MA Social Work in Keele University

The course focuses on developing your skills to engage with a diverse range of people, both adults, and children, to address complex life challenges and enhance wellbeing. This will equip you to work in an exciting profession, promoting the rights and wellbeing of people, families, and communities, through establishing and maintaining the trust and confidence of those people while acting with professional integrity and promoting ethical practice. The social work program meets current Social Work England Qualifying Education and Standards as well as Professional Standards and BASW. The program and is led by research-active academic staff with contributions from social work practitioners, service users, and carers as well as other professionals.

Year 1

• the social context of social work;
• social work values and ethics;
• the legal system; the life course;
• social work with adults;
• social work with children and families;
• interpersonal communication
• professional practice.

In your first year, you must demonstrate readiness for practice before being able to undertake your first assessed practice learning opportunity of 70 days and 30 skill days.

The taught modules are:

• Power and discrimination
• Introduction to legal processes
• Social work theory and methods 1
• Area of practice 1: children and families
• Area of practice 1: adults
• Life-course development
• Personal and Professional Development (70 days’ practice learning and associated assignments)
• Taught element (interpersonal skills, preparation for practice learning)

Year 2

• reflective practice;
• social work research;
• social work with adults;
• social work with children and families;
• social work practice.

Taught Modules include:

• Social work theory and methods 2
• Social work research
• Area of practice 2: children and families (law, disability, mental health, inter-professional working, risk)
• Area of practice 2: adults (law, disability, mental health, inter-professional working, risk)
• Personal and Professional Development (100 days’ practice learning and associated assignments)

Employability

Careers directly related to this degree include:

• Social worker
• Family support worker

Careers where your degree would be useful include:

• Careers adviser
• Community development worker
• Counselor
• Equality, diversity, and inclusion officer
• Youth worker