News

Choosing the right route to a social work qualification

A former Open University Social Work student talks about what it was like to study with the OU and why he chose the distance-learning route. @SimplySW said: “I found the support they provided best met my needs as an adult learner. The information and support was easy to find, and the monthly tutorials were informative and ensured that I was able to meet other students and share experiences.”

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Open University documentary on BBC 2 highlights the challenges facing social workers

The complexities behind the work of child protection social workers will be observed in a three-part documentary which has been co-produced by The Open University in partnership with BBC, and starts on 30 January at 9:00pm on BBC TWO.

The BBC TWO three-part documentary, Protecting Our Children, follows social workers from Bristol City Council and...

New qualification in social care for Scotland

In response to extensive changes and increasing demands on staff in the social care sector we have launched a new Diploma specifically for social care workers in Scotland.

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Open University academic shares her top tips for social work students

The Open University’s Sarah Matthews, Staff Tutor in Social Work, recently outlined her top areas for social work students to watch in this academic year. Featured in the leading social work publication, Community Care, Sarah’s tips cover a range of current topics from personalisation to social work reforms and early intervention policies.

To find out more, you can read...

OU student nurses take centre stage at Westminster Abbey

Last month, student nurses from across the country - including The Open University's Donna Goodman and Lisa Allen from Northern Ireland - attended a prestigious service in Westminster Abbey to commemorate Florence Nightingale, the most famous nurse in history.

Donna and Lisa joined 2,500 nurses and midwives at the ceremony on National Nurses Day (12 May)...

Social Work student recognised for outstanding achievement

Social Work student, Tracey Cooper, has been awarded the Sir John Daniel prize for outstanding achievement.

Tracey was awarded the prize by Monica Dowling, Professor of Social Work, at the OU’s graduation ceremony in Harrogate on Saturday 9 April.

Professor Dowling said: “I was really pleased to be able to present Tracey with the Sir...

National Nurses Day

National Nurses Day (12 May) is held annually to celebrate the nursing profession across the globe, and to pay tribute to the vital and diverse work they do.

Professor Jan Draper, Head of Nursing at The Open University, said: “The Open University is privileged to be able to work with a wide range of nurses and healthcare staff through its provision of distance-learning...

OU to expand health worker training in Africa

The Open University and the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) Directorate in Kenya have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on the education and training of health workers in Africa.

The agreement paves the way for the two organisations to extend their existing collaboration in Ethiopia to train hundreds of thousands of front-line health...

Research studentships available (MPhil/PhD) in Health and Social Care

The Faculty of Health and Social Care is seeking high quality applications for funded full time studentships and for self-funded part-time study. The Faculty’s research theme is ‘Life of quality: life course and life challenges’. Students’ work would be expected to articulate with this theme. In particular our work focuses on issues such as: ageing and later life;...

Open University student named Student Social Worker of the Year

An Open University student has been named Student Social Worker of the Year at the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) awards.

Karen Boyd, who has just completed the OU’s BA in Social Work, collected her award at a ceremony in Glasgow on World Social Work Day earlier this month.

Karen works for Action for Children which...