AS and A Level Health and Social Care

AS and A Level Health and Social Care
The Health & Social Care course has been designed particularly for students who are considering working with people in a variety of health and social care contexts e.g. nursing, midwifery, occupational therapy, para-medic or social worker.

What does the course consist of?
The qualification has an AS/A2 structure. It can take the form of:

• a Single Award AS GCE - (3 units) - Units 1-3
• a Single Award Advanced GCE - (6 units) - Units 1-3, 7-9

AS Single Units

Unit 1 Human growth & development
You will be assessed by an examination

Unit 2 Communication and values
You will be assessed by a portfolio of work

Unit 3 Positive care environments
You will be assessed by a portfolio of work

A2 Single Units

Unit 7 Meeting individual needs
You will be assessed by an examination

Unit 8 Promoting health & well-being
You will be assessed by a portfolio of work

Unit 9 Investigating disease
You will be assessed by a portfolio of work

External assessment will be through written examinations which last from an hour and a half to three hours.
What else do I need to know?
No specialist knowledge or experience is required. All materials will be supplied although the use of additional texts is always recommended. Use of the college library, CD-ROMs, Internet, Intranet and journals is encouraged. Lessons will incorporate note taking, discussion, reporting on video clips and regular tests and practising past exam questions. You will be expected to join the Millennium Volunteers to gain experience working with people throughout the course which you can then use as case studies for your portfolio work.
Health and Social Care combines well with almost any other subjects and the content of the qualification has been devised on the assumption that students will take it alongside other GCSEs, possibly in science-based subjects such as Biology, Psychology or Sociology.
A health screening form will need to be completed, also a Criminal Record Bureau form will be needed because of work placements.