Social Work BA (Hons)

If you thrive on the unexpected and want to make a difference in people’s lives, social work could be the career for you. Our degree course is nationally recognised and will enable you to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a social worker. Social work is about empowering people and supporting them towards being independent. Social workers help people to function, participate and develop in society.Our course provides the knowledge, values and skills you will need to qualify as a social worker. But social work isn’t just about what you learn: it’s also about who you are. You will need qualities such as patience, honesty, sensitivity, tolerance, persistence and sound judgement.As a student, you will train to assess people’s circumstances and needs. Working alongside other professionals, you will plan, provide, review and evaluate services. You will become skilled in problem-solving, and understand how to set up supportive activities with individuals, families, groups and communities. Learning to assess the risks facing vulnerable children or adults, and how to set up and measure protection plans for them will be key. You will also gain a thorough understanding of your legal powers and duties.Our course is full-time, and features presentations and role play as well as more traditional lectures and seminars. We work closely with our SUCI (Service User and Carers Involvement) group. This gives you a chance to discuss with people who have experience and opinions about social care and use their feedback to improve your practice.All of our students do two practice placements – 70 days in Year 2, and 100 days in Year 3. One of these placement will involve statutory tasks, including legal interventions. Both placements are an invaluable opportunity to learn in the workplace and you will cover a range of topics such as engagement, assessment, interpersonal skills, interventions, safeguarding and the appropriate use of authority.If you study in Chelmsford, your placements will be anywhere in Essex, including Thurrock and Southend authorities. If you are a Cambridge student, your placements could be anywhere in Cambridgeshire and possibly in Peterborough. We have limited access to statutory placements outside these areas. You cannot choose your placement but rather it is assigned by the university. We will make sure that you get a range of settings to best support your training. It’s likely that you’ll have to travel as part of your placement, so you’ll need your own transport to visit service users in the community, where public transport may not be available.