Social Work

How do you support families to remain together? How do you work with somebody who is homeless? How do you tell someone with dementia that their life partner of 60 years has died?

Social workers often find themselves working in challenging situations. You’ll work with people, their families, and their communities to bring about change and to help improve lives.

Working in a range of settings across various sectors, which may include statutory, private, voluntary, and charitable sectors, you’ll promote and advocate human rights and social justice. It can be difficult to appreciate the difference social workers make until you’ve experienced social work in action and that’s why you’ll complete two placements in your second and third years of study.

During your time on the course, you’ll develop an understanding of the knowledge base of social work alongside developing practical skills whilst on placements. Some of the topics you’ll explore will include how to communicate with people with a range of needs, the importance of working with colleagues from other disciplines and the importance of supervision and of reflective practice. You’ll consider theories including sociological and psychological perspectives, and factors that might impact on the life course from pre-birth through to death. You’ll consider the impact of politics, social policy and how welfare is delivered in the UK and internationally, whilst developing an understanding of the legal framework for social work and how the law is used to safeguard, support and to protect.

Social work can be challenging and demanding at times, that’s why we aim to help you build resilience and find ways to manage the many situations you’ll be faced with.

Features and Benefits

Approved course - Our course is approved by Social Work England and, when you graduate, you are eligible to apply for professional registration with Social Work England.

Employability - You'll gain experience from 30 days of skills development throughout the course. Your two practice placements are in employment settings.

Placement experience - You’ll go on two practice placements, a full-time 70-day placement in year 2 and a full-time 100-day placement in year 3.

Specialise your studies - You can focus on a chosen area of social work practice to explore in depth in your final year.