Health and Social Care provides students with an interest in any of the caring professions with an invaluable and thoughtful perspective on contemporary issues in health and social care, education and the criminal justice sectors.
Health and Social Care - Extended Certificate
Dereham Sixth Form College
Crown Road, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 4AG
GCE A/AS Level or Equivalent
Level 3
Available start dates
Available start dates
Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Dereham Sixth Form College
2 Year(s)
Full time
Daytime/working hours
Block E
Please contact the provider directly to apply for this course.
Application Instructions
Please note that applications to the sixth form close on Wednesday 14th January 2026. If you wish to make an application after this date please contact the sixth form office at office@derehamsixthform.norfolk.sch.uk or call 01362 696884.
For more information about a place at Dereham Sixth Form College for September 2026, please visit the website - www.dsfc.org.uk
Course Instructions
Most students will choose the equivalent of 3 A Levels but in some circumstances a maximum of 4. These are subjects that will continue for the full two years. Select only one subject from each option block (choosing more than 1 course from the same block will delay your application as courses from each block are timetabled at the same time). All courses are equivalent to 1 A Level except where specified differently below.
Dereham Education & Soccer Academy Including BTEC Diploma in Sport (equivalent to three A Level subjects, no other subject choices required).
If your choice of subjects are not available due to limitations of the blocks, please email us with the details: office@derehamsixthform.norfolk.sch.uk
Course Details
A valuable introduction for anyone wishing to work in any kind of people orientated career in the future and considering professions such as nursing, teaching, childcare, social work, policing and counselling. You must have an interest in working with people and be concerned with individual needs and diversity. Due to the considerable proportion of coursework, this course allows you to rapidly improve your communication skills. A very high proportion of students on these courses go on to study related degrees at university, while many others choose to pursue apprenticeships, especially with the NHS, the UK’s largest employer.
Health and Social Care students particularly enjoy the vocational aspect of the course and the emphasis on application to practice. Students consistently achieve excellent results in this subject at Dereham Sixth Form.
We will follow the OCR Technicals specification, which was offered for the first time in 2016 and which allows you to gain equivalent UCAS points to the linear A Levels. You can opt to take the equivalent of either one A Level (the Extended Certificate) or two A Levels (the Diploma) in Health and Social Care.
The Extended Certificate
(equivalent to one A Level; approx. 60% exam, 40% coursework)
Over the two years you will study the following mandatory units:
- Building positive relationships for health and social care
- Equality, diversity and rights for health and social care
- Health, safety and security for health and social care
- Anatomy and physiology for health and social care
This challenging unit is specifically designed to prepare aspiring nurses and other clinicians for the demands of degree level health courses.
In addition, you will study two optional units, likely to be:
- Psychology for health and social care
- Nutrition for health
Assessment
Portfolio (i.e. coursework) units are internally assessed but externally moderated.
Entry requirements
Minimum 55444 including Level 4 in English and Mathematics GCSE.
Your next steps...
What do our students think of Cambridge Technicals Health and Social Care?
“I took Health and Social Care because of the number of job opportunities that the A Level brings. The coursework can be challenging but the teachers are great and the lessons are very rewarding.”
“I chose the Diploma as it involved a range of topics, allowing me to explore the different sectors relating to Health and Social Care. The course leads you into many professions, which is great if you don’t know exactly what you want to do, but want to work in a role involving caring and supporting people.”
Destinations of some of our Health and Social Care students:
Our students have gone on to study – amongst other things – nursing; teaching; occupational therapy and social work. They have secured apprenticeships with the NHS, with local pharmacies and nurseries and employment with various care organisations.
For more courses like this, check our courses page.