The delivery of successful health and social care services relies on effective management and strong leadership. This module is designed for anyone who would like to learn more about management and leadership in health and social care, as well as for existing and aspiring managers. It will help you develop the necessary knowledge and analytical skills, as well as providing an overview of the organisational, legal, and policy contexts within which managers operate, focusing on the challenges and opportunities faced in this sector. Throughout the module you apply learning to real-life examples, developing evidence-based strategies for good outcomes for service users.
What you will study
Following an online learning guide, you will work with a combination of print, online resources and audio-visual materials designed to get you thinking and to build your understanding and skills. You will be encouraged and supported to bring together core themes and ideas in a way that is relevant to you and your specific interests. You will be taught quickly and simply how to use ICT to access, analyse and communicate current issues, as well as going online to communicate with other students.
The module is structured around key aspects of leading and managing in health and social care, with four main blocks of study:
Block 1 Approaching leadership and management
You will begin by exploring what it means to be a leader or a manager in health and social care today, examining how the two roles differ yet complement each other, and sometimes overlap. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own skills and experience and what you wish to gain from studying the module.
Block 2 Managing relationships
In this block you explore two constants at the heart of any management role – change and human relationships. You explore how theoretical understanding can support practical attempts to work through complex situations of change with a variety of people, and reflect on how your own approaches to management or leadership influence the relationships you have with others.
Block 3 Creating the caring environment
In Block 3 you move from focusing on relationships between people, to relationships between people and their surrounding environments. Drawing on real-life examples you consider the impact of organisational, environmental and political contexts and concerns for managers in health and social care.
Block 4 Leading for ethical and quality care
Having considered the practical context within which managers and leaders operate, in the final block you are encouraged to question the ethical requirements of good leadership and management in care. You reflect on personal values and ethical practice, legislative requirements and the value of learning from experience and listening to others.
Each week of work will involve core questions, case study materials, key theoretical concepts and activities designed to apply, critique and review the topic. To ensure that your learning can be applied to real-life contexts, two key recurring devices are used throughout the module.
The 6 managers – These six managers, from frontline roles across health and social care in the UK, are real people in real roles. By sharing their experiences through short videos, they help to bring alive the conceptual ideas studied in the module and help you to explore how they might play out in real-life situations.
A toolkit for management and leadership – You will be introduced to a range of tools and skills which can be applied in your own work environment. By the end of the module you will have built up a personal ‘toolkit’ for management and leadership which you take away with you for future use.
Vocational relevance
This module has been designed for people in health and social care working in frontline, administrative and leadership positions. However, you do not have to work in health and social care to take this module as it recognises the interests of those who are not in paid positions hoping to enter the sector or are working in voluntary roles, providing care to friends and families or using services.
Building your career in health and social care is addressed by content that draws from current policy imperatives and reflects employer expectations around skills, knowledge and understanding.
Entry
You are not required to have done any study in this area before, but bear in mind that this is an OU level 3 module. OU level 3 modules build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at OU levels 1 and 2. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU.
Our OU level 1 module Introducing health and social care (K102) and OU level 2 module Critical issues in health and wellbeing (K219) would be ideal preparation. The ICT skills developed in these modules would be an asset, however this OU level 3 module does provide the opportunity to quickly develop the necessary skills if you do not already have them.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please speak to an adviser.
Outside the UK
While the module draws on case studies and examples from the UK, the core ideas and theoretical approaches are relevant to any context.
Qualifications
K313 is an optional module in our:
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this module can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a module towards a qualification if you have already taken another module with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this module, visit our excluded combination finder or check with an adviser before registering.
If you have a disability
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying K313 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
Study materials
What's included
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
- a week-by-week study planner
- course-specific module materials
- audio and video content
- the K313 leadership and management toolkit
- assignment details and submission section
- online tutorial access.
You'll also receive a copy of the core book which accompanies your learning journey – 'Leading, Managing, Caring: understanding leadership and management in health and social care', and will have access to relevant published research which will be available through the University library’s online resources.
Computing requirements
You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.
Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.
To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).
Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.
Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.
It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
We aim to provide face-to-face tutorials in a range of locations students can travel to, though we cannot guarantee availability close to where you live. Online alternatives may also be provided, and recordings of these will typically be made available to students.
Student numbers on the module, and where tutors are based, will affect the locations of where tutorials are held, and what online alternatives are provided. We cannot guarantee that face-to-face tutorials will be hosted in specific locations, or locations that have been used previously. While you're not obliged to attend any of these tutorial events, you are strongly encouraged to take part.
Contact us if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and one End of Module Assessment online through the eTMA system, unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
Future availability
Leadership and management in health and social care (K313) starts once a year – in October. This page describes the module that starts in October 2020, the last time it will start. We will replace it with a new module – Leading, managing, caring (K318) – that will start for the first time in October 2021.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations which are available on our
Student Policies and Regulations website.