Social work bursary delay risks excluding disadvantaged applicants from courses, academics warn

A delay in confirming social work bursary arrangements in England for 2024-25 risks preventing disadvantaged applicants from taking up places, academics have warned.

The government is yet to confirm bursary allocations for universities this year, with less than two months to go until courses start.

This means students who have been offered a place on master’s courses do not know if they will be funded to carry out their studies, potentially deterring some from taking up their places, warned the Joint Universities Social Work Association (JUSWA).

The delay also affects students about to start the second year of their undergraduate degree, who also do not know if they will receive a bursary.

‘Fundamental equality and inclusion issues’

JUSWA chair Professor Janet Melville-Wiseman said the delay would particularly affect applicants who were employed, had caring responsibilities or were in poverty.

“Anyone in employment will need to give at least a month’s notice or longer and there is now less than two months before most courses will start,” she said.

“For anyone with caring responsibilities, they will also need time to arrange alternative (and often expensive) care.  The later they do that the more expensive that care is likely to be, and the less likely care providers will still have capacity.

“For those already living with poverty they may experience this as devaluing them, or not valuing them and their wish to contribute to our profession and a significant barrier to them entering university.  These are fundamental equality and inclusion issues.”

Bursary process

Since 2013, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has allocated 2,500 bursaries per year to students starting their second year of a three-year undergraduate social work course, along with 1,500 to trainees beginning a master’s qualification, which tends to take two years.

Bursaries generally continue for the remainder of the person’s course, but the cap means not everyone in the eligible years of study receives one.

Each HEI running a social work course receives a fixed number of bursaries for newly eligible applicants and must then nominate students for these, with trainees then applying to the NHS Business Services Authority for the funding.

Allocations for HEIs are confirmed on an annual basis, through guidance published by the DHSC. Last year’s guidance was published on 24 May, setting a deadline of 28 July 2023 for HEIs to nominate students for a bursary.

Election impact

Melville-Wiseman said JUSWA had told civil servants that universities needed to receive their bursary allocations by early May each year for the process to run smoothly.

Though the guidance could not have been published during the pre-election period, this did not start until 25 May, 2024, which meant that “bursary allocations were already late when we entered that period”, according to Melville-Wiseman.

“It is astounding that there is not a transitional phase whereby bursaries are allocated and confirmed for this year with a plan to review them in the next 12 months including with input from key stakeholders such as our membership,” she added.

“It is not a good message to the sector and the mainstream courses that provide the majority of new recruits into the profession.”

The situation with fast-track courses

Bursaries are an entitlement for students on the three fast-track courses, Frontline’s Approach Social Work scheme, Think Ahead and Step Up to Social Work.

Fast-track bursaries are also much more generous at between £18,000 and £20,250 for courses lasting just over a year, compared with £4,862.50 or £5,262.50 per year for undergraduates and £3,362.50 or £3,762.50 for those on master’s courses.

Fast-track trainees also receive free tuition, unlike undergraduate students, who are liable for fees of, generally, £9,250 a year, while master’s candidates with a bursary receive a £4,052 contribution to their fees per year, covering less than half the cost.

Universities ‘unable to meet Social Work England standard

Melville-Wiseman said the situation meant HEIs were unable to fulfil one of the requirements set for them by Social Work England’s education and training standards.

Standard 1.6 states that universities must “ensure that the admissions process gives applicants the information they require to make an informed choice about whether to take up an offer of a place on a course”.

Guidance on the standards says that this should include providing them with information on “the costs of the course, including accommodation and other associated costs where relevant, and any options for funding”.

The situation also sparked significant concern from the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England and the Social Workers Union.

In a joint statement, BASW England national director Maris Stratulis and SWU general secretary John McGowan said: “At a time of a recruitment crisis in the profession and social care, social work employers, the government and system leaders cannot afford for social work education bursary allocations not to happen.”

BASW and SWU urge bursary reform

They also urged reform of the bursary system to increase the generosity and accessibility of payments.

“We’ve heard personally from many students about the financial hardship and difficulties they are facing,” said Stratulis and McGovern.

“Student bursaries for the majority of UK students are unequally distributed and limited in number. Social work is an incredibly complex and rewarding job. We need to support the next generation of social workers, create conducive learning environments and ensure recruitment and retention of social workers is at the heart of government policy.”

Their statement follows a call for increased investment in social work bursaries, to attract more people into the profession, in the adult social care workforce strategy, published last week by Skills for Care.

The DHSC did not comment on the issue, with the new government urgently reviewing commitments made by its predecessor.