This module aims to; enable students to develop an understanding of the professional social work role and its responsibilities, conflict, boundaries, ethics, and the impact on practice and delivery. Enable students to develop a range of skills to function effectively in their communication with service user and colleagues in an organisational setting. Provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their readiness for direct practice as outlined in the PCF Readiness for Practice Capabilities.

This module aims to; consider the legal structure and framework in England and how it relates to social work. Understand how law and policy can support anti-discriminatory practice and support the rights of service users. Develop an understanding of key pieces of legislation that social workers work within, the powers and duties of the local authority, and how they are applied in the professional role. Develop an understanding of the key policies that social workers apply in their professional role.

This module aims to provide students with a wide ranging overview of human growth and development perspectives across the life course. It will enable students to understand how each individual person’s growth, behaviour and development is shaped and influenced by their family, culture, friends and environment. Students will examine and gain a greater understanding of how the range of perspectives can enable them to build and develop their professional understanding and responses in relation to social work practice with service users and carers.

This module aims to provide students with a basic underpinning knowledge of a range of sociological perspectives as a starting point to understanding how individuals, communities and the ‘state’ play their part in the functioning of UK society. It will also aim to aid students’ understanding of the ways in which sociological theory and research has contributed to political ideology and thinking in relation to social welfare, social policy and social work. It will promote a critical awareness of the impacts of social policy on society and on social work practice.

This module aims to prepare and enable students to understand the nature of social work values (choice, respect, rights, risks, self-determination) and ethics (utilitarianism, Kantian) needed for competent professional practice. It also aims to aid students’ understanding of the historical development of social work values and how these have influenced contemporary ethics and value frameworks. The module will also consider the impact of social work values on professional practice, and prepare students to be able to deal with the conflicts between personal and professional values. More importantly, this module provides the foundations for applying social work values to each subsequent module in all following years of the undergraduate degree.