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Health & Social Care

BSc (Hons) Social Work

Start Date: September 2025
Site: College Main Site

Course Overview

The BSc (Hons) Social Work is a three-year, full-time course that will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need for a successful career in social work, supporting people through challenging times. This includes safeguarding, care, and crisis intervention, to help bring about positive change in circumstances and wellbeing.

Delivered at Yeovil College University Centre, this course is Social Work England approved. This course enables graduates to apply to Social Work England for registration as a Social Worker. The course also benefits from strong links with Somerset County Council.

The programme covers the range of social work specialities: children,families and young people; adults; adult social care; mental health; substance misuse and social work law. As well as being taught by social work experts, you will learn by working with children, families, adults, and vulnerable people. You will gain real experience by shadowing social workers and undertaking placements – meaning you will help to change lives even during the course of your study. Working with organisations such as statutory social work teams, substance misuse charities, homeless hostels, and children's centres, you will draw on the knowledge of experienced practitioners in the field. There are even opportunities to visit court hearings to see how social work law is applied and contested.

This course is available on a full-time basis and is taught in-person at our Yeovil College campus. The full-time course is studied over 3 academic years, and students are typically timetabled for three days per week, although applicants should note that the programme also includes a 70 day placement at Level 5 and a 100 day placement at Level 6 where students will be required to undertake a full-time placement at their allocated provider.

Work Experience & Industry Placements

Supported professional practice is a core part of the course and you can undertake work placements and shadowing experiences within the Somerset area. We have strong connections with Somerset County Council who are key employers of social workers locally, as well as a range of third sector providers. To become qualified, students must have completed a minimum of 170 placement days and 30 skills days.

There is an expectation that you can travel to your placements via public transport or your own private transport, due to the locality of the county.

Qualification Gained

BSc (Hons) Degree in Social Work, awarded by the University of Gloucestershire, and regulated by the Office for Students.

After The Course

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be a qualified Social Worker and can apply to register with Social Work England. This course would prepare students well to work across a range of Social Work specialisms, including children and families, adult social care, and mental health. Previous students have gone on to work across a range of both local authority and third sector roles.

Upon successful completion, students would also be eligible to apply for further study, for example a Master’s Degree in a relevant field.

What Will I Learn

You will study a range of units that will develop your specialist knowledge and skills. Modules currently offered include:

Level 4

  • SW4001: Law and Social Policy
  • SW4002: Social Work Skills, Methods, and Interventions
  • SW4003: Development over the Lifespan
  • SW4004: Ethics, Equality and Diversity
  • SW4005: Introduction to Professional Social Work
  • SW4006: Theories for Social Work

Level 5

  • SW5001: Practice Placement (70 days)
  • SW5009: Rights, Justice, and Wellbeing
  • SW5008: Professional Knowledge
  • SW5006: Context and Organisations

Level 6

  • SW6001: Practice Placement (100 days)
  • SW6002: Children, Young People and Families
  • SW6003: Social Work with Adults
  • SW6004: Social Work and Mental Health
  • SW6005: Professional Identities within Integrated Services
  • SW6006: Dissertation
  • SW6009: Professional Leadership

Alongside developing a range of subject-specific skills, this course also gives you the opportunity to develop important transferable skills such as critical analysis, academic writing, time management, and communication.

Please be aware that modules studied may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, in response to student or stakeholder feedback, or as a result of regulatory body requirements. However, no significant changes to modules would be implemented without student consultation and feedback. Enrolled students can always find the most up-to-date information about their modules and who is teaching them in their course handbook.

Our Lecturers

The course is taught by well-qualified Social Work England registered lecturers who are dedicated to ensuring student success through effective curriculum delivery and high-quality pastoral support.?The team includes staff with relevant academic qualifications and sector expertise, and a range of guest speakers add a layer of expertise to the delivery team.

Teaching Learning and Assessment

Learning will be achieved through a combination of class-based sessions, group activity, and independent study. Learning is interactive with lots of group work, discussion and debate, role plays and case study projects. We have a supportive social work learning community which includes students, staff, service users, carers, and practitioners.

During year one of the course, you will be expected to be in university for a minimum of three full days, with the remaining days being self-directed study. During year two you will complete a 70 day placement during semester one, and be expected to be in university full-time in semester two. During your final year you will be expected to be in university full-time during semester one, and completing a 100 day full-time placement during semester two.

As with all higher education programmes, students are required to take ownership of their learning and development, and should therefore expect to spend time studying with independence outside of lectures. Time spent studying independently may include reading journal articles and relevant books, undertaking research, and completing assignments by set deadlines.

As a rough guide, between timetabled sessions and independent work a student should expect to spend around 10 hours studying for each credit they undertake. A full-time student will typically undertake 120 credits per academic year.

Course Expenses

The fees for the BSc (Hons) Social Work programme are set by the University of Gloucestershire. Students should therefore consult the University of Gloucestershire's fees information to confirm tuition fees for this course.

Students should note that they will be expected to cover their own costs for travel to and from placement, and that placements may be allocated within a 50 mile radius of the College.

Entry Requirements

Please be aware that any offer of a place would be subject to satisfactory DBS disclosure.

Entry Requirements: Typical entry requirements are 104 UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) tariff points. These could come from a relevant BTEC Level 3 qualification, a relevant T Level, an A Level profile that demonstrates strong performance in relevant subject areas, or other Level 3 qualifications such as an International Baccalaureate or an Access to HE (Higher Education) Diploma. Grade 4 (C) or above in GCSE English and GCSE Maths (or equivalent) are required.

Mature Applicants: We welcome applications from mature students (aged 21 and over as of 1st September in the academic year of admission) and do not necessarily require the same academic qualifications as school leaving applicants. Mature students requesting contextual admission are required to provide details of their relevant prior work or study experience, and to also undertake a pre-entry admissions assessment to ensure there is suitable grounds to suggest they are academically ready to begin the programme and there is a reasonable expectation that they will succeed in their studies. Please email university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk to find out more.

International Applicants: International applicants will be required to evidence English language skills - this could be an IELTS score of 7.0, with a minimum score of 7.0 in each component, a grade 4 in GCSE English (or equivalent), or having recently completed a Level 3 qualification taught and assessed in the English language. Find out more about English Language Entry Requirements on the University of Gloucestershire's website or get in touch via university.centre@yeovil.ac.uk or call 01935 845454.

Interviews: As part of the admissions process, applicants who meet the entry criteria for the course will be invited to attend an admissions interview with a member of staff from the course they are applying to. More information about the interview process can be found on the How to apply page.

How To Apply

To study full-time, please apply through UCAS (University of Gloucestershire - campus name: Yeovil College, Campus code: E, Institution code: G50, Course code for BSc (Hons) Social Work: L503).