Social work is a profession in which we have very privileged opportunities to work with people who are often at their most vulnerable, and in circumstances in which rights and obligations may be conflicting. For this reason, selection processes are rigorous and thorough. We select those who demonstrate a combination of personal, academic and professional skills and attributes that social work requires.
Please read the below in full as it will help you to prepare for your interview.
The following items are some of the key things expected to be evidenced during the selection process. We hope you will find them especially useful in clarifying our entry requirements and your own expectations:
The recruitment process can be highly competitive so you should prepare to perform to the best of your ability. A lack of preparation may be interpreted as lack of genuine commitment or motivation.
The Social Work and Admissions teams wish you every success with your application and interview! Good luck!
Interviews are important opportunities for you to see whether you would enjoy spending the duration of your course with us, and for us to assess your suitability in a holistic way.
You will have succeeded in being shortlisted at the UCAS stage – well done! However, it is a reality that there are more applicants for places than we can make offers to. In order to provide you with the very best possible opportunities to demonstrate your potential and actual ability, we have designed a rigorous, but fair process and all applicants will be assessed against the same standards.
You will be able to book an interview slot for either the morning or afternoon. Individual interviews are carried out by panels comprised of university tutors, ‘Involve’ service users and carers, and local employers/practitioners. Each interview will last approximately 25 minutes.
You will also be asked to produce a photo ID (i.e. a current passport or a UK driving license) to show to the interview panel.
You will be notified of the outcome of your interview via UCAS within 7-10 workings days. We are unable to provide feedback on the interview day itself because of the need to review all paperwork.
If we make you an offer to study Social Work, a DBS check will also be completed when you enrol, please see the next steps page for more information.
An introductory reading list has been included to give you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with some of the knowledge, skills and values relevant to social work practice.
You are not expected to have read them all! However, during the interview you will be asked to refer to any reading undertaken to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of social work practice and to evidence your motivation.
It is therefore important that you prepare by reading some of the recommended list. Identifying and carrying out relevant reading helps to evidence your commitment and motivation and also enables a more thorough assessment of your intellectual readiness to be undertaken at interview.
Before your interview you must read the short chapter ‘What is Social Work?’ from Neil Thompson’s ‘Understanding Social Work’. The PDF link can be found here. Please read the chapter in full, take notes as we will be asking you at interview of your understanding of social work roles and tasks. you may want to also refer to other reading from the reading list provided below.
Before your interview you must watch this very short video on person-centred care. At interview you will be asked about person-centred practice in social work so you might want to make some notes from the film and read more on this topic.
Below are some further issues and concepts you might want to think and read about before your interview.
Think through a particular situation you have encountered with an individual/group/agency. For example, if you have been faced with the following situations, how did you react? An honest answer will benefit you and help identify learning needs:
You may find making some notes on these topics helpful. Think through these topics and perhaps discuss them in advance of the interview with a social work colleague, your supervisor, your referee, or a friend, so you can discuss them during the interview.
We believe that opportunities to participate in higher education should be provided to all those with demonstrable ability to benefit. We also recognise the benefits, to the University and to the wider community, of recruiting a diverse population of students and aims, in so doing, to widen and deepen access to Higher Education.
Our admissions procedures reflect these beliefs and is outlined in our policy document.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you success with your application.
If you have any queries, please email the Admissions Tutor Matthew Quaife.