Starting a social care career

Becoming a social worker

The role of a social worker is to support and protect vulnerable children and adults, their families, carers and communities. The work focuses on helping individuals to maximise their potential within society.

Depending on your role, you will work with: 

• vulnerable adults or children
• older people
• people who have a disability
• people who have a physical or mental illness
• children we care for
• children who have emotional or behavioural needs.

This short video from Social Work England explains what it means to be a registered social worker, and what social workers do. You can find out more about undergraduate and post-graduate routes into social work from the national careers website. 

Social Work Degree Apprenticeship

This trainee role involves completing a Social Work Degree Apprenticeship over three years, while learning and studying alongside gaining practical work experience. The apprenticeship is a full-time post (this is a requirement of the apprenticeship), with one day each week attending university to complete an honours degree.

Eligible applicants must have:

• a qualification in both Maths and English at level 2 (GCSE grade C/4, O-Level C or Functional Skills at L2) - You must have the original certificates for these qualifications and provide clear scanned copies of these with your application form as part of your cover letter. Applications can not be progressed without these. 
• been resident in the UK for at least three years

Successful candidates must pass both our recruitment and a university selection. This includes interviews, a written task, a Disclosure and Barring Service check and an occupational health check. 

We are not currently accepting applications for the social work degree apprenticeship.  This page will be updated when opportunities become available.

Approach Social Work

Approach Social Work, previously Frontline, is a social work charity working to ensure that all children in England have a safe and stable home and that their chances in life are not limited by their social or family circumstances. 

They create social change for these children and their families by developing excellent social work practice and leadership through their programmes, and by building a movement of leaders in social work and broader society as part of their Fellowship.

Approach Social Work is a paid 3-year programme that allows you to earn as you qualify as a social worker and complete a fully funded master’s degree in Advanced Relationship Based Social Work with Children and Families in year 3. You will receive a tax-exempt bursary in year one. In years 2 and 3 you would be paid a salary by the Local Authority.

Oxfordshire has worked with Approach Social Work since 2019, hosting hubs for trainee social workers in our Children’s Social Care Family Solutions Plus teams, who then move into Newly Qualified Social Work roles with us.  

You can find more information and apply through Approach Social Work 

Step Up to Social Work

The Step Up to Social Work programme is a unique opportunity to receive support while you are training to start a new career in social work. On the 14-month training programme, you will receive hands-on experience of working in a real-life social work role through placements in the local authority whilst undertaking your qualification. Once you’ve successfully completed the course, you’ll be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work enabling you to apply to register and practice as a social worker.

The Department for Education covers the cost of your university tuition on the programme and provides a tax-free bursary paid over the duration of the programme to support you during your training.  

You can find further information about the programme and apply through  Step up to social work - GOV.UK