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Routes into social work

Start or return – Social Work career support at every stage

We are committed to supporting individuals at every stage of their social work career. Whether you are considering returning to social work after a break, have qualified outside of the UK, or are looking to start your journey in this rewarding profession, we offer tailored programs to help you achieve your goals.

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Return to Social Work

If you are considering returning to social work after a break, or if you have qualified outside of the UK, we offer tailored support to help you re-register and get back into practice.

You may have left social work for many reasons and are now considering returning. We can offer tailored support to help you re-register and get back into practice. Our Return to Social Work scheme treats you as a unique individual.

We recruit social workers who are not currently registered with Social Work England (SWE) and would like to have an opportunity to undertake a role in which they can gain experience and gain SWE registration.

We have two routes for this scheme

You must have previous registration with Social Work England or the Health and Care Professions Council and have completed your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment.

If you have a recognised social work qualification from overseas and now live in the UK, you must have 2 years post qualifying experience in a social work setting either abroad or in the UK.

We will employ you as a Family Practitioner within a social work team for up to 6 months, so that you can evidence completing the required hours of experience and gain SWE registration.

Once you have achieved registration you will be appointed as a Qualified Social Worker within the team where you have been working as a Family Practitioner.

Step Up to Social Work

Postgraduate Diploma for Aspiring Social Workers

The Government’s Step Up to Social Work scheme is a 14-month, full-time training programme for graduates and career changers who do not have a social work degree but are looking to enter the profession.

The programme is dedicated to creating the next generation of child and family social workers and enables successful applicants to train through a mix of academic study and hands-on work experience, before obtaining the Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work.

This will enable qualifying trainees to apply for registration as a qualified social worker with Social Work England.

To apply to the programme, you’ll need to have:

a minimum 2:2 undergraduate degree qualification (level 6)
6 months’ full-time (or equivalent) direct experience, either in a paid or voluntary capacity, of working with vulnerable children, young people and/or families, carers or vulnerable adults
GCSE in English or English language at grade 4 (C) or above (or an approved equivalent)

In a change from earlier years, final year students are now eligible to apply to the programme however evidence of the final grade must be provided prior to a student starting the programme.

You will achieve your qualification through the University of Winchester, who also support the partnership by offering master classes focusing on contemporary social work practice in our society.

Having been rated by Ofsted as Outstanding in all areas of children’s social care, Hampshire Children’s Services have an excellent offering for anyone looking to start their social work career.

Backed by a £25 million investment from the Department for Education, the Step Up programme helps individuals with training costs and provides a bursary of £21,994 over the course of 14 months. Since 2010, it has assisted more than 2,300 people across England to become social workers.

Full details of eligibility criteria and the assessment process are available on the Government website.

Degree Apprenticeships

We offer our apprenticeship programme to individuals who have recent experience of working with children/young people, and families.

The apprenticeship is a full-time role and takes between 1 and 3 years (dependent on your level of recent experience). It is a mixture of learning undertaken within a Family Practitioner role and learning in partnership at the University of Winchester - ranked in the top 15 for Social Work in The Guardian’s best UK universities, 2022.

You will build on the skills you already bring from your related field and learn how to apply these in a social work context as well as spending 20% of your time working towards your academic skills for your Social Work England (SWE) accredited Social Work degree.

These roles will predominately be based within our frontline social work teams across all eight districts in Hampshire.

As a Social Work Apprentice after a period of induction, you will jointly undertake initial assessments with Social Worker colleagues, develop and progress family plans as well as delivering a range of tasks and interventions; all within our strengths-based Hampshire Approach framework aimed at keeping more children safely at home.

In your role you will regularly attend sessions at the University of Winchester complemented by study days, regular reflective case supervision, a dedicated Practice Educator and a work-based supervisor all supporting you to gain the required knowledge and skills for your Social Work degree, professional and personal development as a practitioner.

join the Hampshire Adventure