Changes to policy and curriculum

Conditions of Registration 2020/21 (Supplementary Agreement: Social Work)

In March 2020, The Open University published its new Conditions of Registration 2020/21 (Supplementary Agreement: Social Work) for the first time.

This Supplementary Agreement applies to students who have been accepted onto an Open University Social Work programme and sets out the additional terms relating to study of a Social Work qualification. Significant changes were made since the 2019/20 version of this document

The changes made

1. Inclusion of Social Work Apprenticeships, and addition of references to the Conditions of Registration for Apprentices, Social Work Privacy Notice and Apprenticeships Privacy Notice where relevant. Where sections are not of relevance to Apprentices, these have been listed in ‘out of scope’.
2. Amendment to contact details in Introduction and Further Clarification sections.
3. Additional detail added to paragraph 1.1(a) regarding the Regulatory Authority.
4. Addition of paragraph 1.1(c), as the current paragraph 1.1(b) is not applicable for Apprentices. Amendment to paragraph 1.1(d) (previously 1.1c) to recognise that these bodies are outside of The Open University.
5. Additional clarification provided to paragraph 2.1(a) regarding employment as a Social Work Degree Apprentice, and 2.1(b) regarding notification to APDM and Practice Tutors of relevant matters.
6. Additional sentence in paragraph 2.2 to detail requirements of the Social Work Degree Apprenticeship (SWDA) Assessment Plan for Apprentices.
7. Addition of paragraph 2.6 to advise that neither an offer of a place nor completion of the qualification guarantees entry onto the professional register.
8. Additional paragraph 3.1(e) to explain the requirement for ongoing employment, for those studying through an apprenticeship programme.
9. Addition of paragraph 3.5 for apprenticeships who are not covered under the current paragraph 3.4.
10. Addition of Section 4.2 for apprentices who are not covered under the current Section 4.1 (was Section 4).
11. Additional sentence in paragraph 5.2 to explain the requirement for Apprentices to contact their APDM or equivalent contact for further information.
12. Additional information included within paragraph 6.1 regarding extensions and Commitment Statements for Apprentices.
13. Amendment to Fees in Table 1 (paragraph 7.2) and Table 2 (paragraph 8.2) for 2020/21. Additional table notes inserted regarding how fees may differ between devolved UK Nations.
14. Amendment to paragraph 9.1(c) regarding the security and processing of Open University information only. Additional information inserted to 9.1(g) to explain that The Open University may also have a legal obligation to provide certain information the funding body and regulator for Apprentices.
15. Amendment to title of Section 10: “Withdrawing from or deferring your studies”.

Please talk to your Student Support Team if you need any further information. You can find out how to contact them on Contact the OU.