Postgraduate apprenticeships provide new route into social work

A new route has opened up to become a social worker in England with the launch of postgraduate apprenticeships.

Three master’s apprenticeship courses have been approved by Social Work England with a further five universities being inspected by the regulator this year in order to be approved and another four course providers due to be inspected next year.

The development means that social care staff who already have degrees will be able to train to become social workers more quickly than the standard three years for an undergraduate apprenticeship.

As with other apprenticeships, they will be supported by their employers, with their training financed through the apprenticeship levy, and be paid a salary.

The University of Sunderland’s postgraduate diploma will take two years to complete, as will the University of Central Lancashire’s MA social work degree apprenticeship. Birmingham City University’s postgraduate diploma will take 27 months.

The University of East Anglia is currently awaiting a decision on approval from Social Work England for its postgraduate apprenticeship, which would take 22 months to complete.

Employer backing for postgraduate apprenticeships

The development of postgraduate apprenticeships comes on the backing of strong support from employers.

“Apprenticeships have become more popular with employers,” said David Childs, head of college, education and social work at Birmingham City University. “They have recognised it helps them in developing a grow-your-own approach.

“A lot of them have looked at the staffing base they have and some of them are degree holders, in which case they wouldn’t do an undergraduate qualification in social work.”

He said he was expecting to have about 20 students on the first cohort of the postgraduate apprenticeship programme.

Apprenticeship course ‘fills much needed gap’

The University of Central Lancashire’s (UClan) MA apprenticeship programme is due to start this September.

Aidan Worsley, professor of social work at UClan, said: “Social work staff at the university did one of the first pieces of research around apprenticeships and found that many students on the undergraduate course were actually already qualified at that level.

“This MA apprenticeship fills a much needed gap in workforce development, meeting the needs the experienced but differently qualified practitioners across social care – and also the needs of employers looking to support staff in developing the best practice across a wide range of services.”

Building on existing knowledge

Steph Downey, service director for adult social care at Gateshead Council, said her authority was looking to support apprentices to do the postgraduate diploma at Sunderland University.

Downey, who is also chair of the North East Social Work Alliance teaching partnership, said a lot of people interested in doing social work apprenticeships, including those already working for councils, had degrees in related subjects, such as psychology or sociology.

“We recognised that, particularly for those colleagues, being able to do an apprenticeship as a master’s level was more attractive and meant they could qualify more quickly,” she said. “They’re building on their developed academic experience. It was about how we give them the practice experience through the apprenticeship.”

Downey said she had been impressed with social workers who had trained through the undergraduate apprenticeship route at Gateshead, saying they had “really hit the ground running with their ASYE”.

Diversity of routes into social work

The addition of postgraduate apprenticeships has added to the diversity of routes into social work, which comprise:

1. Undergraduate degrees – these generally take three years (full-time), are liable for tuition fees of £9,250 a year, with bursaries of £4,862.50 or £5,262.50 (in London) a year for most, but not all, students in their second and third years.
2. Postgraduate degrees – these generally take two years (full-time), though some courses allow students to gain a postgraduate diploma in about 18 months, while there are two accelerated master’s courses in social work that take a similar amount of time to the diplomas. Most students receive a bursary of £3,362.50 or £3,762.50 (in London) a year, plus a £4,052 annual contribution to their tuition fees, covering about half the cost.
3. Undergraduate apprenticeships – these generally take three years, with training fully funded and apprentices able to earn a salary.
4. Postgraduate apprenticeships – these are similar to undergraduate apprenticeships but take less than three years. Like undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and undergraduate apprenticeships, these are not targeted at any particular sector of social work.
5. Step Up to Social Work – a 14-month postgraduate programme delivered by partnerships of universities and councils/children’s trusts, which arrange placements for trainees – who are expected to have experience of working with children. Tuition fees, along with bursaries of £19,833, are funded by the Department for Education (DfE), which sees the programme as a way of recruiting more children’s social workers.
6. Approach Social Work (delivered by Frontline) – following an initial five-week summer course, participants (who must be graduates) are placed within small teams in local authorities or children’s trusts and qualify in a year, before doing two further years during which they work towards a master’s while working as social workers. Fees and bursaries of £18,000 or £20,000 (in London) are covered by the DfE and the scheme, including its curriculum, is geared towards training people to work in child protection.
7. Think Ahead – Similarly to Frontline, graduate participants are placed in small teams in NHS trusts or councils, following a five-week summer course, and qualify within a year. They then work towards a master’s in year two. The scheme is geared towards training people to work in mental health social work, with funding for bursaries of £18,250 or £20,250 (in London) and tuition fees provided by the Department of Health and Social Care.