Qualifications For Professional Social Work - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The main qualification for social work is the undergraduate Bachelor's degree (BA, BSc or BSW) in social work, offered at British universities from September 2003 onwards. There is also available a master's degree (MA, MSc or MSW). These have replaced the previous qualifying award, the postgraduate Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), which was first awarded in 1991 and will be phased out across the UK by 2009. Prior to this, the recognised qualification was the Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW), awarded between 1975 and 1991.

Purporting to be either a social worker or a student social worker without registering with the Social Work Register and holding or undergoing training for the recognised qualifications is now a criminal offence. Social workers must renew their registration every three years. These regulations offer protection to vulnerable people by guaranteeing the professional regulation of people working as social workers. They also promote workforce development, as all social workers must participate in at least fifteen days of professional training over a three-year period in order to be eligible for renewal of their registration.

Lay practitioners in the United Kingdom, often referred to as Social Services Assistants or Care Workers, are unregistered social workers that often do not hold any formal social work qualification. This is not the case in Scotland where the scope of registration for social service workers is more advanced. Within the mental health sector in the United Kingdom, social workers can train as an Approved Mental Health Professional. With the implementation of the Mental Health Act 2007, this had replaced the previous Approved Social Worker role and is open to other professionals such as community psychiatric nurses, psychologists and occupational therapists, whilst maintaining a social work ethos. AMHPs are responsible for organising and contributing to assessments under the Mental Health Act 1983, as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007.

After qualifying, social workers can undertake further training under the social work 'Post-Qualifying Framework'. Before 2007, there were four awards available under this framework:

• Post-Qualifying Award - for advanced social work practice and management
• Mental Health Social Workers in England and Wales can now train to become an Approved Mental Health Professional or AMHP.
• Child Care Award - qualification to work with children and young people
• Practice Teaching Award - qualification to work as a tutor, supervisor and assessor for social work students on their work placement

In 2007, the General Social Care Council and UK partners implemented a new framework which unified these awards in a simpler structure allowing broader study to count towards three levels of social work award: specialist, higher specialist, and advanced.