Are you interested in becoming a Social Worker?
Social worker’ is a protected title, so the routes to qualifying as a social work professional are regulated by the UK care regulators. It’s important to enrol on an ‘approved’ course.
Social workers must have a degree in social work (BA), or master’s degree in social work. A master’s degree is a two-year-long postgraduate course for those with a degree in a different subject. Some universities offer part-time studying.
Experience is an important part of social work qualifications. A work placement forms half of social work courses with academic learning focusing on legislation, ethics and theory. You’ll need some experience of social work or social care when applying to study. This can be paid, voluntary or placement work, or even life experience.
Entry requirements differ from course to course. Generally, you’ll need a minimum of 240 UCAS points: five GCSEs grade A* to C, including English and Maths, and two A-levels.
Visit our page How to become a Social Worker
The Professional Association for Social Work and Social Worker (BASW) has information on What do Social Workers do?
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Open University Traineeship
If you work within Childrens Social Care and are interested in becoming a Social Worker please visit our internal SharePoint Site.
(Please note this is offered to those who are Devon County Council Employees working within Childrens Social Care).
This is in conjunction with the Open University. Once a year we are able to offer a limited number of opportunities for DCC staff for the Traineeship Scheme to help our Employees gain a Social Work qualification. Please note that the scheme is reviewed every year and some of the requirements may change. The council’s position regarding bursaries or study leave will be reviewed as well.
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Student Placements
The Academy provides Social Work students with practice placement opportunities across all sections of Devon’s Children’s Services. This allows them to experience what it’s like to work in a variety of statutory settings. Placements for both under graduate and post graduate students are identified, matched and supported by the Academy team. Please email Childrens Social Care Academy if you have enquiries regarding availability.
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Local Authority Statutory Observations
Children’s Social Care Academy provides placement opportunities for Students who require 6 days of experience in a statutory setting which constitutes an important part of their learning .We encourage our social work staff to become involved which not only enhances the experience of the social work student but provides an important element for staff development. Please email any enquires to Childrens Social Care Academy.
Please remember that these experiences are a crucial learning opportunity for the students and help the University assess the students’ suitability to practice.
We provide a 2 day shadowing opportunity for students in the first year of their study.
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Devon Social Care Jobs
We regularly advertise for opportunities in Adult Care and Health and Children’s Social Care, and all of our latest vacancies can be found on the DevonJobs website.
You can find out more about living and working in Devon as a qualified social care professional by visiting our Working for Devon website.
You may also consider working within an unqualified social care assistant position to work alongside social workers and get a flavour of this career path – at Devon County Council, our assistants are called Social Care Assessors (Adult Care and Health) and Family Practitioners (Children’s Social Care).
