29 Nov 2021
Key Facts
Qualification Summary
The Diploma has a strong emphasis on the skills required of the health or social care worker in the 21st century. The mandatory group ensures that learners have a good understanding of underpinning knowledge relevant to the role of the health or social care worker, including an introduction to the role of the health or social care worker and the healthcare system, care principles which underpin all activity across the sector and safeguarding which is vital in protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults. Learners can select from a range of optional units linked to health or social care skills which are also strongly based around equality and diversity and the relevant values required within the sector. They can choose to study units around ill health and the role that socio-economic status and life choices have on health; they also can choose to study a specific medical condition, dementia or the impact that the media has on perspectives around health and social care.
Learners must choose from a selection of mandatory and optional ungraded units to support underpinning skills, including a mandatory working with others unit, which is a vital skill for any health or social care worker.
Learners who have followed these routes may not have come from a health or care background, so they may need to brush up their skills in specific areas as well as learning more about subjects in which they have an interest. If the learner has gone straight into employment, they may not have studied at Level 3 and so this Access to HE Diploma will help them to build on existing skills and provide a good grounding for further academic study.
Why choose this qualification?
This Diploma has a strong emphasis on the skills required of the health or social care worker in the 21st century. The mandatory group ensures that learners have a good understanding of underpinning knowledge relevant to the role of the health or social care worker, including an introduction to the role of the health or social care worker and the healthcare system, care principles which underpin all activity across the sector and safeguarding which is vital in protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults. Learners can select from a range of optional units linked to health or social care skills which are also strongly based around equality and diversity and the relevant values required within the sector. They can choose to study units around ill health and the role that socio-economic status and life choices have on health; they also can choose to study a specific medical condition, dementia or the impact that the media has on perspectives around health and social care.
Learners must choose from a selection of mandatory and optional ungraded units to support underpinning skills, including a mandatory working with others unit, which is a vital skill for any health or social care worker.
Learners who have followed these routes may not have come from a health or care background, so they may need to brush up their skills in specific areas as well as learning more about subjects in which they have an interest. If the learner has gone straight into employment, they may not have studied at Level 3 and so this Access Diploma will help them to build on existing skills and provide a good grounding for further academic study.
Rules of Combination
Learners must complete 18 Credits must be taken from the mandatory group with a maximum of 6 credits from the Research optional group, the remaining 21 credits must be taken from the Health and Social Care optional group.
Units
Learners must complete 6 credits from this group.
Research Skills for Health or Care
Research: Extended Writing Project for Health or Care
Learners must complete 18 credits from this group.
Care Principles
Introduction to Healthcare
Mental Health and Illness
Safeguarding Children, Young People and/or Vulnerable Adults
The Role of the Health or Social Care Professional
Learners must complete 21 credits from this group.
An Introduction to Health and Disease
Dementia Awareness
Duty of Care in Care Settings
Effective and Reflective Practice
Equality and Diversity within Care Services
Government Policy in Relation to Current Health Issues
Government Policy in Relation to Current Social Welfare Issues
Health Psychology
Health or Social Care Professions: Ethics and Values
Inclusivity and Disability
Life Course
Management of Ill Health
Media Perspectives of Health and Social Care
Poverty and Social Exclusion
Promoting Health
Social Drugs and Medicines
Social Work Skills
Social Work and Disability
Sociology of Health
Structure and Contexts of Health and Social Care Delivery
Understand Care and Support Planning
Understand Care of the Elderly
Understanding Social and Physical Aspects of Adult Relationships
Learners must complete 15 credits from this group.
Learners must complete 9 credits from this group.
Academic Writing Skills
Application of Number - Interpreting and Presenting Information
Preparation for Higher Education
Learners must complete 6 credits from this group.
Academic Reading Skills
Communication - Speaking and Listening
Developing Professional Attributes
Drug Calculations and Health Related Charts
Presenting Information Using ICT
Presenting Information Using ICT
Promoting Wellbeing and Building Resilience
Study Skills
Work Placement
Intended learner groups
a) Adults who, because of social, educational or individual circumstances may have achieved few, if any, prior qualifications and wish to progress to HE
b) Adults who have gone straight into industry (perhaps following apprenticeship routes) who wish to progress to HE.
How this diploma meets learners' needs
The Diploma will provide them with underpinning skills to support academic study and provide a level 3 qualification linked to their proposed HE study. A broad range of skills related to care will be acquired, whilst the underpinning skills within the ungraded units will ensure that the learner is fully prepared for progression onto relevant degrees.
What this diploma covers
The units will allow the learners to keep their options open until they have fully decided on their preferred route at degree level. The ungraded units have been chosen to support both progression into higher education and also to allow the learners to develop skills relevant to the subject area e.g. skills in working together which are highly relevant to the role of the health or social worker which is a patient facing role within the National Health Service.
Delivery methods
• Face to face
• Blended learning
• Work placements would also be beneficial.
Progression routes
Progression routes are into a range of nursing or health related degrees including:
• BSc (Hons) Nursing
• BSc Hons Nursing (Mental Health)
• BSc Hons Nursing (Child)
• BSc (Hons) Health Studies
• Midwifery - BSc (Hons)
• BA (Hons) Health and Social Care
• BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care
• FdA Health and Social Care
• BA (Hons) Social Work
• BSc (Hons) Social Work
Progression could also be onto a higher apprenticeship in Care such as the Lead Practitioner in Adult Care or the degree apprenticeship in Nursing.
Funding information
There are now two main sources for funding information, a straightforward ESFA Qualification Search and the more detailed Find a Learning Aim website.
The new Find a learning aim (FALA) service provides a search tool that you can use to check the funding status of any qualification, framework, unit, standard or T Level:
View this qualification on the ESFA’s Find a learning aim website
The Education and Skills Funding Agency search provides funding information on qualifications. It does not provide funding information for units, non-regulated activity and work placements, for this information please use Find a learning aim (FALA).
View this qualification on the ESFA Qualification Funding Search
How to find a learning aim
If you’re not sure how to use the new find a learning aim website, we’ve created a handy walkthrough to help you:
How to Use: Find a learning Aim
Additional funding information for Access to HE
- Access to HE is eligible for funding as part of the legal entitlement offer.
- Access to HE is eligible for funding via Advanced Learner Loans and appears on the Advanced Learner Loans catalogues published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
- Access to HE Diplomas are designed for adult learners aged 19+ and the ESFA only funds young people on these programmes by exception, as stated in paragraph 149, page 39 of the Funding guidance for young people 2020 to 2021.
We have done our best to collate and summarise the key information, and wherever possible we alert our providers to changes in funding policy.
This funding information is provided in good faith and it is always advisable to check directly with the funding agencies before committing to delivery.
The following support materials will help you deliver this qualification.
Information for Access Centres
Assignment briefs
Centres approved to deliver our Access to HE Diplomas can download assignment briefs for a selection of units in this Diploma. Assignment briefs can be downloaded by logging to Prism and locating the relevant unit. More assignment briefs are being added not all units currently have assignment briefs available.
The assignment briefs can be easily adapted to suit your needs. We recommend checking the rules of combination for the Diploma and adapting the brief accordingly.
To provide a flavour of what’s available, you can download the below samples for free: