Foundations for social work practice
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This key introductory Level 1 course is a module of the OU degree in social work. You must be registered for the degree and be sponsored by your employing agency. The course will help develop your knowledge of the key roles of social work, and introduce the social work standards and codes of practice relevant to each UK nation state. It explores ideas about what social work is – using case studies with children, older people, mental-health communities, disabled children, and people with learning disabilities to apply learning to practice contexts. The course includes a 20-day practice learning opportunity under supervision of a practice verifier appointed by your sponsoring agency.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | K113 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 1 |
| SCQF level | 7 |
| FHEQ level | 4 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 8 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| 3 Interactive computer-marked assignments (iCMAs) |
| End-of-module assessment |
| No residential school |
Register for the course
This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.
What you will study
This is an excellent course which – in my experience – has been enjoyed by students and tutor alike (K113 course tutor).
The course helped me to formulate tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and enabled me to look at, reflect, better understand and evaluate my own personal experience and life events (K113 student).
This course is a compulsory module of the honours degrees in social work. In England, it is one of two modules that together make up the first level of the three-level programme, approved by the General Social Care Councils leading to the BA (Hons) Social Work (England). In Scotland, it is one of the three SCQF Level 7 modules approved by the Scottish Social Services Council.
The course has eight blocks, with associated CDs:
Blocks 1 and 2 introduce you to ideas about what social work is and provide a broad framework intended to help you make sense of the ways in which academic learning and your practice relate to each other.
Blocks 3 to 7 are all based on case studies or practice examples. They provide you with an opportunity to see the application and development of the ideas introduced in Blocks 1 and 2.
- Block 3 looks at initial engagement with children
- Block 4 focuses on the assessment and review process using the case study of an older woman in rural Wales
- Block 5 is based on a practice example of a mental-health community resource in Scotland
- Block 6 explores the provision of services for disabled children in an urban context
- Block 7 focuses on the way different sectors in Northern Ireland respond to the needs of people with learning difficulties
- Block 8 concludes the course by drawing together its key themes, and focuses on applying your learning to the context of practice.
The course concentrates on writing about practice, and learning how to apply theoretical learning to practice contexts. It draws upon case-study-based teaching to help you demonstrate an awareness and understanding of diversity and inequality.
In addition, to pass the course, you must complete a period of 20 days preparation for practice under supervision of a practice verifier appointed by your sponsoring agency.
During this course you will develop your ICT skills and can gain marks for this both in continuous assessment and in the end-of-module assessment. There are also online discussions that take place immediately after each workshop to continue your interactions with your tutor and fellow students and develop your online communication skills.
Entry
This is a key introductory Level 1 course. Level 1 courses provide core subject knowledge and study skills needed for both higher education and distance learning, which help you to progress to courses at Level 2.
For this version of the course, you must be:
- registered for the honours degree in social work with the University
- registered as a social work student with the General Social Care Council or the Scottish Social Services Council
- sponsored by your employing agency
- working in a practice context.
The sponsoring agency will provide you with appropriate practice learning opportunities and undertake to allow you one day a week study time for 120 credits study while you are on the programme. (There will be a pro-rata reduction in the entitlement of study time allowed if you are studying less than 120 credits per year). Further information for sponsoring agencies will be available from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
You will receive guidance of how to get started online in your first course mailing. This will provide you with information on using your computer for OU study and working with the Computing Guide. For example, it explains how to access and use your website and online discussion forums. If you have time before the course starts, you can work through this and explore all the online services available to you.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.
You can also find information about accessible study materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials and CDs. You will have access to a website through which teaching and library resources are available. Electronic versions of most of the printed study materials are also provided on the website.
You will need
A CD player.
For more details on the use of computing on this course and the degree in social work you can download the document Use of computing on the Social Work Degree.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer with Microsoft Office installed. The software on this module has some advanced features that only work in the proprietary versions of Microsoft Office. If you don't already have Microsoft Office, you can take advantage of a special educational offer.
If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2005 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running Windows using Boot Camp or similar dual-boot system.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Howe, D A Brief Introduction to Social Work Theory, Palgrave £14.99 - ISBN 9780230233126
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Part of your tuition is delivered online so some of the contact with your tutor will be through email and online discussion forums, although phone communication may also be used. If you are new to the OU, you will find that your tutor is particularly concerned to help you with your study methods. Your tutor will run eight obligatory workshops (usually held on a Saturday). Requests for excusal from a workshop are dealt with by the tutor who is running it. In addition to the eight workshops, you will be expected to participate in your online tutor group discussion forum for workshop learning consolidation exercises. Questions of a professional, social work nature should be directed to your tutor.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
You must submit your end-of-module assessment online.
In addition, to pass the course, your practice verifier must have submitted to the University a completed Confirmation of student’s preparation for practice form (TMA 14).
It is a condition of the course assessment that to pass the course you must not have engaged in behaviour that is confirmed as being damaging or dangerous to service users or to other students or programme providers, or that creates an unacceptable risk to yourself or to others.
Professional recognition
This course is one of a set of modules that together constitute approved programmes leading to social work degrees in England and Scotland. The degrees are endorsed by the General Social Care Council for England and Scottish Social Services Council.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2013. We expect it to be available once a year.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | K113 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 1 |
| SCQF level | 7 |
| FHEQ level | 4 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 8 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| 3 Interactive computer-marked assignments (iCMAs) |
| End-of-module assessment |
| No residential school |
Study explained
- Financial support
- - find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.
Student Reviews
A thought provoking course of which I thoroughly enjoyed. The tutorial support and course materials were excellent. The tutor had ...
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Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this course. The TMA questions - including the examinable essay component - were far too ambiguous; ...
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Course satisfaction survey
See the satisfaction survey results for this course.
Your questions
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Or contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90+44(0) 845 366 60 35
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