Health, Wellbeing and Social Care with Foundation Year
Learn how care and health services are run, and how to make them better — keeping people safe, mental health, and what the evidence says actually works. Written for people who already care about this work and want the qualification to move up in it.
- Start with the extra first year, or — if you have already studied something similar — do just the final year.
- If you already work in care, a lot of this will feel familiar. That is an advantage.
- The step from doing the shifts to running the service.
- One of the biggest employers in the country, and always short of qualified staff.
- The government pays your course fees. Nothing to pay upfront.
- Aged 21 or over? Your work and life experience counts, not just school grades.
Jobs this leads to
Roles graduates typically go into.
Worth knowing
Registered social worker and registered nurse roles need a separate approved qualification — this degree does not lead directly to either.
Where it leads next
A full honours degree. Some specialist roles need further postgraduate study or professional registration.
What you'll study
Foundation year
- Academic writing
- Health fundamentals
- Wellbeing
- Communication
- Professional practice
Years 1 & 2
- Policy
- Research
- Ethics
- Equality
- Safeguarding
- Mental health
- Work-based learning
Final year
- Evaluation
- Leadership
- Management
- Evidence-based practice
What these words mean
Plain English for the terms used on this page.
- Foundation year
- An extra year at the start. It gets you ready for degree work. It means you can do a degree even with no A-Levels. You do the same degree as everyone else — it just takes one year longer.
- Final year only (top-up)
- Already done an HND, or a couple of years of something similar? You do not start again from the beginning. You join for the last year, do that one year, and come out with the full degree.
- Straight into year one
- You skip the extra first year and start where everyone else starts. This is for people who already have the grades, or enough work experience to count instead.
- Hons
- You will see BA (Hons), BSc (Hons), BEng (Hons) or LLB (Hons). The Hons part just means it is a full degree. The letters in front only tell you the subject area.
- Exemptions
- Some jobs, like accounting, need extra exams after your degree. An exemption means you do not have to sit some of them, because your degree already covered it. Fewer exams and less to pay.
- Student Finance
- The government pays your course fees. You pay nothing upfront. You can also borrow money to live on. You only start paying it back once you earn over a set amount, and it comes out of your wages a little at a time. Earn under that amount and you pay nothing.
How you can start
- Foundation year included
- Final-year direct entry
- 80 UCAS points, or relevant life and work experience if you are 21 or over
- Personal statement and a supportive interview
What it costs you
Nothing up front
Your tuition is paid by a Student Finance loan, straight to the university. You don't pay anything to start, and you pay nothing to us — we're paid by the universities.
You can also apply for a maintenance loan of up to £14,000 per year (more in london) to live on while you study.
Over the full 4 years
- Tuition, borrowed and repaid later
- up to £38,140
- Maintenance, if you take the full amount
- up to £56,000
- Paid by you up front
- £0
These are maximums, and they are loans rather than grants — you repay a percentage of what you earn above the government threshold, and anything still outstanding after the write-off period is cancelled.
You only start repaying once you are earning above the government threshold, and repayments are a percentage of what you earn above it — not a fixed bill. Thresholds change and depend on your loan plan, so check the current figures on gov.uk before you decide.
Where you can study this
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