• Assessed Readiness for Direct Practice

  An intensive practical skills based module which takes place for 3 days per week for the first 6 weeks of the course. Students will need to attend these day and pass the practical assessment in order to progress to the first placement.

• Social Work Knowledge, Values and Skills

  This module provides an introduction to the underpinning theory for the knowledge, values and skills that a Social Work student will require during their practice. It will run alongside the new module, Assessed Readiness for Direct Practice (ARDP).. As ARDP will provide opportunities for practising required skills, this module will enable students to learn, evaluate and critique the theories that underpin professional social work practice. It will be an opportunity for students to understand how social work as a profession fits into the wider political and social context, aspects of statutory, voluntary and private contributions to the social care field, the perspective of service users and carers and the wide range of theories and skills that are utilised in professional social work.

• Well-being across the Life Course in a Diverse Society

  Understanding what influences people’s ‚well-being’ is a key element in working safely and effectively in social work. This module provides an opportunity for you to examine the various factors that influence well-being. In doing so, it promotes a holistic approach to well-being to enable you to understand the broader socio-economic context in which social work takes place and to develop critical perspectives on interventions which take the various sociological and psychological factors that affect service users’ well-being into account. This necessarily includes exploring critically the perspectives of service users and carers.

• Developing Professional Social Work Practice

  Social workers need to be able to communicate thoughtfully and effectively within the context of professional and inter-professional relationships. This module therefore looks at the principles of good communication, barriers to communication and how to overcome them, as well as various useful communication tools. Linking closely to other modules in the course, this module will also help develop to critical and reflective thinking about how to put these and other skills, knowledge and values into practice. The module therefore includes sessions on: communication, reflection, anti-discriminatory practice, assessing risk and working in partnership with service users and other professionals/agencies. Placement In addition to attending special ‚skills day’ after which you will be assessed as ‚ready for direct practice’, you will also undertake 70 days of practice placement during year 1.

Year two, core modules

• Analytical Thinking and Decision-Making in Professional Social Work

  This module provides a critical examination of key aspects of professional decision-making in social work. As part of this, it invites study of both the principles underpinning and the skills required for effective assessment and intervention in diverse areas of social work, including risk and risk management. Building on the knowledge and skills gained in Year 1, this module further encourages students to reflect critically and analytically on how to practice in ways that are anti-discriminatory and inclusive of service-user perspectives.

• Powers, Duties and Accountability in Professional Social Work

  The aim of this module is to examine the legal and professional context that underpins the provision of social welfare services and is intended to enable you to examine and evaluate the sources of your power and structures of accountability as a local authority social worker. In addition, the module will give priority and emphasis to duties relating to the safeguarding of children and other vulnerable groups. The module will explore the quality assurance mechanisms which apply to professional social work practice, as well as the responsibilities and role boundaries inherent within multi-disciplinary and multi-agency models of working.

• Dissertation

  The Dissertation is of central importance to the Social Work Masters award during which the student will be expected to bring together aspects of learning from previous modules as well as using this learning as the basis for planning, conducting and writing up a research or work-based project of a maximum of 10,000 words. The dissertation is a mainly self-directed module, giving students the opportunity to explore in-depth a topic which they are particularly interested in. Support for students through a series of workshops and via the supervision group. The workshops cover topics such as research ethics, qualitative research methods (e.g. date collectoi8n and data analysis). Students will also be allocated to a supervision group and are expected to liaise closely with their supervisor in developing and completing their project There are, in addition, introductory workshops at the end of the first year. In the course of your studies with us you may generate intellectual property which is defined as an idea, invention or creation which can be protected by law from being copied by someone else. By registering with us on your course you automatically assign any such intellectual property to us unless we agree with the organisation covering the cost of your course that this is retained by them. In consideration of you making this assignment you will be entitled to benefit from a share in any income generated in accordance with our Revenue Sharing Policy in operation at that time. Details of our Intellectual Property Policy and Guidelines can be found on ‚MyAnglia’ under Research, Development & Commercial Services or by contacting this Office for a hard copy.

Core modules available in all years

• Placement

  You will also undertake a 100-day practice placement during year 2.

Please note that you will need to complete all of the above core modules. This course does not have any optional modules. Modules are subject to change.