PG Dip/MA Social Work (Children and Families)

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 of 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. Core units: Personal Development for Social Work: You will develop your knowledge and skills to prepare you for your substantive placement units. You will develop your skills and knowledge, against the Department for Education framework for work with children and families and the HCPC Codes of practice, so that you are ready to safely undertake practice learning. The Child’s Journey: You will develop 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 and Social Policy for Social Work with Children and 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. Models, Methods and Approaches for Social Work Intervention for Child and Family Social Work: You will be encouraged to consider a range of models, methods and approaches for social work intervention. This unit will equip you with a critical 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. Parenting Capacity for Social Work with Children and 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 Risk and Complexity for Child and Family Social Workers: You will develop knowledge and understanding of social work in the context of protection; including responsibilities, analytical skills and knowledge, practical skills and professional accountability. You will develop their understanding and competence in assessment and intervention and will be expected to examine their own beliefs and values in relation to protection work. Two Statutory Placements (70 & 100 days): You will gain essential practice experiences required in meeting the regulations of the professional body. If you would like to complete the full Master's, you will complete the above units as well as two additional units: Preparing for your Service Improvement Project: A service improvement project (SIP) aims to better a service or services. You'll learn about an appropriate, systematic and justified methodology in a complex professional area to design an original, intellectually challenging and in-depth SIP action plan for your professional context. Service Improvement Project: You'll show your autonomous and independent ability in a complex professional context to expand or redefine existing knowledge or develop new approaches to service improvement, and then evaluate your SIP's impact. 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. You can register your interest in taking part in this course here. 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. Download the programme specification for MA Social Work (Children and Families). 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.