Social Care work or Teaching Assistant???

mummytofour

Social work! 3 yr degree and a job at the end of it. Best job in the world.

ipswichblade

hazza04 wrote: »

ipswichblade - thanks! it sounds like you have done well out of that and it certainly gives me some hope!

Good luck with whatever you go and do in the future.

hazza04

Thanks to all those that replied - I'm trying to find out more about social care work at the mo and I'm getting confused as to what the best poss route in to it could be for me.
I'm 32 and left school with GCSE'S - Am i best looking for voluntary work in say a childrens home and doing a part time course etc or just try and see if i can do the full time course - Obviously money is an issue here for me. Any advice will be much appreciated!! Thanks

lilysgarden

Did you get a grade c in GCSE maths and english? If so, you won't need to do those subjects. I started out doing an Access to social work course at the local college. These courses are free, you just have to buy a few books (there's a thread about recommended reading somewhre on the student money saving as they recommend loads of books that aren't always helpful for you!). And I think those with children were able to get help with childcare costs etc. Worth seeing what benefits you'd be entitled to, I couldn't get any though as I have no dependents etc.

The Access courses are usually a year full time or 2 years part time, so it would work out about 2 days a week part time. But if your determined, it's more than possible to complete it in a year even with responsibilities, quite a few on my course managed it! If you want to ask me anything at all about the access course or degree, or even the job I do now, feel free to shout anytime. I'm more than happy to answer any questions I can!

And your right, we are seeing an increase in cases due to the economic climate right now. Usually bruising type injuries where stress has gone through the roof and someone has lashed out at their partner/kids etc... Also getting alot of families coming through as homeless and sorting all the issues related to that. It's set to be a guaranteed job for quite a while I think! Again, if you wanna know anything about my job, ask! It's the worst job in the world if you aren't prepared for what you see/hear and some of the cases are just as traumatic for staff as they are the families!

Nikki xxx

henm01

lilysgarden wrote: »

Did you get a grade c in GCSE maths and english? If so, you won't need to do those subjects. I started out doing an Access to social work course at the local college. These courses are free, you just have to buy a few books (there's a thread about recommended reading somewhre on the student money saving as they recommend loads of books that aren't always helpful for you!). And I think those with children were able to get help with childcare costs etc. Worth seeing what benefits you'd be entitled to, I couldn't get any though as I have no dependents etc.

The Access courses are usually a year full time or 2 years part time, so it would work out about 2 days a week part time. But if your determined, it's more than possible to complete it in a year even with responsibilities, quite a few on my course managed it! If you want to ask me anything at all about the access course or degree, or even the job I do now, feel free to shout anytime. I'm more than happy to answer any questions I can!

And your right, we are seeing an increase in cases due to the economic climate right now. Usually bruising type injuries where stress has gone through the roof and someone has lashed out at their partner/kids etc... Also getting alot of families coming through as homeless and sorting all the issues related to that. It's set to be a guaranteed job for quite a while I think! Again, if you wanna know anything about my job, ask! It's the worst job in the world if you aren't prepared for what you see/hear and some of the cases are just as traumatic for staff as they are the families!

Nikki xxx

Hi

I could really do with some assistance too.

I have just been accepted to study NVQ3 in Social Care starting Sept. I am a mature student having just been made redundant. I leave work inAugust and will go straight to college, but now having second thoughts.

Ideally I want to work as a Social Worker with children/young adults in a care home type setting but I will need a degree. I have no experience whatsoever apart from having children of my own.

SHould I take the NVQ (2 yr course) as I am too late to apply for Uni?
I think I am too late for an Access course starting this year?
Should I take a NVQ2 course (1 year) then apply for uni?
Is NVQ in Childcare better for me than Social Care?

I am so confused. Not only am I unsure what course to take, the thought of not earning a wage is scary too.

Sorry for going on but any help will be great.

Oldernotwiser

henm01 wrote: »

Hi

I could really do with some assistance too.

I have just been accepted to study NVQ3 in Social Care starting Sept. I am a mature student having just been made redundant. I leave work inAugust and will go straight to college, but now having second thoughts.

Ideally I want to work as a Social Worker with children/young adults in a care home type setting but I will need a degree. I have no experience whatsoever apart from having children of my own.

SHould I take the NVQ (2 yr course) as I am too late to apply for Uni?
I think I am too late for an Access course starting this year?
Should I take a NVQ2 course (1 year) then apply for uni?
Is NVQ in Childcare better for me than Social Care?

I am so confused. Not only am I unsure what course to take, the thought of not earning a wage is scary too.

Sorry for going on but any help will be great.

In your situation, the first thing that you need to do is to sort out the difference between the roles of a Social Worker and that of someone who works in social care. A good place to start is the website www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/

If you want to work in social care then NVQ Care is likely to be your best route, or NVQ in Childcare if you want to work specifically with young children.

To be a Social Worker you will, as you say, need a degree and doing an Access course first will be your best way into this. Many colleges recruit well into the summer for these courses, so you could give your college a ring to ask about vacancies.

In both cases, if you don't already have a level 3 qualification you won't have to pay fees if under 25 and you could be eligible for the Adult Learning Grant of up to £30 per week.

To do an NVQ you must have practical experience to go alongside it and you'll also need this to be accepted onto a Social Work degree. This could be on a voluntary basis but there should be no reason why you can't get paid work in the care field which would be appropriate for either option.

Whilst doing your own research you could make an appointment with a Nexstep Careers Adviser or Learndirect to discuss your options. It's important that you make the right choices at this point because the career paths are very different, as are the jobs themselves.

I'm sorry I've gone all red on you but do post again if you need further information.

henm01

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

In your situation, the first thing that you need to do is to sort out the difference between the roles of a Social Worker and that of someone who works in social care. A good place to start is the website www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/

If you want to work in social care then NVQ Care is likely to be your best route, or NVQ in Childcare if you want to work specifically with young children.

To be a Social Worker you will, as you say, need a degree and doing an Access course first will be your best way into this. Many colleges recruit well into the summer for these courses, so you could give your college a ring to ask about vacancies.

In both cases, if you don't already have a level 3 qualification you won't have to pay fees if under 25 and you could be eligible for the Adult Learning Grant of up to £30 per week.

To do an NVQ you must have practical experience to go alongside it and you'll also need this to be accepted onto a Social Work degree. This could be on a voluntary basis but there should be no reason why you can't get paid work in the care field which would be appropriate for either option.

Whilst doing your own research you could make an appointment with a Nexstep Careers Adviser or Learndirect to discuss your options. It's important that you make the right choices at this point because the career paths are very different, as are the jobs themselves.

I'm sorry I've gone all red on you but do post again if you need further information.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
Do you get the practical experience while completing the NVQ3 training?
If not, that means I will need to attend college full time and then volunteer at weekends?
I tried to ring a care agency to ask if I can volunteer or shadow a current worker and they were not interested at all.
The main thing I am worried about is starting the course and hating it.
I will be redundant by Sept and I'm late 30's (nearly 40!) so not sure if I will need to pay all or part of the fees.

I don't have enough UCAS points to apply straight to Uni so thought the NVQ will give me the experience I need? Access are all coursework I believe?

Sorry to ramble on, it's just I have worked in Banking for 20 yrs and taking this step is a life changing experience for me.

Oldernotwiser

henm01 wrote: »

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
Do you get the practical experience while completing the NVQ3 training?
If not, that means I will need to attend college full time and then volunteer at weekends?
I tried to ring a care agency to ask if I can volunteer or shadow a current worker and they were not interested at all.
The main thing I am worried about is starting the course and hating it.
I will be redundant by Sept and I'm late 30's (nearly 40!) so not sure if I will need to pay all or part of the fees.

I don't have enough UCAS points to apply straight to Uni so thought the NVQ will give me the experience I need? Access are all coursework I believe?

Sorry to ramble on, it's just I have worked in Banking for 20 yrs and taking this step is a life changing experience for me.

NVQs are practical qualifications and have to be done alongside relevant work but a full time course is likely to be less than 3 days a week, so you'd have plenty of time. It's not really a suitable case for job shadowing but there's no reason why you can't get paid work in the field straight away. NVQs may not be considered academic enough for university entry but your best bet is to ask the university itself about this.

If you don't already have a full level 3 qualification (2 A levels/BTEC National etc) then you shouldn't have to pay the fees but you'll be too old to get ALG, I'm afraid. Most people in your situation would work part time (care work's ideal) whilst studying either course.

NVQ is a vocational qualification and will lead you directly into employment but is pretty worthless outside that area. An Access course will open the doors to a variety of careers but it's only purpose in life is to get you into university and doesn't have any value in the employment field.