Course overview
This programme provides a route for students wishing to become social workers and follows a curriculum specified by the General Social Care Council (GSCC). It is both an academic university degree and a professional qualification. At the same time as studying for your degree, you will be training as a social worker, developing the knowledge and skills you will need in order to become a skilled and thoughtful practitioner. A particular strength of our programme is that it combines the study of social work with social policy.
As part of your social work training you will spend 200 days undertaking practice learning in at least two different agency settings. This starts in the first year of study with placements of increasing duration in each of the three years.
The academic learning on the programme is achieved through a mixture of formal lectures and seminars, smaller integrative learning groups, skills workshops and individual study. Some of your modules will be taken together with social policy and/or sociology students, and for some of the more advanced modules you will study alongside postgraduate social work students, but following a different pattern of assessment.
In the classroom, we integrate academic study with practice learning to address such issues as:
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Ways of understanding the self and others
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The legal, policy and organisational contexts of social work
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How human beings develop through life, with a particular emphasis on child development
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The social and policy processes (for example, those associated with poverty, poor housing, poor health, unemployment) which lead to social exclusion and marginalisation
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What is meant by anti-oppressive practice
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The values and ethics of social work
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The professional skills which social workers need, and how they can be acquired
Year one
In your first year, you will undertake a mixture of compulsory and optional modules which establish a strong basis for your study in social work and social policy. Optional modules are chosen from the modules offered in the School of Sociology and Social Policy. You will also undertake a 30-day period of child or adult observation, which will help you actively to think about the complexity of interpersonal relationships, and reflect on how you yourself interact with other people.
Year two
In your second year, you will follow compulsory components of the prescribed curriculum, and undertake a further 90-day placement in an agency. You will begin work on your dissertation, which must be on a topic of interest to you and relevant to social work practice.
Year three
In your third year, you will have the opportunity to follow a more specialised programme focusing on either adults or children and families. This will lay the foundation for your career choices when you qualify.
You will choose modules which develop your understanding, knowledge and practice skills of working with children and families, working with adults and older people, working with people with mental health issues, physical or learning disabilities and/or people who have suffered traumatic experiences.
You will also undertake a final 80-day placement in an agency setting with a different user group.
Entry requirements
A levels: BBB or 300 UCAS points; also C in English and maths at GCSE or equivalent
Admissons process
Applications must be made through UCAS. The University of Nottingham code is N84 and the course code is LL54. All applicants to whom we wish to make an offer will be invited to an interview. These will normally take place before the end of April. The minimum age for entry is 18 years old.
Although there is no requirement for prior experience of social work, applicants who have some relevant voluntary or paid experience in a helping role, or can demonstrate that they have personal insights or understandings to reflect upon are likely to produce a better personal statement and have more to draw upon during the interview.
Before being accepted on to our programme, you will be required to undergo a check with the Criminal Records Bureau and to make a satisfactory health declaration. Although a criminal record or a health condition is not necessarily a bar to acceptance, failure to disclose relevant information may subsequently result in your programme being terminated.
From your application and interview, we look for:
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some evidence of motivation to become a social worker,
shown by having a rationale for wanting to join the profession, and preferably some experience in a helping rol
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some understanding of the roles and responsibilities of social workers
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some self understanding and empathy with others
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the capacity to succeed academically
Fees and funding
The NHS currently administers the social work bursary. Among other eligibility criteria students must meet certain residency criteria, see the NHS bursary web site for further details.
The social work bursary is non-income assessed, which means that earnings, savings and other sources of income such as local authority funding are not taken into consideration. It includes a basic grant which varies in value, a contribution towards practice learning opportunity-related expenses (such as travel to the agency) and tuition fees up to a capped amount. Financial awards are dependent on individual circumstances.
Non-UK students have to pay
tuition fees as set by the University.
English language requirements
IELTS 7.0 (including 6.0 in any element)
TOEFL iBT 100 (no less than 21 in listening and writing, 22 in reading and 23 in speaking)
Alternative qualifications
We encourage applications from all sections of the community and welcome applicants from people with disabilities, black and minority ethnic groups and people returning to work. Mature applicants, including those on Access courses and those with alternative qualifications are especially encouraged to apply.
Scottish Highers: BBBCC/BBBBB
Irish Leaving Certificate: Offers will be made on the basis of 5 or 6 Higher level subjects.
Welsh Baccalaureate: Where the two non-core elements making up the Baccalaureate are standard A2 qualifications any offer is likely to be based on our standard A-level offer. Any other contributing qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
BTEC National Diplomas: Overall grades DDM, and the Diploma will need to be in a subject area of direct relevance to social work (for example, the BTEC National Diploma in Health and Social Care)
Access: Pass Access to HE Diploma including 30 credits at level 3 at Merit.
Advanced Diploma in Society Health and Development – an overall B grade
For full details of the alternative qualifications accepted by the University please see the alternative qualifications page
Notes for applicants
Applications from students with disabilities are particularly welcome. The University's Student Services Centre includes Disability Services who provide a range of support and the Centre for Social Work has a designated Disability Liaison Officer. The GSCC will also provide specific hardware and computer software to assist students with a disability.
In the case of students with learning difficulties, specific assistance is provided by the Academic Support unit in the University’s Student Services Centre.
Modules
A total of 360 credits are taken over three years, divided into 120 credits per year. This is the equivalent of 40 hours of University-based study per week, or 40 hours per week of practice based learning. A typical week of University based learning will include 8-10 hours of time spent in lectures/seminars/tutorials and the remainder in private study.
Assessment is by written assignments, individual and group presentations, projects, and seen and unseen written examinations. Each period of practice learning is assessed against the National Occupational Standards for qualified social workers, all of which must be satisfied before you qualify.
The modules we offer are inspired by the research interests of our staff and as a result, may change from year to year. The following list is therefore subject to change but should give you a flavour of the modules we offer.
Typical year-one modules
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Understanding Contemporary Society
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Social Problems and Policy Responses
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Understanding Social Work: Self and Others
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Practice Learning 1
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20 credits of optional modules from those available in the School
Typical year-two modules
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Law for Social Work
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Theories of Welfare
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Human Development through the Lifespan
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Social Work Models and Methods
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Practice Learning 2
Typical year-three modules
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Critical Perspectives on Social Work
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Practice Learning 3
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EITHER
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Social Work with Adults: Policy and
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Contemporary Social Work with Adults
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OR
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Social Work with Children and Families: Law and Policy and
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Contemporary Social Work Practice with Children and Families
Typical optional modules
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Social Worlds and the Sociological Imagination
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Culture in Contemporary Society A
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Culture in Contemporary Society B
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Social Work with Adults: Policy
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Contemporary Social Work Practice with Adults
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Social Work with Children and Families: Law and Policy
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Contemporary Social Work Practice with Children and Families
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History of British Social Policy
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Analysing Public Policy
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International Social Policy
Practice Learning
Through practice based learning - undertaken in a variety of settings, with a range of service users - you are introduced you to a variety of approaches to helping people. You will spend 200 days of practice learning and must gain experience of
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at least two different agency settings
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statutory social work tasks invovling legal interventions
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the provision of a service to at least two different service user groups.
Each period of practice learning will be assessed against the National Occupational Standards for Qualified Social Workers, all of which must be satisfied prior to qualification.
We have excellent links with statutory and voluntary agencies in the region, which provide practice learning opportunities for our students. We have an outstanding record of providing high quality placements. We recognise that this is a vital part of your learning during your degree and work hard to ensure that placements are successful in meeting students’ needs. Students and practice assessors are well supported by the programme throughout the practice learning.
All placements are undertaken on a full-time basis and while on placement students may be expected to work the same hours as other members of staff in that setting. For some settings, this may include working unsocial hours. The demands of the curriculum means that it is not possible to restrict practice learning to the University terms and semesters, and you may be required to undertake your practice learning when your fellow students on other degree courses are not being required to work.
When allocating practice learning placements, care is taken to match your learning needs and personal requirements to the individual learning opportunity offered. Placements are normally within the geographical boundaries of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.