Curious about studying Health and Social Care (with Foundation Year)at University of Staffordshire? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Stoke-on-Trent Campus
Full Time
Sep 2026
4 Year
Please note the first year of this qualification is delivered by our academic partner institution: Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College. It will be taught at their campus. This course is integrated and includes a foundation year before going on to 3 years of study at Staffordshire University. If you are looking for a course at our Staffordshire University city campus, in Stoke-on-Trent, please check our website at staffs.ac.uk. This four year honours degree incorporates key areas of health and social care to give you the opportunity to develop the core, transferrable 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 at Staffordshire University is mapped to the Care Certificate Standards and, although you will not achieve this certificate as part of your degree pathway, you will be very prepared to meet the requirements of this qualification if you go on to work in the health or social care sector. The first year of your study will be undertaken at your chosen college and you will then progress to the BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care award at Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent. 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. You will be expected to undertake work experience in a related area in your first (at College) and third year (at University) of study. This will help to provide a clear direction of your progress and career progression upon completion of the degree.
Foundation year
This module aims to equip learners with theoretical knowledge and understanding of the key principles and concepts that underpin health and social policy and practice. It addresses the current challenges for UK health and social care including personalisation, integrated care, working across boundaries, public engagement, patient self-management, definitions of wellbeing, and the new commissioning landscape, including key policy, legislation and working practices.
Foundation year
This innovative module will equip you with the key communication skills to work effectively, inclusively and reflectively in the dynamic health and social care environment. This forward-looking module not only supports essential workplace skills and experience to enhance your confidence and communication skills, but it will also support your career advancement to degree level and beyond.
Foundation year
This module is designed for learners that are new to higher education. You will be introduced to a range of learning strategies to help you learn independently such as searching for literature, developing action plans, academic writing and referencing and citation. In addition, skills such as the acquisition and dissemination of information using word processing, email, power point and presentation skills, as well as organising and managing time to maximise learning opportunities will also be provided. As part of the module the learners will be introduced to the nature of evidence / research and how to become critical thinkers.
Foundation year
This module will look at definitions of health and wellbeing and individual aspects of human health and development and how these changes over the lifespan; what are Values and how they help us to understand human services; people in society, social roles and social influences; the social process of devaluation as a health determinant; choice as competency; healthy and unhealthy behaviour; the role of anti-discriminatory and anti- oppressive behaviours in society. Valuing diversity this module will be exploring individual differences, including gender, sexuality, culture, religion, disability and social class.
Foundation year
This module aims to develop your understanding of the individual across the lifespan from a biological, psychological and sociological perspective. This will include the anatomy and physiology of the bodily systems, an introduction to psychological theories and social perspectives including values and social norms, diversity and inclusion exploring culture and society, families, race, religion and ethnicity, disability, social class, stratification and inequality, poverty, welfare and social exclusion. Employer networking events and careers fairs will offer opportunities to speak directly with future employers and previous graduates will share their learning journeys, offering different perspectives and views.
This module will help you begin to plan your study, develop your academic study skills and identify, develop and record your employability skills throughout the life of the course. In recognising that learners often have differing starting points when beginning their learning journey, this module will enable each learner to assess their own personal starting point and then to plan their development, setting key objectives which will be evidenced in the assessment requirements at the end of the module. Employer networking events and careers fairs will offer opportunities to speak directly with your future employers and previous graduates will share their learning journeys, offering different perspectives and views.
This exciting and innovative module will equip you with the key skills to enable you to communicate effectively and inclusively in the health and social care environment. This forward-looking module will not only enable you to successfully complete the Communication Care Standard, but it will also equip you with the experience, confidence and skills to communicate clearly and deliver excellent presentations to support your career advancement and study beyond degree level.
This module is an opportunity for students to consider, debate and discuss the political context of health and social care and to critically debate how government influences services and communities to promote well-being. The module will consider the individuals role in health and social care and topics studied will include: - current debates in health and social policy, theoretical perspectives in health and social policy and models of welfare critically debate the opportunities and challenges of Integrated Care. Local, national and global perspectives will be explored. - the role and function of the National Health Service, local authority and private/charity sectors in providing care and supporting carer.
This module is aimed to equip the learners with theoretical knowledge and understanding of human growth and development throughout the lifespan exploring a range of biological, psychological and social perspectives. Valuing diversity is at the core of the module exploring personal, cultural, religious and spiritual human development throughout the life stages. Disruption of normal development is explored through the service users perspective and narratives to enable insight and empathy. It is expected that students will develop their understanding of and commitment to diversity and anti-oppressive values relevant to caring and supporting people in health and social care.
This module offers you an opportunity to learn about and build your Adult and Child Safeguarding knowledge ready to begin your career in Health and Social Care. This module will challenge you to synthesise your understanding of theories of good safeguarding, integrated care and ethical practice. The module will build on the knowledge you will have gained from other modules on the degree to develop a strong foundation in safeguarding best practice. The module is grounded in theory and has a strong practical focus, offering opportunities within the module to examine high profile safeguarding case studies, meet safeguarding professionals working in the field and engage in simulated learning workshops centred around safeguarding case studies.
Within this module you will explore several theoretical and practical issues around professional practice; you will learn the core values and behaviours expected when working in any health care or social care environment, using the 6Cs (compassion, care, competence, communication, courage, commitment) to underpin professional actions. The topics you will study include: Basic Life Support, infection prevention, manual handling, the professional client relationship as an ethical problem; client centred practice; involving service users and carers in care planning; whistle-blowing; end of life decisions; consent, confidentiality, record keeping. You will complete 70 hours of Work experience in an area of Health and Social Care to support the production of a Practice Learning Plan assessing professional practice.
This module will enable you to reflect upon your own skills and knowledge gained from your degree at university and from your own life experiences in order to identify how this knowledge and skill can be utilised to optimise employment opportunities and how to communicate successfully this knowledge and skills to prospective employers.
Upon completion of this module students will have an understanding of the principles of public health from the political drivers through to action to improve the health of the public. As part of our commitment to building equality and inclusion into our course design this module will consider the evolving role of Public Health organisations, the importance of data analytics and digital technologies within public health and changing social values. Key Public Health campaigns such as anti-smoking and obesity will be critically discussed, offering real life case studies from which to learn. The module will offer an up to the minute class debate on the latest public health challenges, equipping the student with public health planning and evaluation skills with which to enter the workforce of tomorrow.
'Research is what we do when we need to find something out for ourselves. It makes the difference between guessing and knowing, between doing what we are told and doing the best we can. This module is designed to give you a step-by-step guide into discovering the research in your area and using it to gain new insights. It will give you skills that are essential for your Extended Study module next year, and that you will be able to use throughout your future career.
The module will explore the nature of organisations within the health & social care. Drawing upon organisational theory, the module addresses three broad themes: organisational structures; meeting service user individualised and identified needs; and employee engagement. A key aspect of this is the multi-professional, multi-disciplinary nature of health and social care and the need to work effectively across organisational boundaries. Awareness on service user and carer involvement in the development of services will be facilitated by invited guest lectures. The module will also include the requirement to undertake a project on a chosen health/social care related issue, relevant to the course during work experience.
The aim of the module is to engage you in critical discussion and analysis of contemporary health and social care issues and policies. You will develop an in-depth knowledge in relation to your area of interest through independent enquiry. You will gain a detailed understanding of theoretical, historical and comparative perspectives in health and social care; develop skills in evaluating the impact of health and social care policies on communities, professionals and/or organisations, locally, nationally and internationally; and the ability to critically reflect on policy and practice based on research evidence and use policy change theories to propose and initiate change.
This module enables you to study a topic of your choice in some depth and provides learners with the opportunity to consider analysis of current practice and policy; literature search skills and strategies; principles and practice of critical appraisal of evidence; conceptual frameworks; writing a literature review; presentation of study findings and their relevance to practice.
What does Human Factors really mean and why it is important for patient, service user and staff safety and wellbeing? Human Factors is concerned with the application of what we know about people (our abilities, characteristics and limitations) to the design and management of equipment we use, environments in which we function and the activities we have to perform. This module provides you with an introduction to Human Factors, the profession and the national and international response from the Health and Social Care sectors. We will also explore how Human Factors as a discipline can help address issues relating to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), such as situations that cause EDI issues and potential solutions on how to overcome these.
This module provides you with the opportunity to apply the understanding of health and social care topics you have developed over the course to matters of leadership and management. It will cover key theories of leadership and management, including management and change and conflict, innovation, decision making, teamwork and project management. Over the course of the module, you will explore how these theories can be applied to practical issues within health and social care environments. Through a combination of lectures and group tasks you will be able to consider your own style of leadership and how this might be applied in your future working roles. Simulated activities and invited guest lectures on key leadership and management topics will enhance this module.
AE Grades/points required
Not currently available, please Contact University for up to date information.
4.2
