Years 12 & 13: Level 3 BTEC Alternative Academic Qualification (AAQ) in Health and Social Care

Course Structure

The BTEC Level 3 Alternative Academic Qualification in Health and Social Care extends and develops the learning which takes place in Key Stage 4, providing a more theoretical and refined approach to topics previously covered.  It would be of benefit to anyone considering a career working with people and contains a high percentage of coursework, at 50% of a student’s overall final grade.

Year 1 – Mandatory Unit – Unit 1 – Externally Examined Assessment
Human Lifespan Development

This unit will develop your knowledge and understanding of patterns of human growth and development across different life stages and the concept of holistic development. You will study factors which may influence human growth, development and health: some of these are innate; some are impacted by lifestyle, environmental, socio-economic factors and many are a combination of all factors. You will study the impact of health inequalities and how these affect the health of individuals. This unit also explores the promotion, prevention and treatment provided by health and social care professionals and their roles and responsibilities when providing care.
 

Optional Unit – Unit 6 – Internally Assessed
Safe Environments in Health and Social Care

In this unit, you will learn about your local health and social care services that provide care and support for service users across the life stages. You will consider a range of factors and challenges faced by health and social care services to ensure quality care is provided. You will explore the legal duty of care and the importance of national legislation, regulations, policies and procedures in maintaining the safety and wellbeing of individuals within health and social care settings. You will learn about the professional responsibilities of key stakeholders for maintaining safe practice and consider the statutory requirements for maintaining records and the role of effective record keeping in promoting service users’ safety whilst also maintaining confidentiality.
 

Year 2 – Mandatory Unit – Unit 2 – Externally Examined Assessment
Human Biology and Health

In this unit, you will learn how the body is organised into cells, tissues and organ systems and how healthy bodily function is achieved. You will develop your knowledge on cellular structure and function, the different tissue types, including where they are found in the body and how their structure supports their function. You will explore respiration and energy metabolism in the human body and the homeostatic mechanisms that work to maintain the internal environment of the body. You will then build on this knowledge to develop a more detailed knowledge of the structure and function of key body systems, such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. You will also consider how normal physiological functioning may be interrupted by common disorders, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes.
 

Mandatory Unit – Unit 3 – Internally Assessed
Principles of Health and Social Care Practice

In this unit, you will learn about the values, skills and principles of meeting care and support needs and how these should be applied in practice. You will look at some of the challenges and approaches that may arise when personalising care and how legislation, governance and regulation affect the provision of care and support to meet individuals’ needs. You will also examine the different societal factors affecting health outcomes of individuals and the strategies used in health and social care to overcome these.

Homework Policy:

At KS5 home learning will vary depending on the module being studied.  Homework tasks will be set weekly.  These may include research for assignments, DIRT work to use feedback to improve assignment quality and content and exam-based questions.
 

Setting Rationale and Structure:

All teaching groups at Key stage 5 are of mixed ability and there are no sets for this subject.