The Step Up To Social Work post-graduate diploma is a Department for Education scheme. This intensive 14-month full-time programme is for applicants who do not have a social work degree and want to become a social worker.

You will receive a £21,955 tax-free bursary (equates roughly to a £27k salary as tax free) during the programme. The course requires you to complete 170 placement days of direct social work practice in a local authority whilst completing academic learning at the University. You will graduate with a postgraduate diploma in social work and will be able to register as a qualified social worker with Social Work England.

This course ensures youll develop the skills to build effective relationships with children, young people and families. Youll study communication, child development theory and practice, gain an understanding of the family context, adult behaviours and the risks of abuse and neglect to children.

Youll also develop theoretical and practical knowledge as well as the skills needed to navigate the family and youth justice systems in England. By the end of this course, youll be able to understand and undertake child and family assessments, learn analytical decision making, planning, and reviewing capabilities.

Our social work courses are also ranked eighth in the UK for course satisfaction according to the Guardian University Guide and the social work team was recently awarded the CATE (Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence) Winner 2024.

On this course youll have the opportunity to gain direct experience with two practice placements within one of the seven London Boroughs in the step up to social work partnership. These include the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Bromley.

This Step Up to Social Work PGDip covers five key themes which seek to reflect the current demands and requirements for social work to prepare you for your future career:

encouraging people with lived experience participation

valuing diversity, promoting equality and social justice

developing positive relationship-based social work practice whilst integrating the Knowledge and Skills Statement (KSS) for children and families social workers

promoting research-minded and evidence-based social work practice

nurturing emotionally resilient, intelligent, and confident practitioners

This intensive course is taught by lecturers have a broad range and depth of expertise across both children and families and adult specialisms of social work. At London Met, we have notable research taking place in the study of the abuse of women and children, where we host an established and world leading research centre, the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) which informs the Step Up to Social Work course.

Underpinning this social work course is the development of robust social justice and reflective practice within a supervisory framework of anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory and anti-racist social work practice. By studying this course at London Met, youll be studying at a University dedicated to embedding social justice into their curriculum and making real social change. The underpinning values and principles of the London Mets Education for Social Justice Framework is integrated within all levels of this course.