An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.

Managing care is for people who have – or would like to learn about – frontline management roles in a wide range of health and social care settings. It provides the knowledge, skills and analytical tools needed to become an effective manager who is able to use evidence-based strategies for good outcomes for service users. The course provides an overview of the organisational, legal and policy contexts within which managers are operating, and examines in particular the impact of working with partners in order to integrate health and social care provision, exploring the implications for managers. You are encouraged throughout the course to apply your learning to your own experience.

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What you will study

There are many challenges for managers in the current contexts of changing and expanding provision, governmental requirements for integrated partnership working that cross traditional health and social care organisational boundaries, and emphasis on best value and quality. This course will help you to get to grips with this changing world, to improve your knowledge and skills and to understand what makes an effective manager. It will help managers when they are using electronic records and other information technology.

In Scotland, successful completion of this course, together with a relevant professional qualification, meets the registration requirements for registered managers in Health and Social Care. See the Scottish Social Services Council website for registration requirements. In England and Wales, registration requirements are met through successful completion of Leadership and Management for Care NVQ Level 4, or Management NVQ Level 4, together with a relevant professional qualification or NVQ Level 4 in Health and Social Care. K303 provides very relevant underpinning knowledge for the management qualifications.

Successful completion of this course will enable you to:

• understand and critically discuss key values that underpin the activity of the frontline manager in different contexts of care
• appreciate the importance of the views of service users and carers in all aspects of health and social care management
• critically appraise key concepts and theories relevant to the management of practice
• reflect on and critically discuss how managers might be more effective and show leadership for change
• have an overview of current legal, policy and organisational contexts
• explore strategies for working in partnership across agency boundaries for the benefit of service users
• develop skills in key areas of management such as effective communication, managing teams, leadership, supporting evidence-based practice, integrated service provision, information, budgets, transitions and loss, risk, need, protection and promoting others’ professional development.

The teaching is through two learning guides that introduce readings from two main textbooks and a course reader. Skills are developed through activities using audio CDs, a DVD and a CD-ROM, the latter presenting a case study and interactive exercises. As you work through the course, you will develop information technology skills in handling and analysing data using web resources and CD-ROMs. There are opportunities to discuss your learning with other students via online forums and tutorials.

The course is in two equal parts that correspond to the two textbooks and their associated materials and activities.

Learning Guide 1 examines how policy, practice and organisational contexts affect managers. It explores the diversity and complexity of the management task, and the role of the manager in providing ethical care grounded in good practice. There are three blocks of study:

Practice, policy and the law explores what managing to care and to promote social inclusion involves. It reviews what service users say about services, and the manager’s role in consulting users and incorporating views into acceptable outcomes. The effect on managers of a changing social policy environment and ‘managerialism’ is examined, and we introduce key legal concepts that affect the management task.

The contexts of care looks at the manager and the organisation, and how managers can work with different organisational structures and cultures. We explore relationships between people, the places where care takes place, quality, and professional and managerial identity.

People in social care draws on theories of understanding people, and examines ethical managerial practice and dilemmas. We debate the role of the manager in achieving good outcomes for individuals, services and the public; the block ends by considering the relevance of trends in the management of care over the last century for today’s manager, and prospects for the future.

Learning Guide 2 helps managers to define the knowledge and build the skills for managing people and resources to meet the challenges of organising effective care provision. There are three blocks of study:

Managing with knowledge and a vision looks at building on practice skills in the move to a management role, and the challenges of managing the team. What is leadership, and how do you introduce and respond to change?

Managing services for people argues that managers need to base their decisions on evidence and to encourage ‘research-mindedness’ in their teams. It explores working across agency and professional boundaries. Managers have to use and share information ethically, and to make good use of budgets in their control.

Managing learning and development in the team looks at the manager’s role in protection and managing risk, while promoting well-being. This leads on to dealing with, and learning from, mistakes and complaints. We review the effects of loss and life events on those who work with vulnerable people, together with the role of managers in providing effective supervision and helping individuals with their professional development.

Entry

This is a Level 3 course. Level 3 courses build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at Levels 1 and 2. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU. 

If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Preparatory work

You will receive guidance on 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.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.

If you have a disability

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. The printed study materials are available in the DAISY Digital Talking Book format. 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.

Study materials

What's included

Course books, other printed materials, audio CDs, DVD and CD-ROM. 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 provided on the website.

You will need

A DVD player and a CD player. 

Some audio-visual components of this course are delivered on a DVD that will play on a standard DVD player and television. If you want to view this on a computer, it will need a DVD-ROM drive and software for viewing DVDs. The CD-ROM can only be viewed on a PC.

Computing requirements

You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.

• If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
• If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
• If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.

You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.

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. You will be able to discuss the course via an online forum. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. 

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.

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2012 and February 2013 when it will be available for the last time. It will be replaced by Leadership and management in health and social care (K313) in October 2013.

Students also studied

Students who studied this course also studied at some time:

• An introduction to health and social care (K101)
• Promoting public health: skills, perspectives and practice (K311)

How to register

We regret that we are currently unable to accept registrations for this course. Where the course is to be presented again in the future, relevant registration information will be displayed on this page as soon as it becomes available.

Student Reviews

Distance learning

The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.

For more information read Distance learning explained.

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