Ms E Morris
Ms P Crawley
The Pearson BTEC Tech Award in Health and Social Care is a vocational qualification designed for students aged 14-16, offering practical and theoretical insights into the health and social care sectors. It equips learners with essential knowledge and skills to understand human development, care values, and how to effectively support individuals’ well-being. The course covers three main components: Human Lifespan Development, Health and Social Care Services and Values, and Health and Wellbeing, each focusing on different aspects of care provision.
Students will learn about physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development across life stages, the impact of factors such as genetics and environment, and the responsibilities of care workers. The qualification is assessed through a combination of internally-assessed assignments and an externally-set task, providing a solid foundation for further education or entry-level work in care-related fields like nursing, social work, or healthcare support.
Component 1: Human Lifespan Development
Stages of development: infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and later adulthood.
Physical, intellectual, emotional, and social (PIES) development across life stages.
Factors affecting development, such as genetics, lifestyle choices, and environment.
Life events (expected and unexpected), and how individuals adapt to them.
Component 2: Health and Social Care Services and Values
Barriers to accessing services (e.g., physical, financial, and social).
The six care values: promoting equality and diversity, maintaining confidentiality, promoting individuals' rights and beliefs, safeguarding, and respecting dignity.
Component 3: Health and Wellbeing
How to measure health, using BMI, peak flow, and blood pressure as examples.
Health improvement plans, including setting goals, targets, and recommendations.
Understanding obstacles to following health improvement plans and how to overcome them.
Component 1: Human Lifespan Development
Analytical skills: Students learn to analyse different stages of life and how factors such as genetics, environment, and lifestyle affect development.
Empathy and understanding: Understanding the challenges people face at different life stages promotes empathy, which is essential in care professions.
Research skills: Students investigate how various factors impact human growth and development, honing their ability to gather and interpret information.
Component 2: Health and Social Care Services and Values
Communication skills: Students develop skills in explaining how care services work, understanding how to communicate effectively with different service users.
Ethical awareness: By learning the care values, students understand the importance of confidentiality, safeguarding, and promoting equality and diversity, shaping strong ethical decision-making skills.
Problem-solving: Identifying barriers to accessing care services and devising solutions strengthens problem-solving abilities in real-world care scenarios.
Component 3: Health and Wellbeing
Health assessment skills: Students gain practical skills in assessing health metrics such as BMI, blood pressure, and peak flow, useful in many healthcare settings.
Goal-setting and planning: Creating health improvement plans involves setting realistic goals, timelines, and strategies for improving health, which enhances planning and organisational skills.
Critical thinking: Students learn to evaluate the effectiveness of health plans and consider factors that may hinder progress, encouraging critical thinking to make informed decisions.
The qualification is divided into three components:
Component 1: Human Lifespan Development
Focus: Understanding human growth and development across life stages, and how life events affect individuals.
Assessment:
Internal assessment.
Written tasks including case studies, research, and reports.
Worth 30% of the final grade.
Component 2: Health and Social Care Services and Values
Focus: Exploring health and social care services and the skills, attributes, and values required to provide effective care.
Assessment:
Internal assessment.
Written and practical tasks, such as role plays and evaluations.
Worth 30% of the final grade.
Component 3: Health and Wellbeing
Focus: Assessing an individual’s health and wellbeing, and creating a health improvement plan.
Assessment:
External assessment.
Written exam with scenario-based questions.
Worth 40% of the final grade.
Trips to LJMU
Guest speakers with NHS background.
Pursuing Health and Social Care at GCSE level opens up a range of future career paths in both the healthcare and social care sectors. Students who study this subject gain foundational knowledge and skills that can lead to further education and training, ultimately preparing them for various roles. Potential career options include:
Nursing – roles in general nursing, paediatric nursing, or mental health nursing.
Social Work – supporting individuals, families, and communities in need.
Healthcare Support Worker – assisting healthcare professionals in hospitals, clinics, or care homes.
Midwifery – helping women through pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.
Occupational Therapy – assisting individuals to regain or improve daily living and working skills.
Physiotherapy – helping patients recover from injury or illness through physical rehabilitation.
Homework
Homework is set every two weeks. Can take up in the form of questions or knowledge retrieval.
Format/platform: Classcharts or physical copy.
Revision
Revise BTEC Tech Award Health and Social Care Revision Guide
Offers concise notes, exam tips, and practice questions aligned with the course curriculum.
CGP BTEC Tech Award in Health & Social Care Revision Guide
Tutor2u Health and Social Care Resources
TES Health and Social Care Component 3 Revision Booklet
Pearson BTEC Tech Award Health and Social Care Student Book
These online resources offer accessible, interactive, and curriculum-specific materials to support your revision effectively.
Wider reading in Health and Social Care helps students deepen their understanding of the sector, explore current issues, and broaden their knowledge for future studies or careers. Here are some recommended resources:
"The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone" by Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett – Explores the relationship between health, inequality, and social care outcomes.
"Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande – Focuses on aging, end-of-life care, and the ethics of healthcare.
"The Care Manifesto" by The Care Collective – Discusses the politics of care and the social responsibility of caregiving.
"An Introduction to Health and Social Care" by Marjorie Lloyd – A comprehensive introduction covering key concepts and real-world examples.
The Lancet – For healthcare-related research, global health issues, and case studies.
Community Care – Focuses on social care, mental health, and safeguarding practices.
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) – Offers accessible content on public health, medical advancements, and ethical dilemmas.
NHS Website – Provides information on health services, careers, and patient care.
Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) – Resources on improving care services and standards.
Mind.org.uk – Mental health insights and support services.
These resources encourage critical thinking, and provide insight into ethical, social, and medical issues within health and social care.