Newry High School

Teaching Staff

Mrs L McGrath - Head of Department
Miss S Edgar
Mrs L Kennedy

Curriculum

A Level

Advanced Health and Social Care is intended to provide students with a broad knowledge of the health and social care sector. It enables students to investigate a range of areas within the health and care services and is an appropriate course for candidates wishing to enter employment in the field of health and care or continue with higher education.

Units studied:-

Unit 1: Human Growth and Development
Unit 2: Communication and Values
Unit 3: Positive Care Environments
Unit 4: Social Aspects and Lifestyle Choices
Unit 5: Activities for Health and Well-being
Unit 6: Public Health
Unit 7: Meeting Individual Needs
Unit 8: Promoting Health and Well-being
Unit 9: Investigating Disease
Unit 10: Using and Understanding Research
Unit 11: Social Issues and Welfare Needs
Unit 12: Understanding Human Behaviour

How the course is structured

Three unit AS award -taken over a one year period. Students will study units 1, 2 and 3

Six unit double AS award - taken over a one-year period.
Students will study units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Six unit award -equivalent to one A level and taken over a two-year period.
Students will study units 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9
Nine unit award – equivalent to one A level and one AS. This is studied over a 2 year period.
Students will study units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
Twelve-unit award (Double Award) - equivalent to 2 A levels and taken over a two-year period.
Students will study all the above units 1 - 12

Some units are assessed by a portfolio of evidence while others are externally assessed by a written exam.

External Assessment

One third of the course is externally assessed.

The following units are externally assessed - Unit 1, 4, 7 and 12.

Portfolio of Evidence

A portfolio is a record of the evidence of achievements over the year. The evidence allows you to demonstrate you have achieved the skills, knowledge and understanding to gain the qualification.

Extra Curricular

Trips

In year 13, a guest speaker from the Southern Area Hospice visits the school as part of Unit 3 to share with the pupils.

For part of unit 2, pupils take part in observations in social care situations, eg nurseries, primary schools, and nursing homes.

Careers

Pupils get the opportunity to develop a wide variety of skills by completing a multitude of tasks. This skills include communication, presentation, organisational, team work and independent thinking.

Health and Social Care is particularly useful for students who wish to progress to nursing or degree programmes in areas such as:

social work
sociology
psychology
speech therapy
occupational therapy
teaching