Students campaign to end 'structural unfairness' in social work bursary allocation
Published by Professional Social Work magazine, 11 April, 2023
Social work students in England are campaigning for improved bursaries, claiming the current system discriminates and is underfunded.
The campaign is being supported by the Social Workers Union which has accused the government of allowing “structural unfairness” within its allocation process.
Around one in six social work students is eligible for a bursary. The government allocates a capped number to each university based on a complex demand-led budget.
The number offered – 2,500 for undergraduates and 1,500 for postgraduates – has remained the same since 2013.
Funding for the bursaries - worth £4,862 for undergraduates (£5,262 in London) and £3,362 (£3,762 in London) – has been frozen for the last eight years.
Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields, recently asked the government to explain what it would do to improve the equality of distribution and access to bursaries.
Health minister Helen Whately said it had “no plans”.
John McGowan, general secretary of the Social Workers Union (SWU), said: “These questions in Parliament are the first step in our campaign and are designed to understand the government’s position on bursaries in England.
“It is disappointing that the government will not look at this structural unfairness, but from here we can now start to campaign for change to the existing system.”
BASW England professional officer Rebekah Pierre added: “At a time of a recruitment crisis in social work, with 8.6 per cent having left the profession in 2020-2021 in England, the government must act quickly to attract and retain practitioners.
“That must start with action to level up the bursary system for all. In a profession which aspires to be anti-oppressive, it beggars belief that students are prevented from completing – let alone entering – their courses due to policies which are entrenched in austerity.
“How can social work students be expected to support others, when they themselves are desperately struggling to survive the cost-of-living crisis?
“Students are the future of social work, and without investing in them, the profession as a whole is put at risk.”
Undergraduate social work students in England can apply for a bursary in their second and third year. Some universities award bursaries based on attainment and attendance in the first year.
Students claim this causes friction between students and a competitive element and discriminates against those having a tougher time adjusting to academic work.
The England campaign is part of a bigger push to improve student bursaries across the UK supported by the SWU Campaign Fund.
Last year it helped social work students in Wales get the Welsh government to increase funding for bursaries by 50 per cent.
In Scotland, students are campaigning for bursaries to cover work placements, with more than 300 signing a letter to the government and other bodies. More than 2,000 signed a petition calling for the change, forcing it to be heard in the Scottish Parliament.