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Health & Social Care

Mrs. L. Shuttleworth

Head of Department

Welcome to Health & Social Care

In the Health and Social Care department at Ferndown Upper School we aim to give a taste of what working in the Health and Social care industry would entail. Our curriculum helps to develop a better understanding of the Health, Social and Childcare settings. We look at different life stages from grandparents to babies, and everyone in between, health and social care is about supporting and caring for everyone! It covers all aspects of society and a wide spectrum of health issues, including physical, mental, emotional, and behavioural issues.

“The National Health Service (NHS) is one of the largest employers in the world, and is the biggest in Europe, with over 1.3 million staff”.

Meet The Health & Social Care Department Staff

Miss. L. Shuttleworth

Head of Department

Mrs. M. Cowell

Specifications Year 10 and 11 – OCR Cambridge National Level 1/2

Technical Extended Cert Level 3

Curriculum

Year 10
Life Stages – Human Development, Factors affecting Development, Congenital defects and disabilities, non birth defects and Support Plan/Care packages.
Nutritional impact on development – nutritional needs of life stages, nutrients and functions, allergies and intolerances, meal planning, nutritional software analysis and hygiene and safety.

Year 11
Essential values of Care – Client Rights, Care Values, Legislation, Safety, Security and Hygiene.
Communicating and working with individuals in health, social care and early years settings – verbal, non verbal, written and specialist communication. Communication environments and barriers, care qualities and skills.

Facilities/ Equipment

There is a dedicated (recently refurbished) HSC classroom which is well equipped. Students have a wide range of resources relevant to topics at their disposal and use of computers when required.

Extra-curricular

Year 10 and 11 students have the opportunity to attend the after school Coursework catch up clinics and Revision sessions.
Year 12 students are encouraged to undertake Work Experience in a relevant Health, Social Care or Early Years setting.
Students are offered opportunities to visit local care settings relevant to current unit being studied.
Students are able to enjoy enrichment from visiting speakers for enhancement to studies and careers information.

Revision

Exam Unit Revision guides created by HSC teaching staff are available. Revision sessions after school are scheduled for Year 11 students.

Careers In Health and Social Care

There is a wide range of jobs available in this sector.  Recruitment opportunities into careers in Health and Social Care is high.

There are 3 main types of care settings within which you can progress.  These are health care, social care and early years/ children’s care.  Here are some ideas of different care settings and within each of these there are many types of career opportunities for example there are over 600 job roles within health care:

Health care settings eg GP, Practice Nurse, Phlebotomist, Dentist, Dental Technician, Nurse, Midwife, Surgeon, Consultant, Radiographer, Paramedic, Pharmacist, Optician.

Social care settings eg Residential Home Care worker, Domiciliary worker, Social worker, Probation Officer.

Early years care settings eg teacher, TA, play worker, Childminder, Nursery assistant

Labour Market Information – LMI

It is really useful to look at the labour market when considering a career in health and social care.  This sector is a growth area in terms of employment opportunities.  The coronavirus pandemic brought into focus just how much we rely on both the clinical and non-clinical workers in the healthcare sector. Our NHS is the country’s largest employer with 1.7 million staff, making it the 5th biggest employer in the world.

The LMI for All portal provides high quality, reliable LMI information – see link below:

https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/

Learning Pathways

There is a higher and growing employment demand in the sector in Dorset and this has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  Dorset’s demographic profile, with its more aged population, means a higher proportion of local people are working in health and social care (16% compared to 13% across England) and this is set to create a variety of interesting and rewarding opportunities within the sector.

Health and Social Care offers roles and career progression at all levels:

Level 2 – this is equivalent to GCSE level and many employers will accept students with level 2 qualifications – once started practitioners will have opportunities to make progress and gain qualifications in the work place

Post 16 – Level 3 – this is equivalent to A levels and individuals can enter employment with level 3 qualifications or continue to develop by studying level 4.  T level in Health will also be introduced.

Level 4 – this is equivalent to a Bachelors degree (first degree) – Many Universities offer degrees in Health and Social Care. 

Apprenticeships – these are available from Level 2 onwards.