Social Work

Social work is one of the most demanding and meaningful professions in the public sector, concerned with protecting and supporting some of the most vulnerable members of society: children at risk, adults in crisis, families under pressure, people living with disability, mental ill health or the impact of poverty and trauma. Social workers are statutory professionals, operating within legal frameworks and making decisions that can have profound consequences for the people they work with. Training to be a social worker is therefore both academically rigorous and practically intensive.

At Edge Hill University, this three-year full-time degree is a qualifying programme that prepares you to register with Social Work England as a graduate practitioner. You will study the legal and policy framework that governs social work, human development across the life course, safeguarding, social policy, social work theory and the ethical foundations of the profession. Visiting lecturers who are currently in practice bring real-world insight into the programme, ensuring that your learning is grounded in the realities of contemporary social work rather than abstract models alone.

Practice placements are an essential component of any qualifying social work degree, giving you supervised experience working with real service users and carers.

Social work develops a distinctive set of capabilities: the ability to listen deeply, to assess complex and sometimes contradictory evidence, to make difficult decisions under pressure, to work collaboratively with other professionals and to maintain both compassion and professional boundaries over time. These are demanding and deeply human skills.

Graduates qualify to register as social workers and can work in statutory children's or adults' services, mental health settings, youth justice, hospitals, care homes and voluntary sector organisations. Continuing professional development and specialist post-qualifying training are available to those who want to develop expertise in particular areas. Some graduates also go on to postgraduate study in social work, social policy or management.