Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care - BTEC Extended Certificate
head of department: mrs dowman
Intent
About 3 million people in the UK work in health and social care, that is equivalent to 1 in every 10 people. The Health and Social Care sectors play key roles in the UK society and is likely to continue to rise, due to the ageing population.
Our curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all students, particularly disadvantaged students, the knowledge, and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. It achieves this by providing opportunities to study holistic care and reflect upon their own holistic life experiences. Inspiring students to embrace lifelong learning and academic enquiry is a further facet to cultural capital engendered during the course and imperative to progression within the Health and Social Care sector.
The Health and Social Care BTEC Extended Certificate curriculum consists of four different units, each of which supports and challenges students to reach the highest order of critical thinking. These skills are applied to the design and presentation of reports for assessment and external examinations. Throughout, students are encouraged to reflect upon how experiences shape their ideas, thinking and views on the world. This ensures St Bernard’s High School students are the best prepared and confident to undertake the challenging roles and responsibilities required of those working in the sector.
Implementation
Our curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment. By the nature of the subject, topics such as equality, diversity, empowerment, and empathy underpin the course. This in turn safeguards our students’ choices, personal development and engagement within society is both broad and diverse.
Skill progression starts with developing the ability to demonstrate conceptual and practical knowledge of topics such as cognitive development. Understanding of a topic is demonstrated by applying knowledge to varied cases studies. This is built upon by students analysing and evaluating information within a range of health and social care contexts. Students make connections between theories/models and professional practice.
Learners will study how people grow and develop over the course of their lives from infancy to old age, and the factors that may affect this, such as major life events like marriage or parenthood. Learners will analyse this impact from a positive and negative viewpoint, demonstrating empathy. Learners will understand how people adapt to these changes and the local and national health and social care support that is available to them. Learners will also research health and social care services in their local community. They will look at how people access the local health and social care services provided and the support that is given in the local community.
Impact
The Health and Social Care BTEC Extended Certificate curriculum has a positive impact on the outcomes of every student. It has a high success rate in terms of academic results and destinations of students with a consistently high number of students exceeding expectations. Most students progress to Level 6 study and upwards. It also offers varied opportunities for those wishing to undertake degree and/or advanced level apprenticeships. Most importantly, the students finish the course having developed confidence in their skills and ability to make a positive impact on society.
HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE 2024-2026
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Our curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all students, particularly disadvantaged students and including students with SEND, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.
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Our curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
| Year Group | Curriculum coverage – name topics, and give key knowledge and skills, and cultural capital opportunities students will have to succeed in life | Consistent assessment objectives (Yr 12 & 13) | Rationale/evaluation of why the curriculum is planned and sequenced in this way to ensure knowledge and skills for future learning and employment | ||
| Year 12 (KS5) |
Autumn Term: Unit 1 – Human Lifespan Development
Spring Term: Unit 5 – Meeting Individual Care & Support Needs
Summer Term: Start on Year 2 content (Unit 2 – exam or Unit 11 – coursework) |
Key knowledge & skills: 1. Learners cover physical, intellectual, emotional and social development across the human lifespan, and the factors affecting development and the effects of ageing. This content will serve as an introduction to health and social care needs and so will sit at the heart of the qualification.
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Cultural capital: 1. Health and social care practitioners need to develop a knowledge base for working with people in every stage of their lives, and they need to know how their own experiences relate to health and wellbeing. Although it is generally accepted that there may be deterioration in health with age following adulthood, medical intervention means people are living longer and have better life prospects.
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Unit 1 – to sit exam in January
Unit 5 – Internal assessment for Easter deadline |
The KS5 curriculum follows the Pearson Edexcel 2016 specification. All students will sit assessments at the end of each topic to address misconceptions and facilitate appropriate teacher interventions whilst also focussing on previously taught content. |
| Year 13 (KS5) |
Autumn Term: Unit 2 – Working in Health & Social Care
Spring Term: Unit 10 – Sociological Perspectives |
1. This unit will help students to understand what it is like to work in the health and social care sector. When working for an organisation in this sector, students will have important responsibilities that students need to understand and carry out. These include maintaining the safety of and safeguarding individuals with health and social care needs, making sure that students properly handle their personal information and preventing discrimination towards them. Students will need to understand how students will be accountable both to these individuals and the regulatory bodies that represent people who work in the health and social care sector.
2. In this unit, students will learn about the different approaches that sociologists have used to explain health and social care issues. The students will also consider different definitions of health and illness, and examine the impact that family, occupation, social class and other aspects of our environment and culture have on our health and wellbeing. This knowledge is useful in developing students understanding of how sociological approaches support understanding of models and concepts of health. This then adds to their understanding of how social inequalities, demographic change and patterns and trends affect health and social care delivery.
(Students to finish by Easter) |
1. Learners explore what it is like to work in the health and social care sector, including the roles and responsibilities of workers and organisations. It is necessary for students to understand how students’ work will be monitored when students carry out a specific role such as nurse or social worker.
2. An important aspect of working in the health and social care sector is to have a good understanding of the ways in which sociological concepts and perspectives are applied to study health and social care. Having knowledge of the key concepts and ideas enables students to understand the ways in which these can be applied both to society and health and social care settings. These activities will help students gain the skills necessary for progression to higher education in many subject areas including psychology, health and social care, nursing and allied professional careers. |
Unit 2 – to sit exam in January
Unit 10 – Internal assessment for Easter deadline |
All students will sit assessments at the end of each topic to address misconceptions and facilitate appropriate teacher interventions whilst also focussing on previously taught content.
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