Health & Social Care (BTEC)

The BTEC Level 2 Health and Social Care is being offered to pupils starting Year 11 in September 2021. It will be offered as a class in Lurgan College and taught by a tutor from the Southern Regional College.

About 3 million people work in health and social care. Health care roles include doctors, pharmacists, nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, while social care roles include care assistants, occupational therapists, counsellors and administrators. Together, they account for nearly one in ten of all paid jobs in the UK. Demand for both health and social care is likely to rise, so they will continue to play a key role in UK society and the demand for people to carry out these vital roles will increase.

A Level 2 BTEC Award is the equivalent of a GCSE qualification.

There are four components which will be studied:

Unit 3 - Effective Communication in Health and Social Care

When working in health and social care you will meet people who look and sound different from you, and who have backgrounds completely different from yours. This unit will give you the chance to explore some of the diverse needs of service users that you might come across when working in the health and social care sector.

This unit is assessed internally (coursework)

Unit 1: Human Lifespan Development

In this unit, you will gain an understanding of lifespan development, which is essential when working in health and social care, as you will be able to appreciate the care needs of individuals at different life stages. This understanding is required for a wide range of health and social care roles including nursing, social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and dieticians.

This component is externally assessed (examination).​

Unit 2: Health and Social Care Values

Health and social care values underpin good practice within the sector. These care values apply to all areas of health and social care work. In this unit you will gain an understanding of how these care values are applied in health and social care settings, and their importance to work in the sector.

This component is assessed internally (coursework).

Unit 7: Equality, Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care

When working in health and social care you will meet people who have backgrounds completely different from yours. This unit will give you the chance to explore some of the diverse needs of service users that you might come across when working in the health and social care sector.

This unit is assessed internally (coursework)

The BTEC qualification is graded using Pass, Merit, Distinction and Distinction*. These roughly equate to Grades C to A* at GCSE. Lurgan College will recognise the qualification when considering pupils for entry A Level study.