Level 5 Diploma In counselling children

Candidate Requirements

Interview and references required. Due to the high demand for our course, you will be interviewed for a place on the course. We ask that you have an up to date DBS check and that you can supply two reference contacts, one must be from a previous Counselling Tutor at Level 4.. You must hold a minimum Level 4 Diploma in Counselling that included at least 20 hours of personal therapy and a minimum of 100 client hours.

Other Course Requirements - in addition to course work

You will be required to undertake a placement in a junior school in order to complete 70 hours of voluntary child counselling over the duration of the course. This can be a school within your local area or if you reside in our locality we can provide the details of several schools who we partner with. Schools will be required to meet our placement specifications to ensure you are supported appropriately.

You will also require a minimum of 1.5 hours supervision per month with a supervisor who has experience in counselling children.

What you will learn

Working safely, legally and ethically with children. Consider the differences in this client group from supporting teens or adults. The course aligns to the BACP & NCPS core competencies in counselling children.

The course also maps the CPCAB outcomes for affective counselling and the 7 process model and aligns with the BACP competences for counselling children.

1. Working ethically and professionally

2. Working with the relationship

3. Working with difference and diversity

4. Working with a primary focus on the client

5. Working with self-awareness

6. Working within a coherent framework of skills and theory

7. Working reflectively

You will deepen knowledge in: 

• Skills required when working with children of differing ages, developmental stages backgrounds and communication styles.

• Key professional issues concerning risk factors, safeguarding responses and professional, ethical and legal frameworks relevant to this area of work.

• The contextual and organisational factors in terms of delivering counselling and psychotherapy services, e.g., multi-disciplinary settings, school counselling, voluntary/third sector agencies, and statutory services.

• The mental health needs of children, how mental health difficulties can emerge and present in children.

• Working in the counselling relationship with key issues that impact children.

• Understand confidentiality when working with disclosures and safeguarding.

• Understand how to work with other professionals and agencies as part of safeguarding children

• Application of theory, research and theoretical developmental models.

• Develop self awareness when counselling children.

• You will apply theory to self and understand attachment patterns, how this impacts your work and ways of relating.

• You will explore creative ways of working therapeutically with children.

• Use of theory and skills to facilitate a therapeutic relationshiip with children.

• You will learn how to use yourself in the therapeutic relationship and apply theory.

• You will consider self care with this client group and needs in your own development.

• Learning to work with challenges, boundaries, conflicts and ruptures in the counselling relationship.

• learning how to work with parents, carers, schools and agencies

• Work with diversity and support children in different support structures.

• Understand the factors and economic/societal factors affecting children and their mental health.

• learning how to work with parents, carers, schools and agencies. understand and apply an assessment framework. contracting and confidentiality.

• Barriers to accessing support and referral needs

• Manage own effectiveness and development in counselling children.

• Effective use of supervision. limits of competency and utilising other professionals and supporting parents/carers. Managing conflicts of interest.

• Endings and transitions in Counselling children.

Each training day will be both theoretical and experiential to support knowledge and develop self awareness. The space will be supportive and encouraging to allow self exploration and to assist you in developing yourself as a child practitioner, incorporating aspects of self into your work.

Course Costs

Course Fee 25/26 -£2700

We require a £500 deposit to secure your place. We offer a 5% discount if paid in full.

You can choose to pay in full or monthly instalments. On receipt of the £500 deposit, monthly fees commence from August 2025 for 10 months equalling £220 per month.

Professional Training

We are offering our Level 5 Child Counselling Diploma in conjunction with Langley Training, an established and highly regarded counselling, psychotherapy and supervision training provider.

You can find out more about Langley Training at www.langleytherapy.co.uk

Application Deadline

The closing date for applications is 9th Sep 2025, applications after this date may miss the course intake.

Course interviews will be part of the intake process.

We require a minimum of 10 candidates to run the course, if for any reason the course cannot proceed you will be refunded your deposit.

Email: team@circletherapy.co.uk