Description
This qualification is only available until 31 December 2017.
To claim this qualification, you must complete the required 360 credits by this date.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for this qualification, please contact the Centre for Qualifications and Ceremonies on +44 (0)1908 653003 or by email.
Social workers support and protect some of society’s most deprived and vulnerable people. It’s immensely challenging and rewarding work, requiring a high level of motivation and commitment. You also need a qualifying degree.
The Open University in Wales offers a work-based distance learning route to the BA (Hons) Social Work (Wales) for students working (paid or unpaid) in social care in Wales. The degree has been approved by Care Council for Wales (CCW) and once you’ve successfully completed your studies, you’ll be entitled to apply for registration with the CCW as a social worker. This degree course is available to you if you’re working in a social care agency in Wales, whether or not you’re being funded by your employer. The Open University provides study materials and tutorial support, organises workshops and manages the assessment procedures. Practice learning opportunities are arranged between your employer (if you are sponsored) and the OU in collaboration with a Local Authority.
If you are Welsh speaking, you will be encouraged to use the Welsh language in your studies and you may submit your assignments in Welsh.
Studying through work-based and distance learning, you’ll develop the knowledge and practical skills that underpin effective practice, and the ability to deal with difficult and sensitive issues while working within a complex professional system. Towards the end of your studies, specialist options will enable you to focus on particular client groups and practice areas.
The requirements for the degree in England and Scotland are different and exact arrangements can be found in the descriptions for the BA (Hons) in Social Work (England) (B32) and the BA (Hons) in Social Work (Scotland) (B41). Please note that a BA (Honours) Social Work in Northern Ireland is not available.
Sponsored route: Responsibility for your learning is shared between your employer and the OU. You will remain in employment while you study and your employer is recommended to give you between 18 and 36 days study leave during the academic year (the amount of study leave required depending on the number of modules being studied in a particular year). Employers who sponsor students are responsible for the payment of student fees to the university.
Non-sponsored route: You are responsible for your own learning, and will be required to complete an agreement at the beginning of the programme outlining what is required of you. As with sponsored students you can remain in employment; however, you need an agreement from your employer to release you for the two practice learning opportunities. You are responsible for the payment of your fees to the University. Help towards costs are available from different sources, including the CCW bursary scheme. For further information, contact The Open University in Wales 029 2047 1170.
The levels within the qualification must be completed in sequential order. More information about progression rules can be found in the regulations.
Planning your studies
Although some modules in the programme are available to all students, the full degree course is restricted to students working and/or living in Wales.
For sponsored students entry has to be made through the employing agency.
Non-sponsored students must apply via The Open University in Wales on 029 2026 2728.
To study this degree you must:
- have a qualification in Maths and Welsh or English (this must be equivalent to grade C at GCSE); {An introduction to health and social care [K101]} can be undertaken prior to entering the programme as evidence of your competence in English
- show that you can communicate clearly in spoken and written English or Welsh
- demonstrate that you have the appropriate personal and intellectual qualities to be social workers
- take part in an interview
- have an acceptable Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau and a medical check
- if you are a non-sponsored student, have successfully completed the Certificate of Higher Education in Social Care (Wales) (C76). Following selection you then enter the degree at Level 2.
Whether or not you are new to study or the OU, you must start at Level 1. For this degree that would mean starting with {An introduction to health and social care [K101]}.
If you are a non-sponsored student you should study Foundations for social work practice (KZW113) after K101 to complete the Level 1 study before progressing to Level 2.
There is a time limit for studying this degree. You must obtain the required 360 credits within eight years of starting the first module and by 31 December 2017.
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 120 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you (with the exception of an undergraduate-level qualification of less than 120 credits). If you have graduated with an OU BA degree without honours and are continuing your studies on to honours, this minimum requirement is reduced to 60 credits. Before being awarded any intermediate qualifications on the way to your OU honours degree, we advise you to check that you’ll have sufficient new credits to qualify for your degree.
Career relevance and employability
An honours degree in social work is now the professional qualification required for all social workers in the UK. Once you’ve successfully completed the degree course, you’ll be entitled to apply to register with the Care Council for Wales as a social worker.
The degree will prepare you for practice as you begin your career as a qualified social worker. You’ll have gained the skills needed to work with individuals, families, carers, groups, communities and other professionals, and be able to demonstrate to employers your professional competence in social work practice. Employers sponsoring staff on this degree have commented that:
- OU graduates are enthusiastic social workers who are well equipped to provide high quality interventions with clients
- a very high percentage of their OU qualified staff remain within their organisation and progress to more senior roles.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
For this 360-credit honours degree you require:
240 credits from the following compulsory modules:
Level 1 compulsory modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- An introduction to health and social care (K101)
|
60 |
|
- Foundations for social work practice (KZW113)
|
60 |
|
Level 2 compulsory modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Applied social work practice (KZW216)
|
60 |
|
- The law and social work in England and Wales (K270)*see below
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 1 the discontinued module K100/KZX100
And 60 credits from the following optional modules:
Level 3 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Adulthood, ageing and the life course (K319)
|
60 |
|
- Leadership and management in health and social care (K313)
|
60 |
|
- Working together for children (KE312)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, you may be allowed to count the discontinued module K302, K303, K309, KE308 in place of one of the above options.
And 60 credits from the following compulsory module:
Level 3 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Critical social work practice (KZW315)
|
60 |
|
* If you complete the degree before the end of 2015 (and within the eight year time limit from when you started)
You will be allowed to use the following Level 2 modules in place of K270 (subject to module availability). Due to the discontinuation of some of these modules (K269, K222, K224), this route is only recommended for students who have already started Level 2 study from the list of modules below. If you have not already started Level 2 study for this degree, it is strongly recommended that you pursue the structure stated above.
30 credits from the following compulsory module:
Level 2 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- The discontinued 30-credit module K269
-
|
And 30 credits from the following optional modules:
Level 2 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Death and dying (K260)
|
30 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, you may be allowed to count the discontinued modules K202, K204, K222, K224, K225, K268 or K257, K272, in place of one of the above options.
Due to the Care Council for Wales’ requirements for sequential study, any open modules undertaken prior to selection onto the degree, can be ‘counted in’ with additional study to ensure the knowledge is current. For more information, please contact The Open University in Wales on 029 2026 2728.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of modules so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.
The Care Council for Wales regulations do not permit holders of the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) to carry forward any credit for the Practice Learning modules to the Social Work degree. However, present holders of the DipSW can top up to achieve the academic qualification BA (Hons) Social Work Studies by studying a further 120 credits at Level 3. For a full description of the top-up route and details of how to apply for it, please look at the description for the BA (Hons) Social Work Studies (B59).
Classification of your degree
On successful completion of the necessary modules, you will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Social Work (Wales) degree. You will be entitled to use the letters BA (Hons) after your name, and to apply to the Care Council for Wales for formal registration as a social worker.
Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class, upper second-class, lower second-class or third-class. The class of degree is determined by the grades you achieve in 240 credits from graded OU modules above Level 1, of which at least 120 credits must be from modules at Level 3.
You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification