Skills for Work: Health and Social Care Higher (SCQF level 6)

The Course introduces candidates to the nature of health and social care work. It includes investigating the types of health and social care establishments that are available and the roles of care workers in these settings. Candidates will also be investigating the principles of good care practice and exploring what constitutes day to day care work, for example identifying people's needs and strengths and learning how care workers try to meet those needs through care plans.

Health, safety and protection issues are important within health and social care settings. Therefore candidates will explore these issues and some practical approaches to dealing with them. Using the insights gained from psychology they will also explore how to support service-users in an informed way. This will include a study of how people develop, how to help raise self-esteem and how to help service-users manage their stress. This will help candidates to become flexible health and social care workers if they decide to pursue a career in this sector.

Central to the Course is developing the employability attitudes and skills necessary for effective work in health and social care settings. These are incorporated in the different Units giving candidates the opportunity to practise and develop them throughout the Course. Candidates will have the opportunity to develop their skills through work placements or simulation exercises, investigation and group work. They will be involved in evaluating their own skills, setting themselves personal goals and reviewing their progress during the Course. The emphasis throughout the Course will be on experiential learning and developing the knowledge and skills valued by the care sector.

The Units of the Course have been designed to be delivered in an integrated manner. Guidance on a suggested teaching pattern is given in the Course Specification.