大象传媒

Begin your journey to become a social worker making positive changes in peoples lives. Support diverse groups of people of all ages, and promote human rights and social justice in a flexible, varied and challenging career in which you will learn to be autonomous so you can progress in your chosen field.

Course overview

Improving lives

Social work focuses on improving the lives and wellbeing of adults, children and families, and helping to protect the most vulnerable in society. You may have to make difficult decisions, sometimes when there are competing 'rights' and needs. You will work with a diverse range of individuals and groups to assist them through difficult circumstances. It could be helping them to address issues currently affecting their lives such as trauma, poverty or social disadvantage, organising specific support or making referrals to other services.

Preparing for a career as a social worker

Social work at Keele gives you a solid grounding in this professional area of study and supports the development of key professional skills and values ready for your future career as a Social Worker. The programme has been carefully designed to allow you to apply the course theory into a range of exciting, varied and specialist social work occupations in the UK and potentially internationally.

You will explore child, adult and family social work, and cover key elements of the profession including law, social policy, ethics and values, and the socio-economic contexts of social work. You will investigate the impact of inequality and the disadvantages in society around age, race and sexuality. You will examine anti-oppressive and non-discriminatory approaches in social work whilst developing your communication, assessment and decision making skills.

Placements

We have excellent relationships with our partners who provide us with placement opportunities. These include local authorities in the West Midlands and Staffordshire, and voluntary sector organisations.

Foundation year

Our Foundation Year provides an excellent alternative route to Keele, providing a unique opportunity to better prepare for your chosen degree, and with guaranteed entry onto your undergraduate course once you successfully complete your Foundation Year.

This extra year of study can improve your academic skills, expand your subject knowledge, give you a better understanding of higher education and, perhaps most importantly of all, build your confidence.

Your future career

95% of Keele students are in employment or further study within 15 months of finishing their studies (HESA Graduate Outcomes, 2019/20)

There are a range of social work career opportunities open to you once you qualify. You will be able to apply your knowledge and expertise acquired on the course to work for a local authority, the NHS or in the voluntary sector. You could undertake employment based, or employer sponsored further training or specialise in areas like child protection or mental health. Alternatively, you could use your academic and placement learning in a range of other settings such as in support or project worker roles, in management and leadership roles or undertake additional training to work as a qualified counsellor or complete further study.