Should entry requirements for the social work degree be raised?

Sue Berelowitz - deputy children's commissioner for England - thinks so and she's not the only one.

It's been a recurring theme during the current inquiry into the training of social workers by the House of Commons children, schools and families select committee while the issue has also been raised by Moira Gibb, chair of the Social Work Task Force.

It does seem to be the case that the average A-level requirements for social work courses are lower than for teaching and nursing, through there is a large variation between courses (from the equivalent of two grade Ds to three A grades). This has been linked to concerns over newly qualified social workers' analytical skills and intellectual capacities.

But there does seem to be another side to the argument namely that key to the strength of the profession is the diversity of its workforce and that raising entry requirements for the degree may exclude people who would be valuable to the profession but lack the required academic background.

There is also the small question of there not being enough social workers in practice, which could be exacerbated by cutting degree numbers (as Berelowitz suggests would be necessary, at least in the short-term, if you are raising entry standards).

Also, some question the contention that NQSWs being underprepared or unprepared for practice is due to the wrong students being selected for the degree course doesn't, and it's what happens during the three years of the degree (particularly during placements) that is of paramount importance.

What do people reckon? Should we raise requirements for students or would be lose more than we gain from doing so?

 

• Filed under: Social work degree, children's commissioner

 Personallty I think the entry requirments are fine as they are and even though the required grades are often low, the selection process is actually quite tough. This has certainly been the case in the last year. You need a good intellectual capacity to get through that lot, believe me!  You normally need to be at GSCE Grade C or above level in English to even be considered in the first place. Alll the interviews I attended involved a written test as part of the selection process, so I think universities are using their own methods to test applicant's intellectual capacities. I for one got very good A Level grades and have a 2.1 undergraduate degree, but I still found it very hard to get through the selection process for the MA Social Work.  They were more interested in me as a person, my experience and commitment to a career in Social Work. This is what gained me a place on the course, not hight grades - and quite rightly too!

 

As for what happens on the degree, maybe it does need to be reviewed. But in reality, I think this is part of a wider problem concerning quality of placements and professional guidance. As it stands though, the entry requirements are not to low. Perhaps it would keep Sue Berelowitz happy if a standard written test were introduced for all applicants? Or maybe a test for those who havent studied English in so many years? I know lots of Uniersities are doing this anyway. Emphasis should be on the applicant themselves and the quality of the course they are being accpeted ontorather than higheringthe rgade entry requirments

I don't see anything wrong with the entry requirements considering that most establishments have tough selection processes because the number of applicants (of a high calibre in most cases) exceeds places.  Personal qualities are just as essential as academic achievements and the prupose of the course is to prepare students for all aspects of practice.

I'm pretty fed up with the blinkered presumption that social work is only concerned with child protection and it seems that the deputy commissioner is yet another critic who fails to acknowledge it is a generic degree providing the building blocks to further specialisations, and that probably around 70% of graduates avoid CP and go on to work in other areas.  This could be her opportunity to call for a committment to fund a compulsory PQ award for this area of practice.  After all, a social worker involved in the decision about whether to detain someone under the Mental Health Act has to have a PQ award!  Or is the general belief that the decision about what intervention is needed for a child in a potentially dangerous situation of less importance than that made about an adult who may be a danger to themselves or others?

A PQ award would demonstrate recognition of how essential this work is and help to raise the profile of CP practitioners.

As to the academic rigour and intellectual capacity required to produce written assessments and court reports, I believe that it should be recommended practice that all reports for court should be read by a manager or senior colleague before it is presented so that deficiencies can be addressed, as happens with pre-sentence reports written by Probation Officers.

I dont think that the entry requirements really need to be raised, but I do think the university's should be much stricter with students who are failing.

I think it has been acknowledged on here before that most of us went through uni with students who failed everything. Personally, I think if a student fails more than they pass (especially placements) then they should not continue with the course. The uni's are doing no=one favours by carrying them through, as they end up scraping through with a 3rd, and then cant get a job. There are enough nqsw who did well struggling to get a job as it is.

AliG:

A PQ award would demonstrate recognition of how essential this work is and help to raise the profile of CP practitioners.

As to the academic rigour and intellectual capacity required to produce written assessments and court reports, I believe that it should be recommended practice that all reports for court should be read by a manager or senior colleague before it is presented so that deficiencies can be addressed, as happens with pre-sentence reports written by Probation Officers.

Agreed. I have to ask (as I am not in the UK right now) is that standard practice that a line worker's assessments and court reports may not be read by a manager? Nothing goes to court without coming through me or another supervisor first, or our assigned lawyer, as the public would (rightly) scream blue murder. The judges would not tolerate poorly written reports either.

I think that the entry requirements are fine as they are. People getting relatively low grades in their A-Levels are just as likely to be good social workers as those who get brilliant grades. Obviously a level of intelligence is needed to understand the regulations/laws etc, but experience and personality are just as important. Social Work courses are competitive and universities have their own interview processes to make sure they accept the most suitable candidates, and I think in general the current processes work well. There is a Radiology course somewhere that offers relatively low entry grades because they want people who are passionate and dedicated to the career, rather than those who have fantastic grades. I think social work should focus more on the actual people applying to courses, rather than their academics.

I think the standard of social work training has deteriorated. I qualified in 1992. I had an Upper Honours degree and went on to do the DIPSW. I was also totally committed to social work and had a belief that I could make things better for vulnerable people. I also had considerable life experience giving me a sound grounding for social work training. At that time I believe that Universities didnt accept anyone under the age of 25, (I was 32)  I could be wrong about the 25 year old requirement, please anyone feel free to correct me if I am. The interviews consisted of four people on a panel firing questions at me, it was gruelling.

I have been a full time Practice Assessor for the last two years and have assessed around 20 students. I have been appalled by the written work presented to me, the lack of commitment shown by many of the students and the very low entry requirements. Also it is really hard to fail a student. I have been asked to take on students to do repeat placements with me who have in their past placement failed through gross misconduct yet still they are given the opportunity to repeat a placement. I also find it hard to believe that some of my students have been passed by the University for their written work because the standard is so low.

I don't think social work should ever have been made into a degree course but should have stayed at post graduate level.

 

I think the entry level is fine but agree with many other posters that universities/colleges really need to be a lot more rigorous in their interviewing of prospective students.  I am a practice assessor and I have had some really awful students coming to me for 'taster sessions' of a week or more. They are constantly late, spend most of their time texting other people, going on face book (don't worry I have pulled them up on it) but you would think that if they were on the course they would realise the importance of being on time for appointments and actually showing some vague interest in what they are doing.

I have heard people saying that the entry age of 18 is too low but I don't really think that this is a major flaw, it is the personality and willingness to learn that is most important.  I have taken to interviewing any students who want to come to my team on placement now in order to ensure that I'm getting someone who is dedicated to learning and becoming a social worker.