PG Dip/MA Social Work (Children and Families)

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This fast-track social work course, with a focus on children, young people and their families, will enable trainee social workers to build upon their existing knowledge and skills, and develop the expertise required for social work practice. The course is a generic social work qualification covering all aspects of child and family social work and working with adults required for graduates to be eligible for registering with Social Work England as a Social Worker.

The Department of Education funds this course through a cluster of local authorities which includes Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council and Wiltshire Council, with all applications being made directly to them. You’ll have the option to continue your studies from a Postgraduate Diploma to a Master’s by undertaking a dissertation which will be self-funded.

This course gives you the opportunity to study in a high-profile and nationally recognised department and benefit from direct access to research active and internationally linked academic staff. If you already hold an undergraduate degree and are interested in specialising in work with children and young people, this is the ideal social work course option.

Applications for Step Up to Social Work are currently closed. The Step Up to Social Work programme accepts applications every 2 years. If we confirm another cohort of the programme, the next application round would open in early 2021, for training to start in 2022. Please keep checking the programme's website for further updates.

“This course was perfect for me because I could complete it within 14 months and the financial support took a great weight off my mind. I loved every second of the course and found the knowledge and experience of my teachers and my cohort invaluable.”

Lou Oliver, graduate

See Course details for more information, including how this course will be delivered safely in autumn 2020 in response to Covid-19.

Image description — Carer and service user partnership group

Key information

Next start date:

TBC

Location:

Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus

Duration:

14 months to complete the PG Dip

Entry requirements:

Applicants must have one of the following in any discipline except social work from a UK higher education institution (or an approved overseas equivalent):

a minimum 2:1 level 6 degree qualification, for example, a degree with honours or a graduate certificate
a minimum 2:2 honours degree plus a higher degree (level 7 or above), for example, a Master's degree or a Postgraduate Certificate in Education

Applicants must also:

have GCSEs in English or English language and mathematics at grade C or above (or approved equivalent)
have a minimum of 6 months experience of voluntary or paid work with children, young people or families
live in England

Course details

This course is an intensive full-time training programme that could see you start a career as a social worker in just 14 months, whilst receiving a Department for Education bursary in addition to course fees.

Although this qualification is in Children and Families Social Work, it qualifies as a generic social work qualification. On this course you will usually be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students.

Applicants for this course should apply directly to the Department for Education via their website. Candidates will then be jointly interviewed by local authority representatives and the University.

Download the programme specification (pdf 467kb)

September 2020 - course information

During your first semester (September to January), you will be taught on campus for 3 full days a week to cover key skills such as conversation skills, conflict resolution and assessment skills.

You will have an observed telephone role play with a service user as part of your course which would have usually taken place in a skills lab.

The rest of your course will be delivered online, using interactive platforms that will replicate the experience of being in a lecture theatre or seminar room. You’ll have opportunities to interact with your lecturer and fellow students just as you would have done in any other year. 

We hope to have a full programme of face-to-face sessions on campus for all courses from January if government guidelines permit. 

You will be able to use the Library, the Student Centre, Open Access Centre and social learning spaces, subject to physical distancing measures to undertake group and other work. 

There will be no other changes to the content of your course as a result of Covid-19; we will deliver all of the units we have previously promised we would, and we are not making any changes to the individual learning outcomes on your course.    

It’s important that you know these changes are temporary and that we will be back to our usual on-campus experience as soon as national guidance makes it possible.  

See our Coronavirus FAQs for the latest information from BU.

This is the latest information, updated on 20 July. We will update this page when more information is available, and we can confirm any additional on-campus activity.

Core units

Developing Professional Relationships in Social Work (Readiness for Direct Practice) for Social Work with Children and Families: You will develop knowledge and understanding of the essential personal and interpersonal skills needed to develop effective relationships with the diverse range of people in our society. The unit is underpinned by research and theory and students will be expected to reflect on their own communication patterns as well as what is needed for excellent social work practice. Through reflection on their own experiences, it will also provide the essential preparation students require to develop and demonstrate their readiness and safety to undertake practice learning in line with the national regulatory requirements.
The Child’s Journey: You’ll advance your knowledge and understanding of child development and behaviour and different sociological and psychological explanations for this. You will be encouraged to consider the interplay of psycho-social factors on the lives of children and young people, exploring a range of influences on human development including the impact of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and disability.
Law & Social Policy for Social Work with Children & Families: You will develop a critical understanding of law and social policy, social work values and ethics and considerations relevant to child and family social work. You will explore the implications of social work values and ethics and how they apply to the promotion of the best interests of children and young people.
Applying Social Work Models and Methods for Social Work with Children and Families: You will gain essential knowledge on models and methods used in social work practice with a particular focus on how these can be applied when directly working with service users. The unit equips you with an understanding of the complex and multi-layered nature of social work, including the challenges of practicing professional social work with a diverse range of social work service users and carers. The aim is to offer you insight into a range of models and methods used in current social work practice using a problem based learning approach. This includes the use of case studies and simulations to help the students in translating theoretical knowledge into practical applications.
Parenting Capacity for Social Work with Children & Families: This unit will help you develop an in-depth understanding of the multiple factors that contribute to parental mental health, substance-related and domestic violence-related problems and, crucially, the impact upon the child, including child development.
Working with Children and their Families: In this unit you will develop knowledge and understanding of social work in the context of professional practice with children and their families; including responsibilities, analytical skills and knowledge, practical skills and professional accountability in social work practice with children and their families. This Unit is underpinned by research and evidence based judgements and you will develop their understanding and competence in assessment and intervention. Students are expected to examine their own beliefs and values in relation to protection work and to build on their previous learning in both theory and practice.
Two Statutory Placements (70 & 100 days): You will gain essential practice experiences required in meeting the regulations of the professional body.

Programme Specification

Master’s qualification

If you would like to complete the full Master's, you will complete the above units as well as two additional units:

Team Working for Service Improvement: You will develop the skills of working in small inter-professional teams to design and develop a service improvement or product to enhance the experiences of people who use services and / or their carers.

and

Critical Literature Review: You’ll gain skills and knowledge for undertaking a critical literature review in an aspect of social work and acquire and apply well-grounded research, research mindedness and research literacy skills in social science to undertake an intellectually challenging and in-depth literature review exploring a topic relevant to contemporary social work practice.

Dissertation: The dissertation is the keystone of all master’s degree pathways and draws on conceptual, theoretical and practical knowledge, developed in other units of the programme. You will undertake a synthesis of research literature, demonstrating a systematic understanding and critical awareness of current social work issues.

Department for Education

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Programme Specification

Placements

As part of the course, you’ll undertake two separate work placements of a combined total of 170 days. This will help you gain invaluable hands-on experience of social work, but it is also essential to meet the regulatory requirements of the professional body. During the placement you will be expected to integrate theory and practice and to complete a practice learning portfolio. The practice learning placement will facilitate the development of your social work skills, knowledge, critical analysis and evidence-based application of knowledge.

The wide range of placements include social work teams delivering services to children and families, hospital social work teams, residential and day care settings, drug and alcohol services, mental health services, supported housing and homelessness schemes and projects for young people experiencing home and school difficulties.

Your application

Applicants for this course should apply directly to the Department for Education via their website. Candidates will then be jointly interviewed by local authority representatives and the University.

For Social Work, we are looking for applicants who:

Have an awareness of the role of a Social Worker within society
Have a non-judgemental attitude, an appreciation of diversity and self-awareness, flexibility and openness to new ideas
Can demonstrate relevant skills such as listening, negotiating and advocacy
Have life experiences which may have influenced the applicant to think about a career in social work.

Relevant experience

Students are expected to have relevant experience in social work and/or social care and show that they have learnt from this experience. The longer and more varied that experience, the better. Examples of the sort of experience that candidates often have are:

Employment as a carer in a residential home
Being a volunteer in an agency working with young offenders
Paid or voluntary work in a day centre for people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or mental health problems
Work on summer play schemes and/or after school clubs
Personal experience as a service user or carer.

Interview

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

For January 2020 entry:

Applicants must have one of the following in any discipline except social work from a UK higher education institution (or an approved overseas equivalent):

a minimum 2:1 level 6 degree qualification, for example, a degree with honours or a graduate certificate
a minimum 2:2 honours degree plus a higher degree (level 7 or above), for example, a Master’s degree or a Postgraduate Certificate in Education

Applicants must also:

have GCSEs in English or English language and mathematics at grade C or above (or approved equivalent)
have a minimum of 6 months experience of voluntary or paid work with children, young people or families
live in England

You can find out more about what qualification levels mean and the approved equivalents.

Applicants will need to provide evidence of their qualifications with their application.

Applicants should:

have the emotional resilience to become an effective social worker
understand social work theory and research
be aware of the risk indicators of different forms of harm to children
demonstrate intuition and logic in decision-making
show the ability to record accurate child and family assessments
have an understanding of the knowledge and skills statements for child and family social workers - which all applicants will be assessed against
familiarise themselves with the Professional Capabilities Framework for social workers (entry level)

Step Up to Social Work trainees and other student social workers must complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before being accepted onto the programme.

Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

International entry requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (academic) 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

You can also find further details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our international entry requirements page.

Careers

Employment opportunities include work within Local Authorities' Children and Families teams and all aspects of social work with children, young people and their families.

Course changes

Changes in 2017

Date	Changes to this course
20/07/17	Where the change was made: Full entry requirements Change: Incorrect IELTS requirements were previously published. Updated to: IELTS (academic) 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in each component, or equivalent. Previous text: IELTS (academic) 7.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

What our students say

Pennie Pinder

All the academics have been very supportive throughout my course and provide detailed feedback on assignments so that you can always improve.

Hear from our staff

Richard Williams

Social Work is not a discipline for the faint-hearted and our students develop personally and professionally; they embrace the learning opportunities and the challenges these opportunities provide and the outcome is high quality practitioners.

Hear from our staff

Jennifer Bigmore

The National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work offers a flexible approach to CPD, ensuring that you have the high quality knowledge and skills needed to face the future.

PG Dip/MA Social Work (Children and Families)

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Key information

Next start date:

Location:

Duration:

Entry requirements:

Related courses

Planning your future

Course details

September 2020 - course information

Core units

Master’s qualification

Programme specification

Placements

Your application

Relevant experience

Interview

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

International entry requirements

Careers

Course changes

Changes in 2017

What our students say

Pennie Pinder

Hear from our staff

Richard Williams

Hear from our staff

Jennifer Bigmore