Degrees of Success

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 13:43

A new report out today looks back over the first seven years of the social work undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, first introduced in 2004 as part of the drive to raise standards in social services.

Degrees of Success, published by the SSSC, says that social work education and training is meeting the needs of contemporary social work and that teaching, learning and assessment is consistently strong across the various programmes offered by Scotland's universities.

The numbers of people applying for a place on a social work degree programme also rose with 4,192 applications made to social work degree courses in 2009/10, contrasting with 3,765 applications in 2008/09. Admissions to courses also remained strong in 2009/10 with actual admissions reaching 701, exceeding the target of 642.

"Excellent social work and social care are vital to the success of our communities and we have a commitment to making sure that we have the right people with the right skills, carrying out this role," said Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the SSSC today.

"We've come a long way in social work and developments over the last ten years have seen a real investment in this workforce. The SSSC Code of Practice for Social Service Workers, the degree in social work and the Continuous Learning Framework are just some of the elements helping to put social work on a par with other professions.

"As a result, more young people under 24 are applying and we will have a future workforce that more accurately reflects the diversity our communities.  For example, last year there was a rise in the number of people who disclosed a disability entering courses to 7 per cent in 2008/9.

"There are plenty of challenges ahead such as spending cuts that affect education and training as well as service delivery, but what we are finding is that more people see this as tremendously rewarding, challenging and life changing career that makes a positive difference to people's lives. That this is reflected our analysis  and in wider research carried out last year by the Social Work Changes Lives campaign also shows that public perceptions of social work are improving."