Social Work Careers

Thinking about a career in social work? Read our FAQ to find out more.

What is social work?

Social work is a profession that is centred around people – from babies through to older people. The profession works to protect vulnerable people, enhance relationships and help families to stay together where possible and enable people to live fulfilled lives as independently as possible. The profession works closely with other professions such as education, health and probation services. Whereas professionals who work for the health profession work for the NHS, professionals working in social work are employed by adult or children’s services, which were formerly social services, under local government or in the voluntary or private sector. People working in social work may be based in councils visiting families in their homes, voluntary or charitable organisations, private organisations, schools, hospitals or other settings.

What is a social worker?

Social workers work with individuals and families to help improve outcomes in their lives. This may be helping to protect vulnerable people from harm or abuse or supporting people to live independently. Social workers are trained and qualified with a Degree in Social Work, or a Diploma of Social Work (which now no longer exists, having been replaced by the degree). Social workers support people, act as advocates and direct people to the services they may require. Social workers often work in multi-disciplinary teams alongside health and education professionals. They have to be registered (with the General Social Care Council (England); the Care Council for Wales; the Northern Ireland Social Care Council or Scottish Social Services Council) and adhere to a professional code of practice. Those social workers who do not adhere to the codes of practice face a conduct hearing and could be struck off the register and not allowed to practice as a social worker. This ensures that people using social work services – or service users as they are also known – can have faith in the professionals entrusted to work with them.

Social workers work with a variety of people including:

vulnerable older people
children with disabilities
teenagers with mental health problems
young offenders
adults with learning disabilities
people with alcohol or other addictions
refugees and asylum seekers
people who are socially excluded

Social workers usually have a ‘caseload’ – a number of cases of individuals/families who they work with at any one time. Their work ,entails visits to service users, assessments, organising packages of support, making recommendations or referrals to other services and agencies, keeping detailed records and participating in multi-disciplinary team meetings.

Why become a social worker?

Many people go into social work because they want to ‘make a difference’. They want to work with people and help them to access services they may need. They work to signpost people to the most appropriate services following assessments. People wanting to be social workers need to be able to manage a, sometimes heavy, workload and manage their time effectively. They also need to keep effective notes on their cases for other professionals to be able to access and understand for the best outcomes of the service user.

Qualifications

Social work degree

In September 2004, a three-year social work degree was put in place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish government introduced a four year degree. The degree programmes replaced the two-year Diploma in Social Work with the aim of raising standards of practice in social work and boosting the profession.

People wanting to undertake the social work degree need to show that they have an understanding of social work and will need some experience of social work or social care prior to studying. This experience can be achieved through paid-for work, work placements or settings, life experience (some people may have been a full-time carer to a friend or relative at home – see section on carers, in our FAQ’s, below, which has given them an insight into social work) or volunteering. It is also possible to study while you work (see section on part-time studying).

On the degree course, you will learn about the role of social work and the variety of legislation which is applicable to social work, ethics and values. There is a big emphasis on practical learning and a 200-day placement is part of the course in order for you to put your theoretical learning into practice.

Social workers need skills in problem-solving, communication, working with others and patience. On the course you will learn about law, partnership working, assessment, intervention, mental health and disability issues.

The entry requirement for each course differs, so you need to research what the minimum requirement for the course is at each higher education institution and in each UK country. As a rule of thumb in England you will need 5 GCSE’s grade A* to C, including English and Maths, and 2 A-levels, but the requirement can be higher in other parts of the UK. In Scotland, the minimum entry criteria for the degree tends to be 4 Highers and in Northern Ireland, 3 B-Grade A-levels or higher.

Post graduate Masters degree

If you have a degree in a different subject, some universities offer a shorter post-graduate course leading to a Masters degree which will allow you to practise social work.

The Masters degree is usually two years long and so people on the course go on to their practice placement fairly soon into their course. It is therefore vital that people undertaking the course have a good understanding of what social work entails.

Part-time studying

It is possible to study part-time for a social work degree while you are working. However, it is important to remember that entry requirements must still be met and the 200-day practice placement must still be completed so employers need to be aware of this prior to embarking on the course to make sure they are happy with the arrangement. It is therefore easier to study part-time if you are already working in the social work field. You may also be able to apply for a specific sponsorship of trainee scheme with a local authority or voluntary organisation.

Social work courses

There are plans to change the social work degree from 2013 onwards. There will be an update shortly on what the proposed changes will mean for those wishing to apply to social work courses. For now, however, please follow the links below:

Bursaries/financial help

The Department of Health introduced a bursary scheme to encourage people to study social work.

Find out more information and details about eligibility, click here:
Information about the Social Work Bursary Scheme in Wales can be found here
Click here for the addresses to find out more information about bursaries in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
There is also information about planning for funding education here
For more information about student loans click here
BASW’s Social Workers’ Educational Trust provides small grants to qualified Social Workers wishing to undertake post-qualifying training.

Children’s services/adults services

England

Under the Children Act 2004, there was a requirement in England for a Children’s Services Director to be created. This meant that social services split from having responsibility for children’s and adults’ services to children’s services aligned with education, and adults’ services aligned typically with health services. A Director of Children’s Services heads the children’s department and a Director of Adults’ Services heads the adults’ services department and therefore has overall responsibility for this area.

Social workers tend to specialise in either children’s or adults’ services.

If you are working in children’s services, you may have a role:

working with children in care (also known as looked-after children – children who are in local authority care)
helping children with the transition from being in care to living independently
working with young offenders who may have broken the law
providing support to families to keep them living together
assisting families where children are avoiding school or truanting
managing adoption or fostering processes

If you are working in adults’ services you may have a role:

working with people with mental health problems
working with people with learning disabilities
working in residential care
supporting adults who have offended, supervising them in the community or helping with resettlement
assisting people with HIV or Aids
supporting vulnerable older people to live independently

Scotland

In Scotland, a social work graduate can work in general frontline services or can choose to specialise in:

Children and families
Community care
Criminal justice
Mental health

Wales

In Wales, on completing the social work degree, it is possible to specialise in a certain area such as:

child-care
mental health
older people
drugs and alcohol work.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, job opportunities include working in a variety of settings with a wide range of people. This includes:

older people
people with acute or terminal illness
people with physical or learning disabilities
people with visual or hearing impairments
families and children or young people
people with mental ill health
people who are homeless
people with alcohol and/or drugs dependency
people who have offended or been affected by crime

Social work salaries

There are no fixed salaries as each employer would negotiate on a salary. However, newly qualified social workers could expect to earn £18,000 per annum and this could rise up to £30,000 per annum as you take on additional tasks, gain responsibilities and experience.

These figures would be higher in London where the cost of living is higher.

The salaries are usually advertised alongside the post but it is worth checking with your employer, who can also advise you on any benefits such as pensions and paid annual leave.

Salaries range between settings, sector and area. It is useful to look at BASW Jobs or job advertisements in The Guardian on a Wednesday,
to see what jobs at your level are being advertised at. You could also look at individual council websites which advertise their jobs.

There are salary trackers which can be found on the internet but BASW cannot be responsible for information on external websites.

Continued professional development

All social workers need to be registered with a Care Council. To maintain high standards in social work, social workers need to
re-register every three years and complete post-registration training and learning to meet the criteria of re-registration.

England

In England the GSCC states that:

over the course of the three years registration period, all social workers must complete 90 hours or 15 days post-registration training or learning
social workers should keep detailed notes of their PRTL and learning undertaken
failure to do so is considered misconduct
Post registration training and learning (PRTL) could entail studying, attending conferences, training
courses, seminars or reading – activities which would advance the social worker’s professional development.

Scotland

In Scotland, the SSSC states that:

Within the period of registration, 15 days of learning including study, seminars, training courses,
teaching, reading or any other activity which could constitute as learning need to be completed.
At least five of these days need to be spent working effectively with colleagues to identify,
assess and manage risk to vulnerable groups
Every social worker registered needs to keep records of the prtl undertaken
Failure to meet the prtl requirements ma be considered misconduct by the Council

Wales

In Wales, the Care Council for Wales states that

Within the three years period of registration, all registrants are required to complete 15 days of prtl
Details of how to log your prtl and how to re-register are here http://www.ccwales.org.uk/registration-and-conduct/current-registrants/renew-registration

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council states

In order to maintain registration you must do 90 hours of training and learning over the three year registration period. Guidance and
recommended recording forms are available from the Information for Registrants section of the NISCC website
The 90 hours could include seminars, training, reading, courses, teaching or other relevant activities
To log details of prtl http://www.niscc.info/Post_Registration_Training_and_Learning-18.aspx

FAQ’s

Is social work the same as social care?

No but there are similarities. To practise as a social worker, you need a degree and often deal with complex problems, assess an
individual’s needs and make referrals for services or act as an advocate. Those working in social care tend to offer more personal care.

Often, they do not require qualifications to work in social care so people may work in social care while they study to be a social worker.

What is a carer?

It is a misconception that carers work in social care. Carers are in fact unpaid and provide help, support and personal care to an
older, frail, ill or disabled family member or friend. There are an estimated six million carers in the UK.

To find out more about carers, go to Carers UK http://www.carersuk.org/Home

Who employs social workers?

Councils or local authorities usually employ social workers. However you may work for a charity such as Action for Children or Barnardo’s, an independent or private organisation or you could work in a range of settings through a social work staffing agency.

What is a social work agency?

A social work agency is a recruitment agency which specialises in social work vacancies and matches social workers looking for
work with suitable positions. Those people working through an agency take on short-term contracts so it gives them a wide range of jobs in various settings in a short space of time – useful if they want help deciding which area to specialise in. However,
working on a short-term contract as an agency worker makes it more difficult to have the same amount of influence at work as
employed members of staff and you may not have the same rights.

Will I get any support as a newly qualified social worker?

…In England

In England, newly qualified social workers should get a reduced caseload and additional support from their managers.
The Children’s Workforce Development Council http://bethedifference.cwdcouncil.org.uk/site/#/home launched a Newly Qualified Social Workers pilot programme in September 2008 which offers a comprehensive induction to social work, high quality supervision and training, guidance materials and a professional development plan to support those entering the profession to increase confidence http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/nqsw.

In England, Skills for Care and the Department of Health has set out a framework for newly qualified social workers in their
first year of practice http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/socialwork/NewlyQualifiedSocialWorker/NewlyQualifiedSocialWorker.aspx

The government in December accepted the Social Work Taskforce’s recommendations including plans for a new ‘licensing’ system which will introduce an assessed probationary year in employment for new social work graduates, during which they will receive extra support.

…In Scotland and Wales

Newly qualified workers in Scotland and Wales are encouraged to use post registration training and learning to help them with their practice. That is one of the reasons that the Scottish Care Council insists that five days of prtl are spent working effectively with colleagues.

…In Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, once social work students have successfully completed their degree course, they are required to complete an Assessed Year in Employment (AYE) as part of continuing registration requirements where they are supervised by a registered qualified social worker. This is to ensure newly qualified social workers have made the successful transition from student to employee and can demonstrate competence in the workplace. It also gives newly qualified social workers the additional support they may need.

I am interested in returning to social work having taken a few years out to raise my family. Is there any help available?

England

The Children’s Workforce Development Council, in partnership with the Department for Children, Schools and Families, launched a Return to Social Work pilot programme to support registered and experienced social workers return to practice. The programme includes a series of refresher workshops in social work theory and practice.

For more information go to http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-work/return

Skills for Care has also supported a highly successful “Return to Social Work” course in the Greater Manchester sub-region. This has been aimed at those who have been out of the professional workforce for some time as well as social workers from overseas.

There is also a scheme called Sixty Plus helping social workers aged over 60 who wish to continue working in social work.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Should you require more information about returning to work, you can contact your BASW country office.

You can also contact your country’s Care Council:

Can I study in the UK as I live overseas?

You need to register with the one of the Care Councils in the part of the UK you wish to study in and they will be able to
provide you with further guidance.

Is there a union to protect the rights of social workers?

BASW members also have access to the Advice and Representation Service http://www.basw.co.uk/adviceandrep/. This service is unique, in that members receive advice and representation from qualified Social Workers, with specialist employment law training. People may also choose to join a trade union, who generally represent workers from a wide variety of professions and vocations.