MA Social Work

Location & map

This course is based at our Archway campus in north-west London.

Address: Middlesex University Archway campus, Highgate Hill, Furnival Building, London N19 5LW

To find out how to get to the campus see Travel Directions to Archway campus. The nearest tube station is Archway on the Northern line.

Open days

University Open Evenings

Open evenings are a great opportunity to learn more about your chosen subject, meet academic and admissions staff, find out more about Middlesex and what life is like on campus. Open evenings for this course are held at our Archway campus in London, for information on how to get here see our locations page.

Book Your Place Now

Book your open evening place now – make sure you select postgraduate, Archway campus open days. The dates for open evenings are included in the booking form.

See the programme for the day and find out more about open evenings at Archway.

If you can't make our open day, there are more opportunities available for you to come and visit us. Campus tours are available throughout the year if you would like to have a look around. Led by Student Ambassadors, they take place most Wednesday afternoons at 1pm. You will get a feel of the campus atmosphere, plus the opportunity to ask any questions about being a student at Middlesex University. Click here to book your campus tour.

FAQ

Applying for a place - FAQs

Middlesex University has a long well established tradition in providing social work education and provides both under-graduate and post qualifying courses in a number of specialist areas. The Social Work department is based at our Archway Campus, readily accessible from central and outer London.  It is integrated into the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching given the range of quality learning experiences offered to students on campus.

How many places are available?

Overall we have an intake of around 100 students on the Social Work courses (BA and MA degrees). There is a big demand for places on both the BA and MA in Social Work. Demand exceeds supply by a large factors, and therefore we advise you to apply as early as possible.  For the full time courses you should apply via UCAS.

Given the large number of applications we receive, it is very important that you complete your application form fully, as we are not able to follow up for further information and incomplete applications will be rejected. You should ensure that you provide a full account of your qualifications, previous employment and work experience, a full personal statement and a suitable reference.

What about funding?

If you are offered a place, then you can apply for a social work bursary via the NHS social work bursary webpages.

If you are a student being fully sponsored and funded by your organisation, we will liaise with your local staff development manager regarding applications as these are done in partnership with sponsoring authorities.

Please note that we have full time students or employer sponsored students. There is no part time route to the degree in social work. Employment sponsored students are selected only in partnership with their organisation.

Employment Based Students and Graduate Trainees

We receive a lot of enquiries from applicants about this route to the social work degree.  Please note that this is not an alternative part time route as social work cannot be studied part time.  This route has been agreed with our partner agencies in London who sponsor their employees to undertake the social work qualification.  If you are working in a Local Authority or Trust and are interested in training as a social worker then your first point of call should be your workforce development manager or learning and development manager to establish the opportunities available through them, and the process of application. Similarly, some employers recruit graduates into their own local schemes, so you should look out for the advertisements in the press such as Community Care or The Guardian, and apply directly.

If you are working in the voluntary sector and your employer has indicated their willingness to support your training then they should make contact with us in the first instance so that we can establish that they are able to meet the partnership requirements for employment based students.  These are very stringent and include for example:

• The willingness to pay your course fees in full for the duration of the course
• The ability to release you for a minimum of two days per week to attend the university teaching during term time
• The ability to release you from your normal place of employment to complete the two x 100 day practice learning placements
• The ability to find you a placement and a practice assessor and to fund this (there is a small subsidy available on completion)
• The agreement of a formal contract as part of your overall employment which includes the provision of the above, study leave and support and maintenance of your normal salary, leave and working conditions
• In addition we would welcome partners attendance at our regular partnership forums and to provide a liaison persons in the organisation for students on the programme.
  

What is covered in the degree?

Social Work follows a national curriculum which means that there are common elements within any programme within England.  These include social policy, law, human growth and development, methods and models of working with service users and practice learning.  Middlesex has a number of staff active in research and practice bringing a number of strengths to the course.

We also have a service user involvement strategy and our partnerships with service users ensure that they are integral to our teaching, learning and assessment strategy. Indeed service users will be involved right from the start in the recruitment and selection process.

How Do I Apply?

Applications are made through UCAS using UCAS Code: L500

Selection Process

On receipt of your application, a short listing process selects those invited for interview. The selection process involves a day at Archway during which you will undertake a written test and a maths test, a group interview and an individual interview. If you are successful, we try to let you know as soon as possible and to give you feedback on your interview. You must show your original documents on the day if you are invited for interview as all places are conditional on you meeting all the requirements. This includes an assessment of your suitability for social work based on the GSCC criteria.

How can I prepare myself for the interviews and also the course?

You can do some research on the roles of social work and some background reading about current issues faced by the social work and the social care workforce.  A suggested range of websites and reading is provided below.  You will be asked to reflect on the relevance of your own professional or personal experiences and their relevance to becoming a social work professional.

We strongly advise applicants to be familiar with the different contexts in which social work can occur as it is a very versatile and fluid profession responding to changing need. The more direct experience you have through voluntary or paid work in social care, the better. For the MA you must have direct experience of working for at least six months in social care full time.

A comprehensive induction will be provided prior to commencement of the course, details of the 2012/2013 schedule are available here.

What about placements – how are they arranged?

You are required to do 200 days in total in an agency providing practice learning opportunities. This could be in either a voluntary or statutory setting, with a range of different user groups and often in multi-disciplinary settings. All of our placements are quality assured and because of the demand for placement, we do not offer individual choice but we use a number of indicators based on information from you to match you to an appropriate placement.

Will I be able to work during the course?

Apart from year one of the BA, you are either in placement or university throughout the academic year. This can be quite demanding and you need to be prepared to work a full day between 09.00 – 17.00. This does limit opportunities to work but our students often find opportunities for paid work through contacts made on the course during holidays. We advise you to think carefully about committing yourself to the course as this requires a lot of planning for dependents and time management. You will also need to think about the additional time needed for study and meeting assessment deadlines.

I have already started on another course, can I transfer?

No. We do not accommodate transfers from any other courses.

I haven’t studied for a while – what support is available?

We have a number of student support services available for students who have a variety of needs and we provide tutor support to help you return to study and to get back into the swing of academic writing.

What if I have got a previous criminal conviction, can I still apply?

You will be asked to declare any offences, no matter how minor or how long ago prior to attending any interview. The General Social Care Council requires us to assess your ‘suitability’ for training as a social worker which includes all aspects of health, stability, previous or current involvement with care services, employment records and criminal offences. The GSCC have categorised offences into high, medium and low risk as indicated in the table below. 

We do not accept any applicants in the ‘high’ risk category. You will be asked to complete a confidential and detailed form about your personal circumstances to enable us to assess your ‘suitability’ on the day of interview and there will be a risk assessment following this. You should also be prepared to provide a detailed statement about any concerns outlined in your personal history where required.  Suitability is a very important part of the recruitment process given that you will be working with potentially vulnerable members of the public.

If you have got to the bottom of the FAQ sheet then there shouldn’t be many more questions to ask. However if there are you can contact: Trish Hafford-Letchfield – Admissions Tutor on p.hafford-letchfield@mdx.ac.uk 0208 411 4506

Or  Jacqui Saward, administrator for admissions, Tel: 020 8411 4633

Unfortunately we do not offer individual appointments or viewings.

GSCC Risk categories for some types of offences.
Risk
Category Definition Example

High risk
Offences which suggest the offender is likely to pose a risk to the safety and well-being of service users, and is therefore unsuitable to work in social care.

Categories of high risk offences include:

• Offences against children and young persons under 18;
• Offences involving the abuse of trust; and
• Offences involving violence or cruelty.
• Indecent assault on a person under 18.
• Kidnapping, false imprisonment or abduction of a child.
• Possession of indecent    photographs of a child.
• Cruelty to a child.
• Murder or manslaughter of a child.
• Taking indecent photographs of children.
• Cruelty to/or abuse of  animals.
• Rape or attempted rape.
• Encouraging prostitution of a young person.
• Robbery with violence.
• Murder of an adult.
• Domestic violence.
• Repeated medium risk offences.

Medium risk Offences which suggest the offender may pose a risk to the safety and well-being of service users, and may therefore be unsuitable to work in social care.

• Drink driving.
• Failure to provide a breath test.
• Theft.
• Possession of class A drugs.
• Dealing in controlled substances.
• Serious driving offences.
• Repeated low risk offences.

Low risk Offences which suggest the offender is unlikely to pose a risk to the safety and well-being of service users, and therefore is likely to be suitable to work in social care.

• Shoplifting offences as a teenager.
• Possession of cannabis.
• Minor motoring offences.

Introductory Texts

• Aldgate, J., Jones, D., Rose, W., Jeffrey, C (2006) The Developing World of the Child.  London: Jessica Kingsley
• Brammer, A (2008) Social Work Law, 3rd edition: Harlow:  Pearson Higher Education, 
• Hafford-Letchfield, T (2009) Management and Organisations in Social Work. 2nd edition,  Exeter: Learning Matters.
• Hatton, K (2008) New Directions in Social Work Practice.  Exeter: Learning Matters
• Highham, P (2006) Social Work: Introducing Professional Practice.  London: Sage
• Lisham, J (2007) Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory.  London: Jessica Kingsley
• Payne, M (2005) Modern Social Work Theory.  Basingstoke: Palgrave
• Wilson, K., Ruch, G., LYmberry, M., Cooper, A (2008) Social Work: an introduction to contemporary practice.  London: Pearson Longman

Preparation material for the numeracy test

• Coben, D. & Atere-Roberts, E. (1996) Carefree Calculations for Healthcare Students, Basingstoke: Macmillan
• Parsons, R. (2001) Key Stage Three Mathematics: The Revision Guide (Levels 3-6), Newcastle upon Tyne: Coordination Group Publications), Newcastle upon Tyne: Coordination Group Publications
• Parsons, R. (2001) Key Stage Three Mathematics: The Work Book (Levels 5-8)
• Cottrell, S (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd edition.  Basingstoke: Palgrave.

You may also wish to access the following website for a sample GCSE Maths papers: www.ocr.org.uk

Suitability for Social Work

Social work is a regulated profession and students are required to register as a trainee with the General Social Care Council (GSCC). The GSCC will register people who can satisfy us that they are suitable for work in social care. This role will be transferred to the Health Commission in 2012.  The process of suitability starts with our admissions process. We will take into account standards set out in the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers ('Code of Practice') when undertaking our assessment of your application to join the social work degree. Please read the current requirements carefully before making your application. The Code of Practice is a list of statements that describe the standards of professional conduct and practice required of social care workers and student social workers as they go about their training and subsequent employment.

When making this assessment, we ask you to complete a ‘suitability’ assessment form which examines your history of conduct, both within and outside the workplace, and whether this is likely to constitute a risk to people using social care services. This is made clear in paragraph 5 of the Code of Practice – and particularly in paragraph 5.8, which requires social care workers to uphold public trust and confidence in social care services by not behaving in any way, either in or outside work, that would call into question their suitability to work in social care services.

This is completed at the stage you are invited for interview, however, if you have anything to declare, please contact the admissions tutor p.hafford-letchfield@mdx.ac.uk and make a full statement including:

1. A full description of the incident, the dates and location in which it happened
2. The action taken by the policy and authorities and any information on your CRB
3. A full disclosure on why you think you should be considered for the programme since this incident.

If you are successful in being selected and recruited, you may be required to attend an additional interview with  our suitability panel to discuss any risks with your training.

Once registered, social workers and student social workers are responsible for making sure that their conduct does not fall below the standards set out in the Code of Practice, and that no action or omission on their part harms the well-being of people using social care services.  This means that if anything changes in the process of your application to the programme, you must declare this immediately.  Please note that we cannot guarantee that our partner organisations will offer you a placement following a declaration of any issues on your suitability form which is why we do our very best to ensure that any issues are properly and thoroughly dealt with before accepting you on to the course. 

Employment Based Students

We receive a lot of enquiries from applicants about this route to the social work degree.  Please note that this is not an alternative part time route as social work cannot be studied part time.  This route has been agreed with our partner agencies in London who sponsor their employees to undertake the social work qualification.  If you are working in a Local Authority or Trust and are interested in training as a social worker then your first point of call should be your workforce development managers or learning and development manager to establish the opportunities available through your employer, and the process of application. Similarly, some employers recruit graduates into their own local schemes, so you should look out for the adverts in the press such as Community Care or the Guardian and apply direct.

If you are working in the voluntary sector and your employer has indicated their willingness to support your training then they should make contact with us in the first instance so that we can establish that they are able to meet the partnership requirements for employment based students.  These are very stringent and include for example:

• The willingness to pay your course fees in full for the duration of  the course
• The ability to release you for a minimum of two days per week to attend the university teaching during term time
• The ability to release you from your normal place of employment to complete the two x 100 day practice learning placements
• The ability to find you a placement and a practice assessor and to fund this (there is a small subsidy available on completion)
• The agreement of a formal contract as part of your overall employment which includes the provision of the above, study leave and support and maintenance of your normal salary, leave and working conditions
• In addition we would welcome partners attendance at our regular  partnership forums and to provide a liaison persons in the organisation for students on the programme.