Maternity Support Worker Apprenticeship FdSc
Subject and course type
- Nursing and Midwifery
- Foundation
- Undergraduate
- Degree Apprenticeship
Learn to provide hands-on care to women, birthing people and their families as a Maternity Support Worker. Develop the essential skills and knowledge you need while you work as part of the Assistant Practitioner (Maternity Support Worker) Apprenticeship FdSc at Kingston University.
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Deliver essential hands-on care as a Maternity Support Worker
Make a real impact while learning
By completing the Assistant Practitioner (Maternity Support Worker) Apprenticeship FdSc, you’ll develop a wide range of specialist and transferable clinical, care and interpersonal skills needed to become a Maternity Support Worker.
As a maternity support worker, you’ll become an essential part of the maternity care team. You’ll work alongside midwives and a diverse multi-multi-disciplinary workforce to deliver high quality care and support.
This program is a two-year, full-time apprenticeship (employment-based with part-time university attendance). To apply, you must be employed as a healthcare support worker in a maternity service for at least 30 hours per week. Your employer must agree to allow you time off for off-the-job learning, including simulation and study days, as well as for rotational placements to help you meet your competencies. The apprenticeship tuition fees are covered by the apprenticeship levy, paid by your employer.
Why choose this course
When you study the Assistant Practitioner (Maternity Support Worker) Apprenticeship FdSc with us, you’ll benefit from learning specialist and transferable skills through clinical placements in a variety of maternity settings.
During your on-the-job learning, you will be able to carry out activities to help you achieve the maternity support worker competencies to begin your health and social care career.
The course leads to an Assistant Practitioner (Maternity Support Worker) Apprenticeship and a professional qualification through an End Point Assessment (EPA). An EPA is an impartial evaluation to determine whether you have developed the required skills, knowledge, and behaviours to complete your course.
Kingston is ranked No.1 in London for Midwifery (The Guardian University Guide 2025).
Course content
Year 1
Core modules
30 credits
This module will introduce you to the socio-political influences shaping the changing context of maternity care provision. You will develop an understanding of feminist theory, psychology, sociology and public health as it applies to childbearing. This module aims to prepare you for the role of the Maternity Support Worker in improving and promoting public health, including sexual health.
30 credits
This module will enable you to develop and apply a range of skills to participate in the holistic assessment and care of people within maternity services, documenting progress and reporting outcomes. You will be introduced to the required skills and underpinning knowledge so that you can participate in ongoing assessment and recognise when it is necessary to escalate findings to other members of the multidisciplinary team for reassessment.
30 credits
This module explores the foundations of human anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology relevant to healthcare practice. You will cover the body's key systems and processes, the mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis and an introduction to human development across the lifespan including the childbearing continuum.
30 credits
This module introduces you to the concepts of being a maternity support worker. The contemporary role and scope of the Maternity Support Worker is identified and defined. The values and culture of maternity care will also be explored. This module will introduce you to Future Skills through engagement with Navigate.
Year 2
Core modules
30 credits
This module focuses on deviations from normality in maternity care and links relevant theoretical knowledge to practice. You will learn how to contribute to and support a high standard of holistic care for women and birthing people, their babies and their families, inclusive of both physical, social and emotional needs within your role and scope.
You will gain an understanding of policies and guidelines that inform maternity care and learn how to establish and maintain effective communication with service users and the multi-disciplinary team in providing maternity care.
30 credits
This module is designed to build on your existing knowledge and skills to contribute to providing universal care for all women and birthing people, and their newborn infants, and additional care for those experiencing complexity and complications.
30 credits
This module builds upon Enhanced Skills for Maternity Support Worker module. The module provides the knowledge and skills which will allow the Maternity Support Worker to support the multidisciplinary team in caring for women and birthing people in the birth environment. This module will also cover the Maternity Support Worker's role in assessment and triage.
30 credits
This module focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and skills for promoting the delivery of high-quality person-focused care. The module will continue the development and consolidation of your academic practice skills and will support your professional growth. The content will include: leadership and management; supporting learning and assessment in practice; research, development and innovation; policies and frameworks that support effective care. This module will develop your Future Skills through engagement with Explore.
Future Skills and career opportunities
The Assistant Practitioner (Maternity Support Worker) Apprenticeship FdSc will equip you to enhance your career in the health and social care sector. You’ll be able to work as a Maternity Support Worker and may also be able to progress to a shortened nursing degree course.
The programme will enable you to develop a wide range of specialist clinical, care and interpersonal skills which are vital within roles such as:
- Senior assistant practitioner
- Healthcare science practitioner
- Nurse
- Midwife
At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it
For more information on how Kingston prepares you for the future job market, visit our Future Skills page.
Teaching and assessment
This programme enables you to develop a broad understanding of care needs, relevant to the role of the maternity support worker. It equips you to identify holistic needs and deliver care to a diverse range of individuals.
The integration of theory and practice is achieved through learning, teaching and assessment strategies which require you to reflect on your experiences in practice. Maternity knowledge and evidence are applied to these experiences, with an increasing depth of discussion and analysis as you progress through the course.
You will learn through lectures, seminars and online work in our Virtual Learning Environment (CANVAS). You will also participate in tutorials, workshops, conferences and project work. Your learning in the simulation suite will help you relate theory to practice.
The programme is offered through day release, and supernumerary placements. During your on-the-job learning, you will be able to carry out activities to help you achieve the maternity support worker competencies.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking coursework assignments, and preparing and giving presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the online virtual learning platform.
Our academic support team here at Kingston University provides help in a range of areas.
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of academic staff who will provide academic guidance, support you throughout your time at Kingston and show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer at Kingston University.
Year 1
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 200 hours
- Placement and simulation skills: 210 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 790 hours
Year 2
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 200 hours
- Placement and simulation skills: 210 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 790 hours
There are a range of assessment types including examinations, coursework and practical assessments in both the Clinical Skills and Simulation Suite and the workplace. The assessments are staged throughout the academic year to ensure coherence and an even, manageable workload.
Practice is assessed through successful completion of the practice assessment document and objective structured clinical assessments (OSCAs), in conjunction with successful sign-off in practice by a practice assessor and an academic assessor at the end of Years 1 and 2. Students require a pass in both theory and practice to achieve their final award.
Year 1
- Coursework: 50%
- Practical: 25%
- Exam: 25%
Year 2
- Coursework: 75%
- Practical: 25%
We aim to provide feedback to you on your assessments within 20 working days.
Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. In Year 1, scheduled teaching will be on Thursdays, and Year 2 will be on Wednesdays.
Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student friendly as possible, scheduled learning and teaching can take place between 9am and 6pm.
End-Point Assessment
Each apprentice on an approved Apprenticeship Standard is required to take an End-Point Assessment (EPA) to complete the programme. The EPA is delivered by an End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) that is registered with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
The EPA is either integrated as part of the apprenticeship or completed after the course element. If an apprentice is completing the EPA after the course element, they must ensure they have successfully completed their learning, achieved the gateway requirements and finished uploading their evidence prior to taking the EPA.
Fees and funding
This degree apprenticeship programme is funded through the Government's Apprenticeship Levy within the approved funding band.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
Courses involving placements or direct work with vulnerable groups may require a DBS check or other security checks.
We provide you with a uniform. You will need to purchase appropriate shoes (£20-£60) and a fob watch (£5-£20) for practice. Additional uniform items are available for purchase.
Next steps
Employees
If you are currently employed full time and would like to find out more about apprenticeships, please ask your employer to contact the Kingston University apprenticeship team.
Employers
If you are an employer interested in how apprenticeships can support your organisation and employees, please contact the apprenticeship team for further details.
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Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
