The Deputy Minister for Social Services Julie Morgan has this morning announced that new social work students, who start their studies from September onwards, will receive significantly higher bursaries.
An extra £3.5 million of funding is being made available via our social work bursary scheme to all new undergraduate and postgraduate students in Wales who start their studies from the academic year 2022 to 2023.
The extra funding means new undergraduate students who start their degree from September 2022 will receive £11,250 (£3,750 a year for three years), while Open University students will receive £7,500 (£3,750 a year for two years).
New postgraduate students who start their studies from September 2022 can get £25,430 (£12,715 a year for two years).
This announcement from the Deputy Minister today is the first step in improving the financial support available for social work students.
We will continue to work with Welsh Government to review and assess the options of providing social work students with the same level of financial support as their health counterparts.
Sue Evans, our Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted to see further support from Welsh Government for the social care sector and specifically for social workers in Wales.
“We’ve provided the evidence to enable Welsh Government to increase the bursary for social work students.
“We recognise and appreciate the invaluable work carried out by social workers across Wales and look forward to seeing more students joining the profession.
“We will shortly be publishing a workforce plan for social work that identifies the range of actions we need to take with partners to support the development and support for social workers in Wales who are working in every community of our country.
“Improving the bursary offer is a key element of this plan.”
Find out more about the bursaries available for social work students