Summary

This is an innovative course designed to meet the demands of contemporary social work practice. It will offer you the opportunity to participate in a programme of study that has a strong practice focus and will encourage you to utilise your own life skills and abilities.

This course will develop you as a qualified social worker to practise and work confidently and effectively with other professionals to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It is designed to enable you to successfully meet the new occupational standards for social work and the social work academic benchmark statements. You will develop competence in applying acquired knowledge, skills and values that will assist you in making social work interventions to improve complex social problems for diverse populations of service users.

Social work is a regulated profession and you will be expected to register with the Health and Care Professionals Council, the social work profession’s regulator, and adhere to their standards and regulations.

You will also take part in a four months full-time or 12 months part-time relevant and verifiable work experience in a social care, educational or support setting, which you must have along with two related references from this experience that can verify your character and suitability for social work.

Details

Course Structure:

This full time three-year course comprises six modules each academic year. Modules will be a mix of theoretical and practice learning experiences.

Students undertake an initial assessed period of preparation for direct practice in year one, followed by at least 200 days of practice learning on placements to gain experience of work with at least two service user groups e.g. children, older people, vulnerable adults and mental illness during years two and three.

Level 4:
- Introduction to Social Work (1)
- Learning to Learn and European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
- Human Growth: A Life Cycle Approach
- Introduction to Social Policy
- Introduction to Research
- Introduction to Social Work (2)

Level 5
- Social Work, the Child and Family
- Social Work with Adults
- European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
- The Law and Social Work
- Communication Skills and Interdisciplinary Work
- Evidenced Based Practice in Social Work
- Specialist Practice in Social Work

Level 6
- Advanced Communication Skills
- Elective, Mental Health, Child, Older People, Drug Dependency
- European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
- Elective; Mental Health, Child, Older People, Drug Dependency
- The Law and Social Work
- Specialist Practice in Social Work
- Interdisciplinary Work

Additional information:
On successful completion of your course, you will have demonstrated the core applied knowledge and skills as defined in the QAA benchmark statement for Social Work. You will also have fulfilled the requirements for social work training as required by the Department of Health, General Social Care Council and TOPSS National Occupational Standards.

Entry criteria

200 UCAS tariff points, which would normally include at least two subject areas or equivalent qualifications at Level 3 plus GCSE Grade C or above in English language and mathematics.

Access to HE Diploma, with a minimum of 60 credits, 45 at Level 3 and 15 at Level 2. Access to HE must contain Level 2 Numeracy and Literature alternatively applicants must hold GCSE Grade C or above in English language and mathematics.

All applicants must have at least four months’ relevant work experience and related reference from this experience.

Competence in written and spoken English is a pre-requisite for entrance and an IELTS (International and English Language Testing System) score of 7, or equivalent, is the minimum standard required for students whose first language is not English.

Students without the above qualifications who have relevant work experience are invited to apply and such applications will be considered on an individual basis. Applicants for this course are required to attend an interview and pass the numeracy and literacy test. All offers are subject to a satisfactory Criminal Record Check (CRB check) and Occupational Health Check.

During the course

Notable aspects

Social work is a regulated profession. As a social work student you will be expected to register with the General Social Care Council (GSCC), the social work profession's regulator, and adhere to the standards set out in the Code of Practice for Social Workers.

As well as regulating individual social workers and students, we also regulate the performance of social work courses, the reports of which are published on our website, so you can check to see how each university is performing.

For more information visit: www.gscc.org.uk

On course completion

Exit skills

On successful completion of the course, students will have demonstrated the core applied knowledge and skills as defined in the QAA benchmark statement for Social Work. They will also have fulfilled the requirements for social work training as required by the Department of Health, General Social Care Council and TOPSS National Occupational Standards.

Career progression

Graduates will be competent, critical thinkers, capable of reflecting on their practice and fit for purpose for social work in the 21st Century. Employment opportunities for those with a social work qualification are excellent as there is a national shortage of social workers.
You will be qualified to work in a wide range of statutory and voluntary agencies, which employ social workers.

Study progression

On completion of this course you are able to progress to:

Masters of Science - Level 7
CPPD - Level 7