Campaign win sees postgraduate social work bursaries increase by 50 per cent in Scotland
Scottish social work students are claiming a major victory after reforms to funding were recently announced.
Postgraduate bursaries will increase by almost 50 per cent from the 2024-5 academic year and are available to apply for from 1 June.
The reforms mean those previously not eligible for support through the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) can now apply for postgraduate funding through the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).
Students will be able to apply for up to £11,000 to support them through each year of their studies - split between £6,000 towards living costs and £5,000 for course fees. This is a major rise from the previous average of £7,415 and will support up to 250 students.
In addition, there will be a grant payment of £750 for both under-and-postgraduate students on placement. Additional allowances for students who are carers or who have disabilities will continue to be available for those eligible.
The pressure will be kept up by campaigners who are still calling for bursaries for all third and fourth year undergraduate social work students, and for parity with other public sector students enjoying more generous bursary schemes.
Two SASW members and former students at Glasgow Caledonian University, Lucy Challoner and David Grimm, campaigned tirelessly for increased bursary support for all social work students.
More than 2,000 people signed a petition and in a letter sent to the government in 2022, social work students told of "needing food banks to live" with widespread reports of hardship and burnout before even completing their studies.
Lucy Challoner said: “The recent funding increase for postgraduate social work bursaries is a positive step. However, with limited support at undergraduate level and fewer postgraduate bursaries on offer, there is still considerable work to be done to ensure social work is a truly accessible and appealing career choice for future practitioners.”
Alison Bavidge, National Director of SASW, welcomed the increase.
She said: “It should help to make social work a more attractive career and enable a wider range of applicants.
“While this improvement to the postgraduate bursary is very welcome, we hope the Scottish Government will build on this progress and further enhance support to ensure social work is an accessible profession.”
John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union, said: “This decision from the Scottish Government represents a step towards ensuring that postgraduate students who wish to become social workers are financially supported further to do so.
“We have been proud to support this campaign so far and will continue to do so until we see meaningful reform of all social work bursaries in Scotland”.