Health and Social Care

Health and Social Care equips our students to discover the impact of positive and negative human development and to critically analyse how these factors affect our day to day lives. Health and Social Care enables students to explore areas that influence how we develop throughout life stages and in turn raise expectations of how we can live successful and healthy lives now and in our future.

Health and Social Care promotes opportunities for students to draw from case studies and to undertake research to complement learning and create skills that will be used throughout their lives. These skills encourage students to think outside typical teenage ego-centrism and begin to challenge the way they perceive the world we live in, as well as highlighting how human relationships, physical environments and socioeconomic status may influence how they develop. Through investigation of health and wellbeing and how our lifestyle choices affect how healthy we are, students access different resources and external agency advice and guidance that encourages them to talk about areas and raise awareness of signs and symptoms of: abuse, addiction, illness and mental health.

Key Stage 4

The Cambridge National Level 1/2 qualification in Health and Social Care is a preference subject at Key Stage 4. This course combines both externally assessed exam units with non-examined units that are assessed by the class teacher.

In Year 10, students complete two non-examined units. R022 is a mandatory unit which focuses on communication skills and how these can be adapted in a number of different settings in order to meet individual needs. This unit enables students to develop their research skills and learn about the fundamental attributes required by health and social care practitioners. Students develop their own organisational skills, and gain an understanding of the quality and depth required in their written communication. The other non-examined unit is an optional unit which is yet to be confirmed, as we take into account students preferences and strengths. It is possible to have a class working on two different units. In Year 11 they begin preparing for the R021 exam unit. This introduces service user’s rights, and involves the teaching of equality and respecting diversity. They broaden their knowledge of the care values that underpin rights in all care settings and also complete the last optional non-examined unit. Finally, students must complete a ‘Synoptic Links‘ task to submit with their non-examined units. This involves the students discussing all four units and describing how they link together and what their common themes are. This task demonstrates how their understanding of health and social care settings and practitioners has developed over the two year course.

Further information about the Cambridge National Health and Social Care specification can be found using the following link:

Cambridge Nationals - Health and Social Care Level 1/2 – J835 - OCR

Key Stage 5

The Cambridge Extended Technical Award is a high-quality alternative to A Levels, and carries the same UCAS points as one A Level. This award is up-to-date and has been designed after significant consultation with employers and, whilst it is a vocational qualification, it is also designed with entry to Higher Education in mind. The qualification is made up of 6 units: Building positive relationships in health and social care; Equality, diversity and rights in health and social care; Health, safety and security in health and social care; Anatomy and physiology in health and social care; Sexual health, reproduction and early years development; and one other to be confirmed once the skills and interests of the cohort are determined.

Across these units, students will understand how professional relationships are paramount to the delivery of safe and effective care and support and develop an understanding of these relationships, and how they are formed. This is essential if they are considering pursuing a career in the health and social care sector. They will understand the implications of diversity on practice and also the effects of discriminatory practice on individuals who require care or support. Students will also learn about the different types of hazards in health, social care and childcare settings as well as their potential impact on others. They will also find out about key legislation and organisational policies and procedures. In the anatomy and physiology unit students will learn about the structure and function of some of the tissues, organs and bodily systems that enable healthy body processes to take place in a coordinated way. They will learn about some of the conditions that are the result of body parts malfunctioning. Finally, students will develop an understanding of the importance of prenatal health and the factors that have an impact on the health and the development of the foetus, stages of pregnancy, and an overview of the care and development of a baby in the first year of life are also explored. This is particularly pertinent to students who have nursing, midwifery and teaching ambitions.

Further information about the Cambridge Technical Health and Social Care specification can be found using the following link:

Cambridge Technicals - Health and Social Care - OCR