Students studying social work can now apply for a bursary for the 2004-05 academic year. The bursary is available to all social work students who meet the eligibility criteria and aren’t funded by their employer. It isn’t means tested, is available in addition to local authority funding and is worth around £3,000 a year. Application forms are available from universities and colleges running approved social work courses or by visiting the Bursaries page.

The social work bursary is part of the Government’s initiative to attract more people into social work. It funds students to gain their social work qualification, the Diploma in Social Work or the new social work degree (which started in the 2003-04 academic year). It is funded by the Department of Health who set the policy framework and it is administered by the General Social Care Council, the social care workforce regulator.

Lynne Berry, GSCC Chief Executive said: “Social work is a worthwhile and rewarding career choice and the profession needs more enthusiastic people to come into training. This year’s bursary will be central to helping a new generation into social work. If you have applied for a social work course, make sure you get the support you’re entitled to and apply for the social work bursary.”

Applications should be returned by the 25 June for courses starting in the autumn and 19 November for courses starting in the winter. Applications received after the closing dates will be processed in the order in which they are received.

This year’s application form has been developed to make it even more straightforward to complete but taking time when filling out forms will reduce delays and reduce the number of incomplete forms returned to students.

Further information on the GSCC bursary scheme can be found on the bursaries page or by emailing bursaries@gscc.org.uk. Alternatively call the Bursaries information line on 020 7397 5835. This service is available from 10:00am to 12:00pm and 2:00pm to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday.

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Notes to editors

1. Media contact details:
Angela Spiers 020 7397 5803
Out of hours: 07771 914 481

2. The bursary is designed to fund students to gain their initial social work qualification, either the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) or the new social work degree. The last students started the DipSW in the 2003-04 academic year, the same year the first students started the new social work degree. The bursary is not designed to fund ‘top up’ years, after students have already gained their social work qualification.

3. The social work bursary offers students in social work a non-means-tested grant of approximately £3,000, depending on where they live or study, £500 to cover the cost of travelling to practical work experience, as well as having their tuition fees paid. The bursary is available on a pro-rata basis for students studying part-time. It was formerly known as the undergraduate bursary.

4. To be eligible for the social work bursary, students must meet residency criteria and study an approved social work course. Students must be studying either a degree or diploma course in social work, must live in England, must not be sponsored by their employer and must meet basic student support requirements such as having lived in the UK for the last three years.

5. The Department of Health funds the social work bursary and determines the policy framework and eligibility criteria. The GSCC administers this policy and makes payments to students.

6. The additional graduate bursary is assessed on income and available to students in receipt of the GSCC social work bursary and: full-time graduates, or those with a recognised qualification in a discipline in social work; studying an approved postgraduate social work course; and not in receipt of LEA support. When the GSCC receive the applications, it will assess whether a student might also be eligible for an additional graduate bursary, if they are studying at postgraduate level. The additional graduate bursary was formerly known as the income-assessed part of the postgraduate bursary.

7. The General Social Care Council came into being on 1 October 2001. It was set up in England under the Care Standards Act 2000 to establish codes of conduct and practice for social care workers and employers, to set up a register of social care workers and to regulate social work education and training. Similar bodies exist in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.