Course overview
BA (Hons) Professional Policing Practice
This work-based programme is designed to provide the essential knowledge, understanding and skills required to operate effectively as a modern Police Officer.
About this course
This apprenticeship is suitable for school/college leavers and career changers who wish to pursue a career as a Police Officer in West Yorkshire Police.
It will allow apprentices to combine workplace learning opportunities with theoretical knowledge gained through a number of formal classes which are relevant to modern-day policing.
The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) route into policing enables you to receive practical on-the-job learning alongside academic theory and knowledge while earning a salary of £28,551 (increasing to a minimum of £30,957 after three years, subject to performance). Starting salaries are reviewed annually. You will be a police officer from your first day on the job but will be required to successfully complete the course to be confirmed in the role.
The PCDA covers areas that are critical to effective policing in the 21st century, such as evidence-based policing, supporting vulnerable people, dealing with cybercrime and crime prevention.
- There are no direct fees paid by the apprentice as the programme is fully funded by the West Yorkshire Police apprenticeship levy
- Successful apprentices will gain a degree in Professional Policing Practice
- Your time will be spent across a combination of sites including Leeds Trinity University campus, West Yorkshire Police Training Centre at Carr Gate in Wakefield, and within the local policing Districts of West Yorkshire – Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds or Wakefield. This will also be supported by online delivery.
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About West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police serve approximately 2.2 million people living in one of the five metropolitan districts of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. The physical area, of some 2000 square kilometres or 780 square miles, contains the West Yorkshire conurbation and a network of motorway and trunk roads which allow easy access to and from other population centres.
The Force area is very varied combining busy cities and towns with quiet villages and picturesque rural locations. People are equally varied and represent a diverse range of ethnic cultural and economic backgrounds.
For this reason, the policing is delivered from 5 separate police districts, providing most of the day-to-day policing services performed through the county. There are also teams of specialist police and support staff personnel based at headquarters and at various other locations around the Force.
The overwhelming majority of police officers are engaged in operational duties that contribute towards the community safety for the people of West Yorkshire.
Programme duration and delivery
It will typically take three years to complete the apprenticeship.
You will complete the initial 19 week classroom-based training at the West Yorkshire Police Training Complex at Carr Gate, Wakefield. After this time, you will then move to work within one of the five operational policing districts in West Yorkshire (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds or Wakefield) where you will apply your knowledge and skills in the workplace, building on your operational competence.
The first ten weeks at district are spent in a tutored period, working with an experienced Police Officer mentor. It is during this period that you will assessed on your ability to work independently, policing our communities, but with the support of your colleagues.
You will spend further periods at Leeds Trinity University to build your knowledge and skills and will then return to district to apply this learning and continue to gain operational experience.
Learning and Teaching
At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.
Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:
- high quality teaching
- an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement
- a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.
We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.
We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:
- Student Involvement and Engagement
- Inclusion
- Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience
- Digital Literacy and Skills
- Employability and Enterprise
To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.
We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:
- Personalised support
- Expert lecturers
- Strong connections with employers
- An international outlook
- Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development
Assessment
Throughout the programme, apprentices are assessed via various methods including:
- presentations
- assignments
- practical scenarios
- exams
Apprentices will also create an Operational Competence Portfolio of evidence. Towards the end of the programme, each apprentice will undertake the 'End Point Assessment' which has been designed to ensure that the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the apprenticeship standard have been developed. The End Point Assessment will consist of an evidence-based research project, a presentation, and professional discussion which builds on the Operational Competence Portfolio.
About Negotiated Learning:
All apprentices will work with their employer to agree on the central theme of their work-based learning for Negotiated Learning modules. These themes will be based on the apprentice’s desired Professional Qualification and the Degree Apprenticeship Standard. Apprentices, Employers, and Mentors will come together and agree upon the preferred Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) that the apprentice will focus on during each module.
Entry Requirements
Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits.
The following information is designed to give you a general overview of the qualifications we accept. If you are taking qualifications that are not included below, please contact our Admissions Office who will be happy to advise you.
Applicants must:
- Hold 80 UCAS tariff points from Level 3 qualifications or appropriate experience as a Special Constable or PCSO. Otherwise suitable applicants who do not meet the required tariff points may be asked to complete a 1000-word essay for consideration of suitability by Leeds Trinity University.
- Be 17 years old or over. There is no upper age limit. Applicants can start the application process whilst 17 years old, but must have reached 18 years to start the course.
- Hold a level 2 qualification in English Language and Maths Grade 4/C or above
- Have no criminal convictions (minor offences will be considered on an individual basis)
- Meet West Yorkshire Police attendance standard (this relates to absence in your previous role/s if relevant)
- Be able to pass the job-related fitness test
- Comply with the West Yorkshire Police tattoo policy
- Pass the police vetting checks
Please note, the application process can take up to 12 months, depending on the applicant.
Support
Leeds Trinity University offers extensive support to all of our apprentices - whatever your background or academic experience.
This includes access to the Learning Hub, which offers tailored support for academic skills.
Fees and finance
Funding
Degree Apprenticeships are fully funded by your employer if their wage bill is over £3 million each year.
The government will fund up to 95% of the apprenticeship’s course fees, up to the relevant funding band, if the organisation has spent all its levy or has an annual wage bill below £3 million each year. Employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy contribute 5% towards the total cost of the apprenticeship, the ESFA will contribute the other 95% directly to the University. Employers must have an account with the Apprenticeship Service Account to be able to reserve Government funding for an apprenticeship. This reservation ensures that funds will be available to pay for the training from the point the apprenticeship starts.
Read more about how levy payments work from the UK Government website.
How to apply
Application cycles for the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship are managed by the police forces that we work with. If you are interested in applying for this apprenticeship, please visit their websites directly.
West Yorkshire Police Apprenticeships
West Midlands Police Apprenticeships
About Leeds Trinity University
Our professional Apprenticeships combine part-time study at Leeds Trinity University with workplace training. We've been providing outstanding provision in higher education for over 50 years and have significant experience of delivering work-based learning programmes. We're proud to offer a personal and inclusive university experience that gives everyone the support they need to realise their potential. Our teaching staff have extensive and relevant professional experience.