Social Work

Social work is a professional degree that qualifies you to work directly with individuals, families, and communities in some of the most challenging and consequential circumstances that people face. Social workers assess risk and need, support people through crises, safeguard children and vulnerable adults, facilitate access to services, and work to promote the dignity and rights of people who may be marginalised by poverty, disability, illness, or social exclusion. The profession operates within a clear legal and ethical framework and carries both statutory duties and significant professional responsibility.

At the Open University this social work degree for England is delivered part time through distance learning, making it accessible to students who cannot study full time or who are already working in related roles in health or social care. This flexibility is particularly valuable in a profession with recognised workforce pressures, as it enables people who are already committed to working with vulnerable people to qualify while continuing to work. The programme meets the requirements for professional registration as a social worker in England and combines academic study with the required practice placements in real social work settings.

Across the programme you will study human development across the life course, social work law and policy, theories and methods of practice, research evidence, and professional ethics and values. The placements take you into statutory children's services, adult social care, mental health, or other settings under the supervision of practice educators.

Qualified social workers are employed across local authority children's and adults' services, the NHS, the voluntary sector, the criminal justice system, and specialist services for people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities, or substance misuse difficulties. Social work offers genuine career development, including routes into practice education, management, specialist roles, and advanced practice. Further study at postgraduate level is an option for those who wish to develop expertise in a particular area or to pursue research and academic careers within the profession.