Social Work (Degree Apprenticeship) BA (Hons)
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Course Summary
The Social Work Degree Apprenticeship offers an exciting opportunity to complete the social work qualification whilst working within a relevant social care setting. The academic teaching includes in-person lectures, assessed placements, learning in the workplace and directed study. The placements take place within your employing organisation.
Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to develop relationships with your fellow apprentices, university staff and a range of people who will support you in your workplace. We hope that all of this will help you engage in learning to foster your sense of belonging to a community of learners. We provide a supportive culture to motivate learners to progress and succeed, with personal tutors playing a key role in providing personalised support. You will also have opportunities to use all of the university services open to all students such as student support services, university societies and sports teams.
Applications
To be accepted onto the apprenticeship you must be employed by a local employer who will support you to undertake the course. Applicants not from the UK may still be eligible to apply. For further information, please contact apprenticeships@chester.ac.uk.
Information for Apprentices and Employers
The maximum funding cap for this Standard is £23,000. Mainly delivered on site, the course incorporates apprentice feedback to optimize learning outcomes. Informed by research and practice, diverse assessments simulate real-world social work tasks.
Eligibility to register with Social Work England
Gain real experience on placements
Understand through genuine experiences
What you'll Study
- Readiness for Direct Practice (Compulsory): This module aims to; enable students to develop an understanding of the professional social work role and its responsibilities, conflict, boundaries, ethics, and the impact on practice and delivery. Enable students to develop a range of skills to function effectively in their communication with service user and colleagues in an organisational setting. Provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their readiness for direct practice as outlined in the PCF Readiness for Practice Capabilities.
- Social Work Law and Policy (Compulsory): This module aims to; consider the legal structure and framework in England and how it relates to social work. Understand how law and policy can support anti-discriminatory practice and support the rights of service users. Develop an understanding of key pieces of legislation that social workers work within, the powers and duties of the local authority, and how they are applied in the professional role. Develop an understanding of the key policies that social workers apply in their professional role.
- Human Growth and Development (Compulsory): This module aims to provide students with a wide ranging overview of human growth and development perspectives across the life course. It will enable students to understand how each individual person’s growth, behaviour and development is shaped and influenced by their family, culture, friends and environment. Students will examine and gain a greater understanding of how the range of perspectives can enable them to build and develop their professional understanding and responses in relation to social work practice with service users and carers.
- Sociology and Social Policy (Compulsory): This module aims to provide students with a basic underpinning knowledge of a range of sociological perspectives as a starting point to understanding how individuals, communities and the ‘state’ play their part in the functioning of UK society. It will also aim to aid students’ understanding of the ways in which sociological theory and research has contributed to political ideology and thinking in relation to social welfare, social policy and social work. It will promote a critical awareness of the impacts of social policy on society and on social work practice.
- Social Work Values and Ethics (Compulsory):This module aims to prepare and enable students to understand the nature of social work values (choice, respect, rights, risks, self-determination) and ethics (utilitarianism, Kantian) needed for competent professional practice. It also aims to aid students’ understanding of the historical development of social work values and how these have influenced contemporary ethics and value frameworks. The module will also consider the impact of social work values on professional practice, and prepare students to be able to deal with the conflicts between personal and professional values. More importantly, this module provides the foundations for applying social work values to each subsequent module in all following years of the undergraduate degree.
Modules
- Social Work Practice with Adults (Compulsory): Social work practice with adults is a complex activity involving a range of competing priorities. Practitioners are required to promote self-determination and autonomy whilst managing risk and protecting service users from harm. The aim of the module is to develop the students’ understanding of the different needs of adult service users and to consider the knowledge and interventions that can lead to positive outcomes. The focus of the module is to understand key current issues, complexities, and practcie with service users and carers from a diverse range of backgrounds and communities.
- Social Work Practice with Children and Families (Compulsory): The aim of this module is to enable students to develop knowledge and a critical understanding of social work practice in a children and families setting and within a multi-agency context, and understanding of the social work role from provision of support services to dealing with significant harm. The module aims to enable students to understand the assessment process, to develop the ability to critically analyse information effectively, and to utilise the data to inform intervention, planning and review.
- Social Work Theory and Methods (Compulsory): This module aims to enable students to; understand the importance of applying social work theories to social work practice, understand how different theories and methods have evolved over time in changing contexts, understand broad paradigms and how they relate to practice, enabling students to understand a variety of methods and apply them to day-to-day practice.
- Social Care Organisations and Inter-Professional Working (Compulsory): This module aims to; enable students to gain an understanding and critical awareness of issues impacting on the social work role within a range of organisational and professional contexts, prepare students for inter-professional working and inter-agency collaboration particularly in relation to safeguarding issues, develop students’ collaborative skills, knowledge and values that are relevant to good social work practice within an inter-professional and inter-agency context.
- Placement 1 (Compulsory): This module aims to; enable the student to demonstrate capacity to work with people and in situations where there may not be simple clear-cut solutions, enable the student with support from supervision to apply the theoretical knowledge, skills and values from previous module learning and teaching to their practice, provide an opportunity for the student to experience the responsibility of meeting service users’ and carers’ needs and to demonstrate social work values and anti-oppressive practice, enable students to achieve the PCF End of First Placement Level Capabilities.
Modules
- Critical Social Work Practice (Compulsory): This module aims to prepare final year, pre-qualifying students to further develop their capacity to practise social work critically and reflectively. Throughout the module three major aspects – social work values for practice, theories and approaches to practice, and how to do critical reflective practice – will be outlined. The module aims to build upon and synthesise knowledge from previous modules so as to consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding of the themes, ethical dilemmas, issues and lasting debates in contemporary social work practice located within its different practice settings. Students will develop their understanding of and ability to use their professional judgement and make effective decisions in practice.
- Approaches to Research (Compulsory): This module aims to: enable students to understand social science research traditions and methodologies. To encourage critical assessment of research methodologies and the ideas and values that underpin them with reference to anti-discriminatory practice.To enable students to understand the relationship between research and social work practice.
- Preparation for Registration (Compulsory): This module aims to; enable the student to demonstrate ability to work directly with service users/carers in complex situations; enable the student to demonstrate analytical skills when working with complex information; enable the student's transition into the social work profession.
- Developing Resilience in Social Work Practice (Compulsory): This module aims to; enable the student to demonstrate capacity to undertake complex work involving statutory / legal interventions. This module also enables student to achieve the PCF Qualifying Social Worker Level Capabilities and evidence SWE professional standards and critically explore debates and issues of resilience in Social Work.
Chris Elliott
Senior Lecturer
Victoria Shore
Deputy Head of Social Work
Ian Browne
Senior Lecturer
Emily Weygang
Senior Lecturer
Dr Jo Dillon
Head of Social Work
Bridget Caffrey
Senior Lecturer
Dr Gill Buck
Associate Professor
Alongside experiential learning, you will engage in a wide range of learning activities such as scenario-based learning, problem-based learning, case-based learning, collaborative and team-based learning.
You will also experience reflective learning – the opportunity to reflect on anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. You will look at and think about the impact of all forms of discrimination and work on ways that you can challenge discrimination, working towards making your own practice and the practice of your organisation inclusive and helpful for all people using social work services.
Your learning will be assessed via a diverse range of assessment tasks designed to mirror those that you might undertake as a professional social worker.
Beyond the Classroom
On this course, you’ll spend time out on placement where you’ll apply what you have learnt to real scenarios in the workplace, giving you genuine experience and insight that will prepare you for your future career.
Entry Requirements
When submitting your application, you will need to provide the following documents to meet the apprenticeship funding eligibility requirements:
- ID/Residency evidence
- Change of name evidence and Birth Certificate
- Level 2 Maths Certificate (GCSE A*-C or 9-4, equivalent or higher)
- Level 2 English Language Certificate (GCSE A*-C or 9-4, equivalent or higher)
- Level 3 certificates
- Degree and Post-grad certificates
- Job Description
- Workplace mentor
Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.
We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.
English Language Requirements
- IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
- Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
For more information on our English Language requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.
Time Square
Warrington Life
Remond House
Fees and Funding
Our Social Work Degree Apprenticeship fees for 2024/5 are £24,000 training fees plus £550 EPA (End Point Assessment) fee. Apprenticeships are funded by your employer via the Digital Apprenticeship Account for levy payers, or via transfer of levy/reservation of funds with the ESFA for non-levy payers.
N/A
Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.
If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.
The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships.
Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees & Finance section of our website.
Your Future Career
Job Prospects
Graduates of Politics at Chester will see their skill-set and knowledge highly applicable to a range of opportunities such as careers in politics, the civil service, campaign organisations, NGOs, as well as careers in business.
Careers service
The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.
Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.
We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.