Social Work degree sponsorship

[QueenBhannae]

I am currently self employed. Effectively I earn nothing as it all goes back into the business.
I would like to complete a degree whilst I am not used to having an income if that makes sense? This is so I can return to paid employment once my youngest goes to school.

I have enrolled on K101 and KYJ113 starting Jan/Feb.
If I could find a sponsor I could complete a degree in social work through the OU.
If not then I have the option of continuing to a degree in Health and Social Care or Childhood and Youth Studies. After which I could progress to a post grad social work qualification...still with me? lol

My question is who will be most likely to sponsor me? I have talked to my local authority and they said I probably need to be in employment and then see if they ask me! if I want to do a course. I am happy to take on part time work along side study (voluntary or paid) but cannot apply for jobs on the off chance they will sponsor me.

Local Uni's will not accept the two OU as equivalent of 1st year study and I would have to start from the beginning again...

Help/bump

I know one of the girls on my p/t access course worked for liverpool council f/t as a social work assistant and they now pay for her to do the degree part time at uni. ie. she still works for the council in her current position and she is allowed to go to uni one day a week, which will take her 4 years to get the degree.

Another girl on my degree was working full time for the council and they are now, still paying her her wage, and covering her tuition fees, whilst she studies full time for the social work degree. The council are doing this because she has to work within children and families for a set amount of time once she qualifies.

I think it is now getting harder to get sponsered for the degree. It depends on how bankrupt the council is. eg. Glasgow council no longer sponser any staff to do the degree.

You would need to try and find out how many people your council put through the degree a year etc. I know it may not be easy info to get your hand on!

I can't think of anyone other than the council who would sponsor you.

I would also love to be sponsored as costng me a fortune in child care for my 3 kids, but like you I want a decent job once they are all at school, so feel it is a necessary evil at the moment.

I had also thought about doing so much of it through the open uni but didn't think the uni's would then allow me to enter the degree at a higher level.
Also thought about doing a degree via open uni and then doing masters in social work. But the masters is still 2 years and the degree is 3.

Anyhow, hope I haven't went on too much and that you can work out a way to get a sponsor.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I am fed up of being in this situation too, I rang for an agency job, which was only a temp 3 month position, to get some experience but they said i had to have 18 months experience of working with children and families, the fact that im a mother of 2 apparently doesnt count as experience! I am in the same sitaution as you QueenBhannae, I rang my MP after months of dead end results but even the MP cant help. The government have a duty and responsibilty to make it easier for people to qualify from alternative routes, especially with the economic climate and the dire situation that social services are in in general. I even asked my local council to sponsor me and I would pay the fees but since we all know how diabolical Doncaster Council's Social Services department is I bet you can guess what their answer was. I know its not any help but I just wanted to express my dispair

I work for cs as a family worker and know of 2 people doing sw degree through council. One at ou one at local uni . They sponsor 3 people a year. V strict criteria inclu level 4 nvq and x amount of years experience then application form & interview with council before applying for uni

Yes, you would usually only be able to get sponsorship from an LA if they are your employer. So for example, if you were working in social care they would pay for you to qualify whilst still working for them. Usually this means studying part time over 4 years. You are then tied to that employer for a couple of years after you qualify.

However, there is a bursary for people who are not sponsored. I've just started the masters and my fees get paid by the bursary plus a small amount for living costs. There are also means tested childcare elements which may help.

Agencies are more likely to ask fir experience as the client wants them to supply someone who can get straight to work rather than training a new person up

i found this post when searching KYJ113 myself, when looking for some ideas for my 20 day experience.

you dont need to be sponsored for the full degree in order to do the 20 day experience for KYJ113. the 20 day experience can be done in any Social Work setting, which includes hospitals which are open 24/7, have you tried your local hospitals?

Have you tried unison. Im not sure if you need to be a member but one of their values is to create partnerships like this one.

Try this unison page

My experience of Local Autorities is that they will take on volunteers for 20 days. i know my little team in Herts has had a few volunteers over the years. when asking - try not to mention the dgree or sponsorship - you might scare them off!

your KYJ113 would have started in Jan and you need to have this completed by april - did you already have something planned or are you still looking ? im looking to do this next year and would be intrested to find out any other options i have.

Keep us posted on what your doing

Hey girls,

I came across this forum while looking for answers/sponsorship on how to go about the flexible learning SW degree. I have been working for CORNERSTONE and special needs groups for a year now and also doing voluntary work, but ubfortunately still cannot find sponsorship to apply. spoke to my manager yesterday and she says if I get her all the info she will speak to head office, but she has never came across anyone doing this degree in all her years working there, so guess Im had it !
Now applying for child and youth BA, hoping to follow with postgrad SW, its the only route I can see as viable.
You wouldnt think it would be so difficult eh. Good luck everyone

amanda

I work for the local authority as a social worker and I have never known them sponser someone through the OU.

If you were seconded through the LA you would go to the uni they work with. I have had alot of students but only every some across one who was doing it through the ou (they were not on placement with us) but a private organisation. However, I can only speak for my la and there are alot of differences. I am with one of the bankrupt inner city las.

Its really hard to get a secondment these days. I sit on a panel that decides on candidates and last time we had two places and over 400 applicants.

If you would like to be a sw the quickest way would be to do it yourself. There are lots of advantages to this as being seconded can be a very difficult experience and I don't think you get the full benefit of the course.

There is lots of financial support available. Might be worth looking into. When I trained I got all my childcare paid for and other funds.

hello i too would love sponsorship for learning. i do not need any financial help i am just wnting someone who will offer me the experience and back / support my learning for 2 years through y level 2 and 3 through the ou.

i am self employed childminder and i think it is a bizarre system for sponsorship as i have a family and need to be earning too-

i am looking or a sponsor with social services children department in the south east

i thought broughs were crying out for help from qualified social workers--- they dont make it easy to become one though do they?