Welcome to the University of Bath Open Day BSc (Hons) Social Work and Applied Social Studies Caroline Hickman – Teaching Fellow & Admissions Tutor Department of Social & Policy Sciences

Overview of Open Day talk: Social work at the University of Bath International opportunities Structure of the degree Practice learning Service User and Carer involvement Student life and student support Admissions Social work careers/employability Questions

Social Work at the University of Bath The Social Work programme at the University of Bath is ranked number one in the Complete University Guide 2015 And we achieved 100% overall student satisfaction in the 2015 National Student Survey Department of Social & Policy Sciences is a leading centre for social sciences Staff are at the forefront of their discipline (as educators, researchers, theorists, policy analysts and experienced practitioners) Awarded the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2011 for ‘Influential research into child poverty and support for vulnerable people’

Social work at the University of Bath 40 places – relatively small programme yet set within an international/global context Generic degree programme, covering a wide range of topics and using a range of teaching methods – designed to be interactive and student centred Taught by social work academics with extensive and wide ranging experience in social work practice, teaching, research and policy making Important input from social work practitioners and service users & carers

Social Work staff group Professor Ian Butler – Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Research into child abuse and child protection; domestic violence, family breakdown and the making of public policy. Recently completed ESRC funded project on young men and domestic violence Dr Louise Brown – Research in development of models of child protection in an international context (currently working with NGO’s, academics & local government in China on child protection). And ‘improving practice through social innovation’ - training programme for social entrepreneurs developing business ideas in health & social care Dr Gillian Macdonald –Research interests include men’s violence against women and children, particularly domestic violence, children’s participation in decision-making that affects them and research ethics. Currently researching women and children's access to justice in private family law disputes involving domestic violence

Social Work staff group Dr Jeremy Dixon –Research into how risk is understood by professionals and people using services. Recent work has focussed on mentally disordered offenders' perspectives on risk assessment and community supervision. Currently researching the way in which mental health law and mental capacity law is used in practice Mrs Barbara Neale – Social work and management expertise, working with adults. The management and development of partnership working, quality assurance techniques for placements and the post qualifying training for social workers who wish to supervise and assess social work students

Dr Justin Rogers – Research into fostering and adoption in the United Kingdom. Recently completed a PhD thesis that explored young people’s experiences of foster care and how they manage their relationships with family and friends in the context of disrupted social networks Ms Megan Robb – PhD research examining how social workers conceptualise domestic violence against people with learning disabilities. Megan also continues to practice as a social worker through her role as a Best Interest Assessor for the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Ms Caroline Hickman – Completed MSc Social Research into foster carers experience and evaluation of therapeutic groups. Research and writing interests focus on the effectiveness of different therapeutic modalities. PhD research into the therapeutic effects of our relationships with the natural world, animals & pets. Researching with children and people with Alzheimers

International opportunities Study abroad opportunities. Potential overseas placements. Fieldwork visits in Year 1 or Year 2 Yonsei University, Seoul Ohio State University, USA Sun Yat-Sen, Southern China Stellenbosch, South Africa

Practice learning Year 1 - Skills days & Community Research Project (22 days across 1 st year, 1 day/week) Year 2 (80 days full time in Semester 1) Year 3 (90 days full time in Semester 2) We provide excellent placements in a wide range of settings (in statutory, third sector, independent and voluntary organisations) Supported by a trained Practice Educator/Supervisor and your Personal Tutor Placements within a 50 miles radius of Bath Inner city & rural teams (car/travel for year 2 & 3 placements)

Community Research Projects Examples Year 1 - small groups – 22 days across the 1 st year Off The Record (Bristol) – Evaluating a group for young minority ethnic women exploring themes of gender, race & wellbeing Splitz (Domestic Violence) – Alternative support options using an online tool The Carers Centre – What do Carers aged want from The Carers Centre BFEG – Work with a group of black and minority ethnic young people to identify issues of importance in their lives – supplementary schools Off The Record (Bath) – Researching young people’s access to counselling services “Completing community profiling has proved to be the most challenging yet the most gratifying part of my year. The opportunity to work with local organisations, conduct research first hand and craft ideas into results has been an educational and confidence building journey. Although it was tough working out how to achieve goals as a group, the lessons I learned throughout this experience have shown me how to value my own strengths and how to appreciate the strengths of others” Kieran Smith Year 1 student

Practice Learning Placements Year 2 & 3 Examples: Year 2 (80 days) Splitz Domestic Abuse Project, OTR Bristol, Bath Mind, SW attached to schools, Richmond Fellowship, The Carers Centre, Julian House, TACT, Adolescent & Young Person Mentoring Project, Homelessness Project, Children’s Centre, DHI, Young Carers Project, Women’s Refuge, Ex Offenders Rehab Project, Supported Housing projects Year 3 (90 days) Swindon, Banes, South Glos, Somerset, Wiltshire - Cafcass (Swindon & Somerset), Mental Health Community teams, Children & Families Intervention teams, Assessment & Child Protection teams, Safeguarding Children & Families teams, Youth Offending teams, Family Placement teams, Children’s Centres, RUH, Great Western Hospital, Wiltshire Social Care team, Salisbury District Hospital, Community Mental Health teams, Fostering & Adoption teams, Looked After Children’s teams, Drugs & Alcohol teams, Adult Recovery Service

Service Users and Carers

Student feedback “The importance of service users and carers on the social work degree program cannot be overstated. Meeting face to face with service users not only taught me a great deal about social work but also about myself. The honesty and unique insight that was brought by the individuals that I encountered challenged my assumptions on many levels and had had a lasting impact on my perception of others. Engaging with service users has made the program very real and very human for me and has been a truly valuable experience” Kieran Smith Year 1 student

Student life and student support … Personal Tutors Peer mentoring & peer assisted learning Social work community & facebook page Student Centre - money advice, counselling services, learning support (such as academic writing, disability, dyslexia etc.) Students’ Union and societies Guaranteed accommodation in first year (if needed)

Social work admissions UCAS application (grade requirements: AAB-BBB, personal statement, including relevant experience, references) Interview day (group talk, written exercise, meeting with current students, campus tour, individual interviews) Enhanced DBS (previously CRB) and health checks See website for details: bath.ac.uk/study

Social work careers As a professionally qualified social worker you can work in a wide range of health or social care settings Increasingly employment opportunities arise in multidisciplinary settings where social workers work alongside health care and/or other professionals (e.g. education, criminal justice, mental health) Further information about careers in social work can be obtained from: Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Community Care website

Student comments ( ) “ Having such a variety of service user involvement in the social work programme has been immensely valuable and has enhanced my level of learning. Understanding the perspectives and needs of service users and what they expect from me has been critical to how I want to develop throughout the social work programme. “ Tracey Branch Year 1 student “I found this unit particularly useful to develop my ability to be assertive and confident within organisations. I feel this is very important, especially as I'm a relatively young, and perhaps inexperienced, student on the course. It also taught me how to be more research minded, which is inevitably useful and relevant within any social science based profession” Tia Wharton Year 1 student

Summary Taught by experienced, enthusiastic staff Based within a prestigious social sciences department, providing high quality research and teaching Mixed methods of teaching; high levels of interactivity and student engagement Wide range of fantastic, well supported practice learning opportunities, including international possibilities Small groups of students, great community, lots of support from staff, peers, the university Studying here will enable you to gain a good degree from a university with a great reputation, which impacts positively on your employability

Questions

Contacts Caroline Hickman Admissions Tutor Alison Borgelin Course Administrator Tel: