Social Pedagogy in Relationship-Centred Practice

Social pedagogy has a longstanding tradition across continental Europe and Latin America as a holistic and relationship-centred way of working in social care and educational settings with people of all ages. This module will introduce students to social pedagogy as an overarching ethical and conceptual framework for practice with individuals, groups and communities.

At a time when many educational and social professions are under increased pressure to navigate the complexities, challenges and unpredictability they encounter on a daily basis with limited resources, it is essential that practitioners develop new understandings that can enhance their ability to develop meaningful relationships, continue to learn and critically reflect, and increase their creativity and professional curiosity, so that they can make rigorous situated professional judgments.

This programme will significantly improve these abilities, whilst also enabling practitioners to focus on their own well-being and self-confidence at a time when increased expectations for professional accountability has the potential to add to the high burnout and turnover rates that takes a toll on those working under extremely challenging conditions in human services. Furthermore, given its relevance across any professional settings where relationships, learning and well-being matter, the learning from this programme will provide a wide variety of career progression.

Students who complete this Certificate will have an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the theoretical and ethical foundations of social pedagogy. Through critical reflection, students will develop a practice method is purposefully using relationship-based practice to enhance service user or educational outcomes. The programme is aimed at professionals working in care or education services and is a continuous professional development opportunity. 

It should be noted that this Certificate is outside the CORU mandate for approval of health and social care programmes.

Delivery

This course will have 12 weekly pre-recorded lecturers (1 hour) and live online sessions (2 hours).

The dates for the online seminars are as follow and will run on Zoom from 6.30 to 8.30 on the evenings below

Seminar 1: 24th of February 2026

Seminar 2: 3rd of March 2026

Seminar 3: 10th of March 2026

Seminar 4: 24th of March 2026

Seminar 5: 14th of April 2026

Seminar 6: 21st of April 2026

Seminar 7: 28th of April 2026

Seminar 8: 5th of May 2026

Seminar 9: 12th of May 2026

Seminar 10: 19th of May 2026

Seminar 11: 26th of May 2026

Seminar 12: 16th of June 2026