77471-22THE University of Bath in Swindon is aiming to rescue our ailing social services with the introduction of a new course.

At the last inspection Swindon Social Services received a zero-star rating from the Commission for Social Care Inspection for the third time running.

Now the university is to offer a full-time degree Social Work and Applied Social Sciences to help rectify the shortage of social workers in the town.

Course co-ordinator, Petina Guilietti Simner, said the social work industry has suffered from insufficient investment and a poor career structure, and that those problems were made worse in Swindon due to a lack of local training facilities, low salaries and poor inspection reports.

The result, she said, was that Swindon was facing significant difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified social workers.

"Social work may have had a poor image in the media, but it is a vital part of ensuring that vulnerable people, including children, are protected," she said.

"Swindon has struggled to find and keep enough social workers, which has put a strain on existing services.

"This new degree will mean that local people can train for this challenging and rewarding career in their own area.

"We think this will encourage local people to come forward and will ensure that there are enough social workers in the town."

The zero-star score was given to Swindon social services in November because the CSCI said the council had not demonstrated enough improvement in getting results for the people it served.

But Mrs Guilietti Simner is hoping people being able to learn in their home town will make a big difference for Swindon.

She said: "The difficulty for Swindon people has been that in order to train as a social worker they have had to go to Bath, Bristol, Oxford or Trowbridge.

"We would like to attract mature people to the service but the travel has ruled many of them with other commitments out.

"This will enable local people to do it and hopefully stay local when they have qualified."

The degree, which will initially be open to between 10 and 15 students, rising to 20 students in 2006, begins in October.

Mrs Guilietti Simner says there has already been a lot of interest.

"Everyone has been really positive," she said. "We've had a huge reaction.

"It has taken an awful lot of hard work to keep persuading the powers-that-be to get to the point where it's now coming to fruition.

"It's not something that was quickly thought about. It's amazing how much background work had to go into it."

Gareth Bethell