, social and emotional challenges, and exclusion affect children’s participation in education and society, while learning to apply inclusive, rights-based, and ethical approaches to support diverse needs effectively. 

Building on your assessment skills, you’ll design and implement behavioural interventions to promote prosocial behaviour, reduce challenging behaviours, and see how applied behavioural science makes a meaningful difference in educational and clinical settings, including valuable work experience in our Early Intervention Service. 

This module lets you apply your research skills by designing a meaningful project for an external partner addressing real-world issues affecting children and young people, exploring topics from parenting and education to social media, identity, and wellbeing. 

Building on your previous learning, the module will develop your understanding of factors that shape mental health in children and young people, and how professionals work therapeutically with children and young people in practice.

Apply your classroom knowledge in our Early Intervention Service, working with experienced practitioners to support behaviour change programmes, while reflecting on the practical and ethical considerations of professional work with children. 

In this module, you’ll move beyond theory to real, impactful research. Building on prior learning, you’ll collect and analyse data, bringing ideas to life and applying practical research skills.