Student placements with children and young people
CYP competences and curricula

CYP placement requirements

• Students on adult-focused training courses may undertake placements working with children and young people provided that the training or placement service provider ensures the student is assessed as having the basic competences to practise safely and ethically with children and young people, and that the placement hours are conducted in person. 
  
  
• Before a student counsellor works with children and young people, the training or placement service provider must ensure the student has received the essential training and development required to work with children and young people on placement.
  
  
• Training and development can be achieved by the inclusion of Stage 1 of the CYP training curriculum in the course training programme or placement provider induction.
  
  Read our Children and young people (CYP) competences and curricula.
  
  
• The elements within Stage 1 of the CYP training curriculum can be delivered as a separate module to an accredited or approved course or as a distinct award. Course providers may also deliver and assess these components in collaboration with a placement provider.
  
  
• Students who are trained and assessed as competent in the learning outcomes for Stage 1 can progress onto a formal award in counselling children and young people once they have completed their core training (see Stage 2 of the curriculum).
  
  
• CYP pre-placement training can be supplemented by free Counselling MindEd e-learning sessions, which provide certificates that students can print out to demonstrate they have completed each module.
  
  
• Training providers and counselling service providers should also use BACP Good Practice in Action resources to support practice.

• Students undertaking placements with children and young people must receive robust and appropriate supervision from supervisors who are themselves competent to work with children and young people.
  
  
• Training providers and counselling service providers should ensure that students working with 16 and 17 year old clients understand that this age group falls between various child and adult laws. See Good Practice in Action – Legal resources.
  
  
• If students wish to undertake face-to-face placements with 16 and 17 year olds while on training courses oriented to adult clients, BACP will recognise the placement as long as the students are working ethically, competently and have robust supervision. The hours will count towards the 100 clinical placement hours required by the course and towards BACP registration and accreditation.

If students are only working with clients aged over 16 years, they do not need to undertake the CYP pre-placement training and assessment (ie Stage 1 of the training curriculum or its equivalent). However, students working with 16 and 17 year old clients will need to have an understanding of the legislation relating to this age group and have appropriate supervision in place with a supervisor who is competent to work with this age group. Please see the update below for more information about remote working placement hours with this age group. 

CYP placement hours completed as part of an accredited or approved course must also meet all the requirements for course accreditation:

• It is the responsibility of the course to ensure that all practice hours undertaken by a student meet BACP requirements.
  
  
• All practice hours included in an accredited or approved course must be included in the overall assessment framework – this includes any hours undertaken with CYP.
  
  
• If CYP pre-placement training and assessment is delivered by a placement or external provider, the course is responsible for ensuring that students are being taught and assessed in the relevant CYP competences before working with CYP clients. Courses may have their own quality assurance system for this, or courses and placements may find this mapping document useful:
  
  Mapping document for accredited courses and CYP pre-placement training providers (docx 95KB)

Number of CYP placement hours 

Students on adult-focused accredited or approved courses can include a proportion of the overall placement hours with CYP provided the above criteria are met.

For adult-focused courses that only allow face-to-face placement hours, no more than 30% of the overall placement hours can be counted (at least 70% of the hours will be with adults).

For courses that also allow Online and phone therapy (OPT) placement hours, the following proportions apply:

• The majority of all the placement hours will be face-to-face.
  
  
• No more than 30% of the total 100 placements hours can be with CYP (face-to-face).
  
  
• Up to 49% of the total 100 placement hours can be online-video or online-video and phone (with adults only).
  
  
• No less than 21% of the total 100 placement hours need to be face-to-face with adults.

CYP hours can only be undertaken face-to-face.