Add your name to the open letter to the Government Ministers responsible for social work students bursaries in England...

Dear Secretaries of State for Health and Education,

Students on social work courses often complete front-line work as part of their courses, helping the most vulnerable in society. This means many social work students face unique levels of financial hardship as they are unable to work part-time while completing their studies.

Despite this, student bursaries for social workers in England are currently distributed unequally and only around one in six students benefit from them as they are limited in number. Where bursaries are available, the funding for them has been frozen for over eight years resulting in a real-terms cut in support for many students.

In addition, bursaries available have been capped at the same numbers (1,500 postgraduate and 2,500 undergraduate) since 2013.

In response to questions from Emma Lewell-Buck MP, Health Minister Helen Whately MP said the Government has “no plans” to assess the adequacy of student bursaries in the coming year.

At a time of a recruitment crisis in social work, with 8.6% having left the profession in 2020-2021 in England, the government must act quickly to attract and retain practitioners. 

Welsh students have already been successful in calling for the Welsh Government to increase funding for student support by 50%. In Scotland, students have won the backing of a powerful cross-party committee of MSPs for fairer bursaries. Our call for reform is supported by the Social Workers Union and the British Association of Social Work.

We now urge you to reconsider your position and do what you can to improve the financial situation for social work students.

Signed...