Program Overview

Course Summary

The FdSc Health & Social Care Practitioner course is designed for working Health and Social Care practitioners who want to develop specialist knowledge, understanding, and skills to widen their career opportunities in the Health and Social Care work sector. The course combines classroom-based learning and independent study with ongoing professional practice, enabling students to work, study, and advance their careers simultaneously.

Key Facts

• Award: FdSc
• UCAS code: G582
• Duration: 2 years
• Mode of study: Full-time
• Start date: September 2025
• Awarding institution: Bishop Grosseteste University
• Institution code: B38

About this Course

This Foundation Degree course, delivered at Grantham College, offers working practitioners an opportunity to develop specialist knowledge, understanding, and skills to widen their career opportunities in the Health and Social Care work sector. The course aims to develop a diverse range of students with the skills, knowledge, and insight to enable them to make a positive contribution to the care, well-being, development, and support of individuals, families, and communities.

What You Will Study

Students on this course currently study some or all of the following modules:

• Tools for Learning in Higher Education
• Introduction to the Study of Health and Social Care
• Values-based Approaches in Health and Social Care
• Working Collaboratively in Health and Social Care
• Health and Wellbeing across the Lifespan
• Safeguarding in Health and Social Care
• Developing Healthy Communities
• Meeting Diverse Needs of Service Users in Health and Social Care Practice
• Project Research Skills

Entry Requirements

This is a professional development program for working Health and Social Care practitioners. Typical entry requirements include:

• A minimum of one year's practical experience (preferably two years) in an employed or voluntary capacity in a relevant, professional Health and Social Care setting, which can be verified with a reference from the employer/manager.
• Typically, applicants hold a relevant Level 3 Health and Social Care qualification, although other qualifications will be considered alongside length of experience and the type of roles the applicant has held.
• Applicants must have ongoing access to a voluntary or paid role in a relevant, professional Health and Social Care setting for at least 12 hours a week throughout the duration of the program.
• Applicants will be required to produce written support from the Health and Social Care setting in order to join this program.

How You Will Be Taught

Over the course of the program, students will study eight modules over two years. Lectures, seminars, and tutorials will feature alongside practice-based learning in the work setting. The Health and Social Care sector places a high premium on research-informed and research-based teaching, which constantly makes links between theory, practice, and evidence bases and demonstrates the real-world applicability of the discipline at all levels.

A blended delivery pattern consisting of one day per week attendance for the taught element of the course has been devised. The associated commitment equivalent to 12 hours per week in professional practice forms part of this model.

Assessment

A variety of assessment methods are used, including presentations, discussions, written assignments such as essays and reports, and portfolios of work-focused learning. All assessments allow students to reflect on their practice and theory as they evidence their learning.