Society, Health and Development Level 3 Diploma

Is this subject right for me?
Are you interested in working in any of the following areas?

• Social work
  
• Nursing
  
• Probation
  
• Youth work
  
• Community work
  
• Youth justice
  
• Police
  
• Criminal justice
  

Do you think that you would like a course that gives you:

• Work experience that is linked to your learning.
  
• Learning that is applied to a range of real life work settings including crimi-
  nal justice, social care and health.
  
• Clear progression routes into professional training at Higher Education original directly into employment with further training.
  
• Assessments which include a mixture of exams, coursework and an ex tended project on a topic chosen by you.
  
• The opportunity to reflect and plan your future employment and educational goals as part of your course.
  
• A focus on skills that are essential for employment.
  he opportunity to study a work related course which incorporates another relevant A Level subject such as Sociology, Psychology, Law or Politics.

What is the course content?

â€OEDiplomas provide flexibility and choice for learners, through a mix of traditional and work relevant learning. They have been developed in collaboration with employers to ensure their relevance, and are valued by employers and Higher Education institutions, as their combination of essential skills, relevant experience and applied learning provides an excellent grounding for careers†DFES

At BHASVIC the Diploma will provide you with the opportunity to pursue a course which allows you to develop an understanding of the different sectors including health, community, justice, social care and child and young people. The principal

learning of the course is the equivalent of two A levels and you will also study another A level as part of the Diploma and an AS Extended project (which is incorporated into the course).

What sort of topics will I cover?

• How do our own values and beliefs affect the way that we work with people? Why is it important to respect people†s individual beliefs and to ensure that people are dealt with equally?
  
• What are the features of effective communication? What barriers are there to communicating effectively with others?
  
• What are the different services locally and nationally relating to children, health, social care, mental health and criminal justice? How do they operate? How do they work together?
  
• How do laws such as the Criminal Justice Act or government reforms such as the Every Child Matters green paper affect these services.
  
• Why is it important to reflect on our own strengths and weaknesses and develop our skills and abilities. How do we make plans to develop our skills and evaluate how successful we are at improving them?

How will the course be structured?

Principal Learning - 6 units (2 exams and 4 portfolios)
Learning will be applied to all four sectors
Project - Extended project focused on a topic of your choice
(must be linked to current learning, future education or career plans)
Functional skills - IT / Maths / English skills will be incorporated into the
principal learning
Work experience - At least 20 days in 2 relevant work placements. One of your units of assessment will be specifically based on this work. Your 1st year placement will be with the NHS Trust
Another relevant A level qualification - See suggestions below .

What subjects does the Diploma go well with?

Sociology â€" the study of society. This has relevant units on understanding the family, youth and culture, crime and deviance, social research, and inequality and difference in contemporary Britain.

Psychology - The science of mind and behaviour with relevant units on child development, research methods, social psychology and understanding mental health.

Law - This focuses on the law making process, the structure of the legal system, the concepts of law as well as specific areas of law including criminal law.

Politics - Covers issues such as how is the UK governed, what are the channels of communication between the government and the people, what are the characteristics of the main political ideologies. In the second year a particular focus is given to US politics.

What are the entry requirements?

The entry requirements are the same as for other A level programmes of study, namely 5 A-C grades at GCSE including a C in English Language.

Students who have studied the Diploma, Higher Level (Level 2) and have gained a Grade C in the Principal Learning will also qualify.