Year 11 Health and Social Care Bridging Work

“I chose Health and Social Care because it has applications in childcare settings and my ambition is to become a Primary School Teacher. I liked the idea of half of the course being coursework and the other half exams. I’m pleased I chose this subject because it has been very enjoyable and less stressful than my other A Levels because the exams are spread out – I have already sat the first exam and been graded for it. I have made some lovely friends in my group which has made class discussions fun. My favourite part of the subject in Year 12 was visiting a primary school as part of my coursework on building positive relationships. If I had the chance I would have revised earlier for my exam. I would try to revisit the exam units more often while we are studying them to make subsequent revision easier.” (Courtney)

“I chose Health and Social Care because I want to work in the healthcare sector. I also like the way the course is set out whereby one half is coursework and the other half is exam-based. I have found this has suited me reall well. Throughout my time in Year 12 I have enjoyed many things about this subject – the discussions in class are very engaging and activity work and assignments can be completed in a real-life setting. I completed the assignment on Building Positive Relationships at a local primary school. The assignment was about how I can effectively communicate in a one-to-one and group scenario. I found being able to do it in a real-life setting made it much more natural and realistic. If I had the chance, I would have started revising the topics and making revision material earlier. This would have been more beneficial at the time of my exams – and less stressful!” (Lucy)

“Health and Social Care has been a great subject to study. I chose to study the full Diploma. The majority of the work is coursework which is quite simple and if you struggle the teachers are a great help. The exam side is similar to any other subject – you’ll have to retain information and produce it in your exams. Health and Social Care will provide you with knowledge and skills on how to effectively interact with individuals in health and social care environments. This is a considerable advantage if you plan on following a career which requires lots of interaction. So far I’ve enjoyed my first year and am looking forward to my second year!” (Jess)

Below you will find Bridging Work for the Extended Certificate. Select the tab to view the Bridging Work for the Diploma. Please complete the appropriate work for the course you are starting in September.

Extended Certificate

Diploma

Extended Certificate

Over the two years, you will study six different units. One unit is Anatomy and Physiology.

The bridging work you should complete over the Summer is outlined below. You should bring this with you, as a hard copy or on a USB stick, to your first HSC lesson. If you’re not sure about any aspect of the work, please don’t worry – do the best you can, as any knowledge you gain during this exercise is likely to be of benefit.

Unit 4 involves both ‘pure’ biology – learning about body systems and how they work – as well as being able to explain the impacts experienced by an individual when they have certain conditions or illnesses. You need to be able to identify risk factors (like genetics, or behaviours like smoking or being obese, that make it more likely they will be affected by a particular illness), as well as describe the effect having an illness, like asthma, will have on an individual’s daily life. Complete the two tasks below.

Task 1:

Find a diagram of a heart, either in a book or on the internet. Either copy it out yourself, or print it off, and label it with the following terms:

Arteries
Pulmonary veins
Left ventricle
Inferior vena cava
Right atrium
Sinoatrial (SA) node
Aorta
Left atrium
Purkinje (or Purkyne) fibres
Right ventricle
Atrioventricular node
Superior vena cava
Pulmonary artery
Mitral/bicuspid valve
Septum
Tricuspid valve
Pulmonary veins

The parts in italics are to do with the electrical impulses within the heart, which control how fast the heart beats.

Task 2:

Read the following case study and answer the questions below:

David, 44, is team leader for a national insurance broking company. He is responsible for a department of thirty staff with targets and deadlines to meet frequently. It’s stressful and he smokes to help him deal with the pressure. He relaxes by drinking with his friends at the local pub, watching the football. When he’s at home he enjoys watching TV and playing GTA on the Xbox. He lives alone and eats microwave meals or takeaways frequently. At a recent check-up he had a BP of 157/98mmHg and a BMI of 34.

What does his BMI and BP tell you about David?
How has his lifestyle contributed to this?
What might be the consequences of his current lifestyle?
What would you advise David to do if you were his Healthcare Professional?

If you would like to learn more, try our Enrichment Activities for this course
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Diploma

The current Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of health and social care work and the policies and procedures of the sectors.

As part of the Diploma course, you will study Infection Control and its impact on all individuals (whether they are working in, being cared for, or visiting the setting). In preparation for this unit, please complete the following work and bring it with you to your first Diploma lesson:

Write approximately 300 to 500 words about why PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is so important in health and social care settings. You can either pick a setting, for example a hospital or care home (either a real place or just general), or wrote more generally about health and social care settings. You could include all/some of the points below:

What is PPE? (masks, etc.)
Who wears it?
When do they wear it?
What happens to PPE once it’s been worn?
What infections/illnesses does it prevent the practitioner from contracting?
What legislation/Acts refer to PPE?
Any other information or points you find that interest you.

If you would like to learn more, try our Enrichment Activities for this course
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