Social Work

Although this course is focussed on social work, you’ll also gain a number of transferable skills.

Graduation doesn’t have to be the end of your time with us. You could choose to continue your academic career with a research programme at ARU, such as the Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Care. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and save £400 on your fees.

We want you to be a step ahead when you graduate, so we offer:

• courses designed with employers
• tutors with professional industry knowledge
• hands-on learning which may include industry-led projects, placements or Professional Experience modules.

Alongside your course, there are lots of other opportunities to build your skills and experience:

• add value to your CV with an ARU Certificate of Professional Development
• get involved in a thriving volunteering programme
• develop your brilliant business ideas
• work with businesses to make a social impact.

We’re here to help you develop your CV and find that all-important role after graduation. Our Employability Service offers tailored career appointments, advice on writing your CV, help to complete job applications, and much more. You’ll have 24/7 access to an online Careers Centre too, which is packed with useful resources.

The support continues after you graduate, with lifelong access to our Alumni Career Centre.

Find out more about careers support at ARU.

Placements are an essential part of your Social Work degree. They’re a chance to put what you’ve learnt into practice.

You’ll spend 70 days on placement in Year 1 and 100 days in Year 2. Placements include experience of statutory work, children’s services and adult services. You’ll be working directly with service users.

In Year 1, there are opportunities to advocate for service users, promoting service user voice and encourage independent choices. You'll undertake tasks such as interviewing service users to gather information, reviewing care plans, undertaking home visits, and needs versus risk assessments to promote relationship-based practice.

In Year 2, you’ll undertake more complex tasks which may include completing a single assessment or life story work if working in a children’s team or undertaking a Mental Capacity Act (2005) assessment if working in an adults' team. You'll develop an ability to manage and be accountable for your own social work practice, making use of supervision and support.

Placement locations and travel
It’s likely that you’ll have to travel as part of your placement.

Most of our placement providers are within commutable distance of our campuses in Chelmsford and Peterborough. This means your placement location shouldn’t be more than 1.5 hours of travel from your home.

Our partners include Peterborough City Council, Cambridge County Council, Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council. We also place students regularly with Suffolk County Council and Norfolk County Council. There may be a very limited number of placements in the London area.

If you live outside East Anglia, travel time to placement will be measured from the campus where you’re studying.

You’ll need your own transport to visit service users in the community, where public transport may not be available.

How much time will I spend on placement?
You’ll spend 70 days on placement in Year 1 and 100 days in Year 2.

Typically, in Year 1 you’ll have three days of lectures a week on campus, with the rest of your time spent in independent study or on placement.

In Year 2, you’ll spend one day per week on campus, and 3-4 days per week on placement.

Support on placement
While on placement, you’ll be supported by a Practice Educator and a Placement Tutor.

You’ll be assigned a Practice Educator (PE), a social worker who’s trained to teach and assess students on placements. They meet the Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS). Their role is to support you in integrating theory and knowledge from university into practice. They’re also responsible for assessing your practice.

The Placement Tutor (PT) is also an important source of support while you’re on placement. They’re a member of staff at ARU – usually academics in the Social Work team, so you’ll know them.

Your PT attends meetings to make sure placements are set up in a way that meets your learning needs, and the University’s requirements. They’re your first point of contact for all placement-related matters, and are here to support you if you have any difficulties during a placement.

Assessments mirror real-world situations, guiding you to be open to feedback – and learning how to give feedback in a way that is supportive and helpful.

We use case scenarios to expose you to real-life practice examples and simulate knowledge and skills required for the job, both during placements and once qualified. Assessments will foster literacy and use learning outcomes and criteria to guide preparation and self-assessment/evaluation of work.