The government will end a bar on undergraduate social work students in England being reallocated a bursary on resuming their training after withdrawing or deferring their studies for reasons other than maternity leave.
Instead it will apply the approach it takes to postgraduate students who resume their studies after withdrawing or deferring, under which they may be given a bursary on resumption in exceptional circumstances
Though the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is yet to update its bursary guidance to reflect the change in policy, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England said the department had confirmed to it that the amendment would take place.
BASW campaign
This follows a campaign by BASW England, which raised the issue with chief social worker for adults Sarah McClinton in June this year, warning that the policy was having a detrimental impact on students who had to withdraw from their courses due to illness, bereavement or other serious issues.Each year, the DHSC allocates 1,500 bursaries to postgraduates starting their courses, which typically last two years, and 2,500 to undergraduates entering the penultimate year of their studies, which generally take three years.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) are each allocated a specified number of bursaries from within this national cap, for which they nominate students, and recipients generally continue to receive their bursary for the remainder of their course.
Current policy for students resuming courses
The policy allows for undergraduate and postgraduate students to continue to receive payments if they go on maternity leave, for up to 12 months, and then retain their bursary on returning to their studies.Students who withdraw from their course, or defer their studies, for another reason lose their bursary, which can be reallocated to another student if no payments have been made.
Should a postgraduate student resume their course they may be allocated a bursary from among the HEI's available allocation should their withdrawal or deferral have been prompted by exceptional circumstances, such as illness or bereavement.
However, there has been no such provision for undergraduate students, who have been prevented from taking up a bursary on returning to their course.
BASW welcomes planned change
BASW England said this meant they "risked not having the financial means to finish their studies" and also "represented a significant disparity with those on postgraduate courses".In response to the change in policy, a spokesperson for the association said: "BASW is delighted that the Department of Health and Social Care has acknowledged and agreed to fix the disparity between undergraduates and post-graduates in regard to having a safety net for when ‘big life situations’ occur that can impact their studies."
The DHSC has been approached for comment.
