This programme is approved as a final year award, providing those with a professional qualification in social work at Level II¹ with the opportunity to obtain a first degree (level III).

It is in the process of approval by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) within its revised Post-Qualifying Framework for Social Work Education and Training (2005)².  This identifies a first level of award - Specialist level - to be undertaken by social work practitioners following qualification, focussing on the development of competence in depth in a specific area of practice and assessed at Level III.  The BSc(Hons) Professional Studies (Child Care) programme has been designed to meet the professional requirements and standards at Specialist level in work with children, young people, their families and carers and will therefore be of interest not only to those wishing to 'top up' their professional qualification, but also to holders of the qualifying degree in social work as they begin their professional development in a specific work setting.

¹  For example, Certificate in Social Work (CSS); Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW); Diploma in Social Work (DipSW)
²  PQ Framework for SW Education & Training, GSCC (2005) London

Students will normally be sponsored and supported on the programme by their employing agency and will undertake academic study on a part-time basis over 24 months, commencing in September each year.  The programme comprises six 20-credit modules, providing a coherent and progressive learning experience, which integrates academic study with work-based learning in discrete and manageable blocks:

• Teaching will consist of a mixture of lectures, presentations, small group/work discussions, exercies and plenary sessions in which students are expected to contribute their own ideas and experiences and to question and evaluate the issues under discussion.  Students will normally be expected to undertake some preparation for each session which may involve reading, gathering information, completing exercises, etc.  Students are expected to accept considerable responsibility for their own learning, to share their personal and professional practice experiences and to apply that experience to the topics under discussion. 
• Blended learning will be an important element of delivery, making use of the University's Student Portal, which provides access to a range of distance materials and library facilities from any PC in the world which is connected to the internet.  This approach will allow students to undertake substantial parts of their learning at a time and place which is convenient for them, helping to balance work, home and programme commitments and promoting accessbility for those who work part-time. 
• A particular development of the programme curriculum in 2006 has been the introduction of a Project Module SCW3005, which offers students the opportunity to undertake a piece of work with a specific agency focus or to design a small work-based project around an area of their own particular interest.  The project will be individually identified in the early stages of the programme so that learning can be tailored to meet the needs of specific workplaces and settings, e.g. youth offending, fostering, adoption, care leaving, residential/day services, etc.
• The first module, SCW3001 will specifically link to the Professional Development Plan identified by each student emerging from the new qualifying degree in social work, to emphasise the link between one award and the next as part of a process of continuing professional development.

To be eligible to register for the BSc Professional Studies programme, prospective students must hold a Certificate in Social Service (CSS), Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW) or Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) or their predecessor equivalents, or the new Social Work degree or, in the case of social workers trained abroad, a letter of comparability with the CQSW, or a letter of verification issued by the General Social Care Council.

Credit for prior learning, whether certificated (APCL) or experiential (APEL), will be an important element of this programme, building as it does on an existing professional framework for qualified social workers and prospective students are encouraged to contact Helen Donnellan, PQ Partnerships Manager (tel: 01752 233869, E-Mail: helen.donnellan@plymouth.ac.uk) for individual advice and details of the application and AP(E)L claim procedure.

Successful completion of programmes at Specialist level will provide practitioners with entry to post-graduate study, at the two higher levels within the professional framework and which, at the University of Plymouth, will be integrated into the new Peninsula Postgraduate Health Institute.  Its partnership arrangements include statutory and non-statutory agencies, NHS trusts and the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and provide the opportunity for study at M level within an attractive, high quality, multi-professional learning environment.