Step Up to Social Work

Salary details: £ - £

Step Up to Social Work – A work-based routed to train and qualify as a social worker within children’s services

If you already have an undergraduate degree 2:2 (level 6) or above (in any subject), and you have Maths and English GCSE grade C / level 4 (or the equivalent), and have 6 months experience working with children or young people, families or carers – you qualify to apply for this programme.  You will need to show all of your original certificates as part of the application and assessment process. If you cannot find these, you can order replacements online.

Social work is both a challenging and rewarding career through which you can make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children and families. You will need to be able to build relationships with families facing difficult times, show a lot of patience and be a good listener. You will also need good observational skills, analytical thinking and sound judgement to make the right decisions and protect children.  Social work regularly tests resilience, stamina, and resolve - all of which you will need to succeed. Social work can be life changing for those you support.

We have a long and established relationship with the East Midlands Regional Partnership for the step up to social work programme. This is a program managed between a number of Local Authorities regionally and The University of Central Lancashire.

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 a 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 of £19,833 paid over the duration of the programme to support you during your training.

Here is a frequently asked questions document, produced by the Department for Education 

For more information and to how to apply visit:

Recruitment for the programme is now open, with assessment centres scheduled for June and July 2023, and a January 2024 programme start date.

The Step-Up website is now live for you to find out more information – click here.

A Step Up information briefing will be held on:- Thursday 9^th March 17:30-18:30 on MS teams. Click here to join that meeting.  This will be an opportunity for you to ask questions about the application process and the course content.

If you can’t attend that briefing you can contact us directly with any questions or queries :  tracey.hsylop@derbyshire.gov.uk or fiona.musselwhite@derbyshire.gov.uk