Level: 5 | Duration: 2 Years | Start Date: September
Days of the Week: 2 Days per week, Monday and Tuesday, 9.30am – 4.30pm (TBC for 2025)
Location: Riverside College, Kingsway, Widnes, WA8 7QQ
Full Time Course
Overview
This is a two-year full-time programme of study commencing in September. The Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (FdSc) offers you the opportunity to develop core transferable skills and knowledge relevant to health care, social care and public health to enable you to gain employment in an area of your choice. The award is clearly mapped to the 15 standards of the Care Certificate which you may be required to complete when working within health and social care sectors. The design of the Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care has also been guided by the national subject benchmarks for Health Studies and Social Policy and Administration.
You will look at many aspects of health and social care including life development from birth to older adult and will consider how external factors such as the environment and policy influence this development. You will develop core skills which are relevant to all health and social care areas, such as record keeping, safeguarding, and how you can affect the communication of others.
You will learn about the social, psychological and biological aspects of health through the lifespan, cultural differences in relation to health and social care, society’s influences on the healthy individual and the health impact on social care. You will also learn how health and social care services relate to each other to provide care and develop professional skills and knowledge required in all areas of health and social care.
When you enrol, you will receive the date of your first induction session where you will receive your timetable for the academic year.
On successful completion of the Foundation Degree In Health and Social Care award, students will be awarded a University of Staffordshire degree.
Entry Requirements:
64 UCAS points, made up of a combination of the following:
• Level 3 qualification in a relevant subject e.g. BTEC Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care. A Levels in related subjects such as Health and Social Care, Biology and Social Science.
• GCSE English at a minimum of Grade C/ Grade 4 (or equivalent).
• A letter from an employer or unpaid work experience provider to confirm that the applicant has access to 70 hours of paid or unpaid work experience in Year 1 and 70 hours in Year 2.
• A current satisfactory enhanced DBS.
You will be expected to undertake paid or voluntary work experience in a related health care setting throughout the duration of the course.
A letter from an employer or unpaid work experience provider must accompany the application to confirm that the applicant has access to 70 hours of paid or unpaid work experience in Year 1 and 70 hours in Year 2.
This letter must state that every effort will be made to support the applicant in undertaking the work-based activities required by the programme and that the employee has appropriate and current enhanced satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance. A work experience placement may be dependent upon satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service clearance.
Course Fee (Per Year): £6,950 (TBC for 2025)
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Modules of Study (Subject to Change)
The course is continually assessed through methods which include essays, portfolio, examination, presentations, researched report, viva voce and project work.
Level 4 (Year 1)
Core Modules:
- Communication Skills in Health and Social Care (20 Credits)
- An Introduction to Academic Study and Employability Skills in Health and Social Care (20 Credits)
- Human Growth and Development through a bio-psycho-social lens (20 Credits)
- The Context of Health and Social Care (20 Credits)
- Professional Issues in Health & Social Care (and work experience) (20 Credits)
- Introduction to Safeguarding Children and Adults (20 Credits)
Level 5 (Year 2)
Core Modules:
- The Employable Graduate (20 Credits)
- Research Skills for Health and Social Care (20 Credits)
- Understanding Health & Social Care Organisations (and work experience) (20 Credits)
- Introduction to Public Health and Health Promotion (20 Credits)
Optional Modules (* denotes modules currently delivered)
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Perspectives (20 credits) *
- Basic Counselling Skills (20 credits) *
- Supporting individuals, families and households (20 credits)
- Dementia Awareness in Health and Social Care (20 credits)
Employability skills are embedded throughout the award, with a clear focus on how the modules you study and any experiences you have gained can be applied to the workplace.
Progression
Upon successful completion of the FdSc Health and Social Care you may be eligible to progress onto the BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care which is the designated one-year top up degree delivered at Riverside College (and awarded by Staffordshire University).
As a graduate of Riverside College and awarding body Staffordshire University, you’ll gain employability skills and professional attributes that will help you to help you get ahead in the job market.
With over 350 different career opportunities within different health and social care settings the Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (FdSc) provides the underpinning skills and knowledge required for a wide variety of work in these settings, including public or private sector, working for charities in the UK or abroad, working in research centres, public health, health promotion, NHS support services, social services, housing associations, private care homes, offender services, drug and alcohol services, local authority and education support.
Study time
- Year 1: you’ll spend 22% of time in lectures, seminars or similar and 78% of time in independent study.
- Year 2: you’ll spend 22% of time in lectures, seminars or similar and 78% of time in independent study.
Assessment
- Year 1: your assessment will be 87.5% by coursework and 12.5% by written exam.
- Year 2: your assessment will be 87.5% by coursework and 12.5% by written exam.
Higher Education Links
Course Features
- Lecture 0
- Quiz 0
- Duration 10 weeks
- Skill level All levels
- Students 0
- Assessments Yes
