Why should I study Health & Social Care?

If you are interested a career in health, caring or early years’ service this would be an appropriate course for you.  It will develop your knowledge and skills needed to help in the care of people such as the elderly, young children and those with special needs.

Alternatively, Health & Social Care can be combined with any A Level or GCSE depending on future career intentions.

You can study the following options in Health & Social Care:

AS Health & Social Care - 2 units
A Level Health & Social Care - 2 units

What will I study?

Core content at AS will concentrate on the needs of clients and the services aimed at meeting those needs:

Promoting quality care and communication
Promoting good health

If you continue to A2 you will study either 2 further units in order to achieve a single A2 qualification.

The content of A2 will develop the AS through addressing issues involved in service delivery.  Course content will include:
Service provision and practitioner roles
Care for older individuals

Overall, these options give you the opportunity to follow one of three pathways in Health & Social Care:
Early years
Social Care – in combination with A Level Sociology or Psychology
Health care – in combination with Biology or Science

What are the entry requirements?
Normal college entry requirements. GCSE English grade C would be an advantage.

What skills do I need?

To have a caring and responsible attitude towards other people
Good verbal and written communication
Well organised and committed to study

How will I be taught?

You will be taught by a variety of friendly, supportive teachers and you will experience a range of learning opportunities including: activities, discussions, videos and individual research.

Teachers will support you in preparing assignments for assessment, including individual research, questioning, giving time to deal with problems and providing regular times to review progress.

How is the course assessed?
60% of the course is internally assessed through a programme of assignments set and marked by teachers.

40% of the course is externally assessed through examinations and externally set and marked assignments.

What will this course prepare me for?

Health & Social Care provides the basis for a broad range of university courses including social sciences.

Popular areas include nursing, midwifery, occupational therapy, teacher training, social work, community work, housing services and other health related occupations.

Private Study

As an approximate guideline AS subjects require 3-4 hrs of independent study each; A2 subjects 4-5 hrs each.

What materials will I need to purchase?

A ring binder for storing notes and coursework.
A4 lined paper.

Examining Board

WJEC

Health and Social care is for you if:

you are self-motivated, you like doing lots of coursework and you are interested in working with people.

Health and Social care is not for you if:

you prefer written exams, you find it hard to be organised and you leave everything to the last minute.