Most social work students in NI struggling financially, but executive says it cannot fund bursary rise

Most social work students in Northern Ireland are struggling financially but the region’s executive says it cannot fund an increase in the payments they receive.

Almost three-quarters of students said they were unable to make ends meet (23%) or struggling to do so (50%), in response to a British Association of Social Workers Northern Ireland (BASW NI) and Social Workers Union (SWU) survey, whose results were published this week.

Majorities of respondents said they were heating their homes less (70%), borrowing from family or friends (59%), taking on debt (58%) or doing more paid work (55%) in response to increases in the cost of living.

The situation was worse for those with caring responsibilities, who made up a majority (55%) of the 302 respondents to the online survey of Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University students, carried out in January and February this year.

Almost four in five of the full sample said rising costs had had a significant (41%) or moderate (37%) impact on their mental health, while almost a quarter (23%) said they were considering postponing or leaving their courses because of the financial pressures they were facing.

Quarter of students considering leaving studies

Significantly greater proportions said their financial situation was already affecting their studies, with two-thirds saying they were finding it difficult to focus because of the associated worry and 53% that they were spending less time on their studies because of the need to work more.

Home students studying full-time on either three-year undergraduate or two-year relevant graduate courses receive £4,000 plus £500 for travel costs associated with practice placements, annually, through the region’s student incentive scheme.

Almost all respondents (98%) said the £4,000 payment was insufficient to meet the costs of doing the degree, with 55% saying it needed to be increased by at least £3,000.

According to BASW NI, the payment has been at the same level since at least 2008 and would be worth £6,280 had it been uprated in line with inflation.

Similarly, 93% said the travel allowance was insufficient to meet incurred costs, with 58% saying it needed to rise by £500 a year or more.

Call to increase bursary payment

On the back of the results, BASW NI and SWU called for the student incentive scheme to be increased to £7,000 a year.

BASW NI chair Orlaith McGibbon said increased support for students was vital at the time of a “staffing crisis” in the region, with vacancy and absence levels of between 26% to 41% in children’s services family intervention teams, according to last year’s report from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in Northern Ireland.

This situation triggered a strike among children’s social workers in Belfast earlier this month and ongoing industrial action short of a strike.

“Our student social work colleagues are the future of our profession and it is deeply worrying that they are facing hardship as they train to support others,” McGibbon added.

“We urgently need more social workers and the survey finding that almost a quarter of all social work students are considering leaving their studies because of financial pressures must be addressed.”

Department ‘unable to provide more assistance’

However, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland said increasing it could not fund an increase in the student incentive scheme payment.

“The department notes the BASW NI and SWU research and recognises the additional hardship faced by students undertaking professional training due to the cost-of-living crisis,” said a spokesperson.

“Regrettably though, given the extremely challenging budgetary situation, the department is currently unable to provide more assistance to students than it does at present.”

Health minister Robin Swann has described his department’s 2024-25 budget settlement, largely derived from a UK government block grant, as “entirely inadequate”.