FAQs

You can quickly check whether you are eligible to apply using our eligibility checker.

The eligibility checker tests whether you:

• Can commit to train with us full-time, for two years (our next programme will run from 2025 to 2027).
• Have the right to remain and work in the UK (including access to public funds) for the duration of the programme.
• Hold at least a grade C/4 at GCSE level in Maths, and in English or English Language (not English Literature), or an equivalent overseas level 2 qualification. To check if your qualifications are sufficient, please visit the NARIC website where you can order a statement of comparability for your qualifications. You can still apply if you do not hold these qualifications but you will need to take a Level 2 Functional Skills Qualification before starting the programme. You can usually arrange this through a local school or college. Please contact us on recruitment@thinkahead.org if you have any questions.
• Hold, or are predicted to hold by the time the programme starts, at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree or overseas equivalent in any subject except social work. Unfortunately, we cannot however accept a third-class honours degree.

As part of the selection process, we will ask to see documents proving your right to work in the UK, and your qualification certificates. If your certificates are not in English, we will ask you to provide a full translation.

No. The Think Ahead programme is intended to enable people who are not already qualified social workers to enter the profession. If you already hold an approved degree in social work, whether undergraduate or postgraduate, you are not eligible to apply.

If you have previously been on a social work course but not completed the course, please get in touch with us to discuss this further via recruitment@thinkahead.org.

To join the programme, you will require an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Certificate. If you are successful in our selection process, we will apply for this on your behalf (unless you already have a valid one). Further details on the documentation you will need to provide for this can be found here.

There may be other documentation you will need to provide, such as an overseas police check if you have lived abroad within the last five years. Our team will guide you through any supplementary documents we may need from you.

If you have passed assessment, we will also ask you to undergo an occupational health assessment. This will consider any disabilities, impairments, or physical or mental health issues which may require adjustments or additional learning support, or affect your ability to undertake the programme.

Visit our reasonable adjustments page to explore what adjustments could available for you.

Yes, you are welcome to apply again if you have applied for a previous cohort and been unsuccessful

We will consider your new application without any reference to your previous one, but we would encourage you to include any new evidence you can showing how you meet our attributes.

If you have an incomplete application from last year, you can pick up this application from where you left off. Simply select ‘I would like to continue my incomplete application for last year’ and provide your email address you used to register last year. You will be sent a login to the applicant portal and you can resume your application.

You are eligible to apply if you are:

• Either, a British citizen,
• Or, an EU/EEA/Swiss national with settled/pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
• Or, a non-EU national with leave to enter and remain in the UK for an indefinite period.

Yes, you can apply if you expect to achieve a 2:2 degree or overseas equivalent by the time the programme starts.

To meet the academic demands of this programme, applicants will need to hold a 2:2 honours degree or above. Unfortunately we cannot accept a third-class honours degree.

Unfortunately no. Social work is a graduate profession and it is not legally possible to qualify as a social worker, through any training route, without an undergraduate degree.

For postgraduate routes into the profession, such as the Think Ahead programme, that means you must already have an undergraduate degree before you can begin training.

It is possible to do an undergraduate degree in social work itself, which – provided the course is approved by Social Work England – will qualify you to apply for registration as a social worker without the need for postgraduate training.

No, our selection process is based on the attributes you demonstrate, not prior experience. You may want to take part in voluntary activities in mental health and/or social work settings, or to spend time working or volunteering with vulnerable people, to get an idea of what the role would involve.

No, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements you may apply.

(Because you need to have completed an undergraduate degree, we expect applicants to be at least 20 years of age.)

We want to see a society where everyone with mental health needs can live the lives they want, and this extends to our own colleagues, and trainees on our programme.

Our training programme is intensive. We are committed to the wellbeing and success of every trainee and therefore urge every applicant to consider whether this is the right time for them to apply. Both the content and the workload can be challenging and we do not want anyone’s health to be negatively affected whilst on this programme.

Yes. We welcome applications from people with disabilities, and are committed to making reasonable adjustments and addressing any individual support requirements to ensure all our participants can take part fully in the programme.

Visit our reasonable adjustments page to explore what adjustments could available for you.

Yes, but you must declare any unspent criminal convictions or pending prosecutions. (If we later discover that you have not declared an unspent conviction or pending prosecution, your application will be terminated.)

You are expected to answer truthfully any questions regarding unspent convictions or pending prosecutions, and we will require your consent to a criminal record check as part of the assessment process. We will make a decision regarding your suitability for the programme based on a number of factors, including the nature of the offences and when they took place.

All programme participants must have an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Certificate.

Yes, but in more rural areas social workers are often required to drive and you are less likely to be given a place on the programme if you cannot drive.

When you apply, you will be able to let us know whether you drive, or if you are happy and able to learn to drive before starting the programme.

Please note you will have to use your own vehicle if journeys are not possible by public transport. You may be able to claim expenses from your host NHS Trust or Local Authority for travel undertaken as part of your work.

The first stage of our application process is to fill out a registration form. You will be sent an email with a log in for our application portal, where you can complete the rest of the application process.

Our application process is online only, and we are unable to accept any applications sent by email or by post. Please visit our ‘Applying’ page for further details and guidance.

Applications for the 2025 programme are opening soon.

Our application windows run from the autumn until spring.

For the latest on when applications will reopen, make sure to sign up to our email updates or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and X (Twitter).

We partner with NHS Trusts and local authorities across England to provide our training placements. Places are filled on a rolling basis, and some areas fill more quickly than others, so we would encourage you to apply as early as you can to avoid disappointment.

We are looking for exceptional individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds who have the potential to become excellent mental health social workers and go on to lead change in their fields.

You don’t need any prior experience of social work, but you will need to demonstrate that you have the attributes necessary to excel on the Think Ahead programme and beyond.

Find out more about who we’re looking for.

No, you can save your application and log back in to finish it later.

You will need to complete your application within one week of starting it, and before the application period ends, or your application may be closed.

As part of our online application, we ask you to provide two video answers, each lasting two minutes. Once you have submitted your written answers, you will be given access in the portal to the video application page where you can record your video answers.

In the first question we will ask you to tell us about a time you formed relationship with an individual from a vulnerable group.

For the second question, we will provide a scenario you might encounter as a mental health social worker. You will then be asked to explain how you would respond to the scenario and why.

You will be asked the questions one after the other. We recommend spending time practicing before recording, but you can record yourself as many times as you want before submitting. Once your videos have been submitted, you will not be able to edit or rerecord them.

These videos form a key part of our application process. Should you have any exceptional circumstances affecting your ability to create or upload a video, please contact our recruitment team on recruitment@thinkahead.org and visit our reasonable adjustments page to find out more.

No, applications can only be made for the upcoming intake.

Occasionally there may be situations when a deferral request needs to be considered – in times of severe illness or loss of a loved one for example. These are considered on a case-by-case basis for people who have received an offer only and need to be made in writing.

You can only apply once a year, but you can re-apply for future cohorts.

We post information about the programme and other job openings on our opportunities page. You can also sign up for email updates or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for the latest announcements.

Our systems and processes are all compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

Our policy, in line with the Equality Act 2010, is to treat all applicants in the same way, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

So we can monitor the effectiveness of our Equal Opportunities policy, the online application process asks you to provide some details about yourself.

This information will only be used to monitor our recruitment procedures, will be held separately from your application, and will play no part in the selection process.
Completion of this part of the application is not compulsory.

We will offer you alternative assessment dates where possible if you cannot make an assessment date.

If prior commitments still conflict with these dates, we will do our best to find an alternative – schedule permitting.

If you are unable to book onto a suitable date for this year, you will have the option to defer your assessment to the following year.

Our assessment days are online. You will need a device with a webcam or camera, a stable internet connection and ideally a big enough screen to view instructions shared on the day.

You can declare disabilities at the application stage. If you have a disability, impairment, health condition or specific learning difference, we will contact you in advance of the online assessment day and do our best to make any adjustments to the online assessment process.

Visit our reasonable adjustments page to find out more.

You can expect to be notified within one week of your assessment.

We offer feedback on request to all applicants that attend a virtual assessment day. Unfortunately, we receive too many applications to give feedback any earlier in the process.

If you pass your assessment day, we will let you know if we have a suitable placement for you to start the programme.

We partner with NHS trusts and local authorities across England to run our training placements. Based on your circumstances, and if there are places still available, we will work with you to place you with one of our training partners for the programme.

We do our best to match people to their preferred locations but receive a high number of applications, particularly in cities and towns. If we are unable to find you a suitable placement, you will have the option to defer your place to the following year.

You can find out more in our guide on how we find a placement that is right for you.

If you accept your placement, there will be a number of suitability checks you will need to complete before starting the programme, including:

• Proof of your right to work in the UK.
• Proof of your academic certificates.
• An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate, with subscription.
• Completion of a Declaration of Suitability for Social Work.
• Professional references.
• An Occupational Health Assessment.

Once you have completed your suitability checks, we will send you a full offer to start the programme. After accepting this you will be sent an agreement to sign, and some more information about the structure and detail of the programme.

You will need to be assessed for your suitability to enter social work training as per the Qualifying Education and Training Standards (see point 1.4) set by our professional regulator Social Work England. This includes an assessment of your health, conduct and character in relation to undertaking social work training.

The assessments you will need to complete are as follows:

• Declaration of Suitability Form – to check the status and history of any pre-existing physical health or mental health conditions that may impact on your ability to study and work in a mental health setting, amongst other factors.
• Occupational Health Assessment – to check whether there are any additional learning/accessibility or other reasonable adjustments needed to support you on the programme, amongst other factors.

Where additional learning and/or support needs are identified, you may also need to complete the following assessments to ensure you receive the right level of academic and pastoral support on the programme:

• Middlesex University Disabilities and Dyslexia Service Assessment – to confirm and identify any reasonable adjustments and support needed at a University-level.
• Host Organisation Occupational Health Assessment – to confirm and identify any reasonable adjustments and support needed at a placement-level.

We recognise that these may be duplicative processes but these are needed to ensure we can support you fully on the Think Ahead programme.

For further information about the above assessments, please read our detailed assessment guide here.

Visit our reasonable adjustments page to explore what adjustments could available for you.

At least one of these your references must be from your current or most recent employer (or an academic referee if you have never been employed). The second can be a character referee, but you will need to declare your referees’ relationships to you, and friends or relatives should not be used.

One of our Recruitment Associates will be assigned to you as your main point of contact before you start the programme. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with them with any questions you may have.

We partner with NHS trusts and local authorities across England to provide our training placements. These are filled on a rolling basis and we start allocating our programme places in January.

We allocate placements on a rolling basis and do our very best to match applicants to their preferred locations. We will discuss your circumstances and look at how far you are from our placements soon after passing assessment.

You can find out more in our guide on how we find a placement that is right for you.

Some areas are more popular and fill up faster than others – particularly big cities like London and Manchester – so it is not always possible to offer people their first-choice location.

We also give people with special circumstances priority in allocation, such as those with a disability or have caring responsibilities, which could make it difficult to move. Visit our reasonable adjustments page to explore what adjustments could available for you.

As a trainee and as a qualified social worker, you will work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and with different lived experiences. This will include people who are living with substance use challenges, history of trauma and abuse, and other significant life challenges. You will be working with people who may self-harm, experience suicidal thoughts, or may be wary of engaging with mental health professionals or services.

If your personal lived experiences mean you will find it difficult to work with service users or carers with areas of need, you may want to consider if the programme is right for you.

We do our very best to secure placements for people in their preferred locations.

Some areas are more popular than others however, so it is not always possible to match people with their first choice location.

Occasionally we may only be able to offer you a second or even third choice location which we hope would still work for you. We do, however, want you to be completely happy with your placement offer and do understand that you may decide to reconsider your offer if this were the case.

You can find out more in our guide on how we find a placement that is right for you.

It is not possible to make an application to defer your training with us.

Occasionally there may be situations when a deferral request needs to be considered – in times of severe illness or bereavement for example. These are considered on a case by case basis for people who have received an offer only, and need to be made in writing.

We partner with NHS trusts and Local Authorities across England to provide our training placements and do all we can to find a suitable location for everyone who is offered a place with us. However, some areas are more popular and fill up faster than others – particularly big cities like London and Manchester – so it is not always possible to offer people their first choice location.

We aim to find you a place in a location where you have a support network, and where you’ll have a commute of 45 minutes or less. Our experience from running the programme is that these factors are important for ensuring you can manage the demands of the programme.

If we can’t find a place for you that meets this criteria, then we’ll offer you the option to defer and we’ll do our best to try to find you a place in the following year’s intake. If this happens, we’ll start discussing possible locations with you as soon as we have a clear indication of the training placements available to us –usually around January of that year. If we do have a place that’s suitable for you, you’ll be given priority over new applicants, providing you are within a 45-minute commuting distance from one of our placement locations. If we do find you a place, you’ll still need to meet the other usual criteria for starting the programme, which include having a satisfactory enhanced children’s and adult’s DBS update check and completing an occupational health assessment (see If I am successful in the selection process, what happens next? above for more information).

This process leads to us successfully offering places to a number of deferred applicants each year. If we still can’t find you a place after you’ve been deferred once, we would usually withdraw your application. This is to ensure we have recently seen an assessed participant and to avoid having people waiting on our deferral list for multiple years. You are of course always welcome to re-apply for future cohorts if you want to.

You can find out more in our guide on how we find a placement that is right for you.

Yes – the programme is a two year commitment: to your academic learning in Year One, and to your on-the-job learning in Year Two. If you leave the programme in Year One, you may be asked to reimburse Think Ahead for some of your bursary. If you leave in Year Two, you may be asked to reimburse Think Ahead for some of your master’s fees.

We know that sometimes personal circumstances change, so our team is available throughout the full two years to guide you through the programme.

We expect our next cohort to start in July 2025 and end in September 2027, lasting 26 months. You must be able to commit to the programme for its entire duration, on a full-time basis.

You gain your postgraduate diploma in social work at the end of year one. This is the professional qualification that allows you to apply to Social Work England to become a registered social worker.

At the end of Year Two, you will gain a master’s degree in social work which is an advanced qualification in social work. You can complete your master’s degree in social work via one of two pathways: a secondary research dissertation, or a portfolio evaluating a research base that can be applied to practice.

Both qualifications are awarded by Middlesex University.

The programme is full-time, Monday to Friday, for its entire duration. You will not usually have to work during evenings or weekends, but there are occasional lectures and events that you may want to take part in.

This is an intensive programme, and you may find that you use some evening and weekend time for your academic studies.

In Year One, you will have a total of 25 days leave (plus Bank Holidays). Some leave days must be taken on pre-determined dates (including the week after the Summer Institute, the week after your first placement, after your second placement). Meanwhile, there are some periods, such as the Summer Institute, during which you cannot take any time off.

In Year Two your annual leave allowance will be set by your host organisation, as your employer.

During both years there will be times, such as the Summer Institute and recall days, during which you cannot take any time off.

We work with NHS mental health trusts and Local Authorities across England who act as host organisations for our training programme.  Your specific workplace is likely to change during the two-year programme, but it will always be within the geographical area covered by your host organisation.

When you apply to our programme, you can list your ideal location. We do our very best to support these preferences but you may need to be flexible about where you live and work.

Big cities such as London and Nottingham are oversubscribed and tend to fill quickly, so we would always advise applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Yes, the Summer Institute is an essential part of the programme and attendance is compulsory.

Outside of the core teaching hours there are some informal social events and optional evening training sessions. You will also have reading and assignments to complete in your own time.

Watch this video from a previous Summer Institute to find out more:

Our five week Summer Institute is a hybrid learning event which kicks off our training programme.  This year it was held on Monday 8 July to Friday 9 August this year, with an in-person week being held Monday 22 – Friday 26 July at Middlesex University (accommodation on campus is provided for you).

After the Summer Institute you’ll have a week of leave before you start your first placement.

We want the programme to be as inclusive as possible, including for those who look after others. You may be able to bring dependents with you for the week long residential, but this will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Summer Institute is an intense period, with lots of reading and assignments required outside of the teaching hours, so you may wish to consider the practicalities of having additional responsibilities during this time.

Childcare facilities may also be a possibility onsite, but you would need to be pay for this personally.

If you are offered a place on the programme, you will be assigned a Recruitment Associate. Please raise this with them as early as you can if you would like to discuss this.

You will finish the programme with:

• An advanced degree and a completed Assessed and Supported Year in Employment, qualifying you to work in any area of social work.
• Extensive experience in social work and mental health settings.
• Highly transferable leadership skills, gained through your experience and your leadership training.
• Membership of the Think Ahead Alumni Community, providing you with access to continuing professional development opportunities and a network of your peers and other experts.

You can then follow any career direction you choose. In broad terms, your options will be to:

• Become a leading frontline practitioner.
• Move into service leadership.
• Use your leadership experience in an alternative career.

You can read more about these options on About mental health social work.

No, in Year Two you will be employed on a fixed-term contract that lasts for at least 12 months. Your NHS Trust or Local Authority is not guaranteed to offer you further employment beyond this period.

However, with your qualifications and experience you will be well-placed to secure employment, wherever you choose to take your career.

You will receive a tax-free training bursary for the Summer Institute and Year One. This will be around £18,250 (£20,250 with London weighting), paid monthly. You will receive the bursary in 13 instalments, starting with a pro-rata payment in your first month (likely July), to cover the time you will have been on the programme so far.

In Year 2, Think Ahead participants are guaranteed employment in their host organisation. Your salary will be determined by the organisation that you work in, and you will be paid the same as all other Newly Qualified Social Workers in your organisation. This typically ranges from around £27,000 – £35,000, location dependent.

Please be aware that this does vary across the country, depending on your regional location and whether you are employed by an NHS Trust or Local Authority. Think Ahead participants do not receive a set amount in Year 2, and so it is possible you may be paid a different starting salary to others in your cohort.

There are no programme fees, and all qualifications are fully funded.

You will be paid at the end of each month from your start with us. Your initial payment is a pro rata amount, covering the time you will have been on the programme by the end of the month. Full monthly payments begin at the end of the first full month.

No, all of the qualifications you get through Think Ahead are fully funded. You won’t pay anything towards your PGDip or Master’s degree in social work.

In the first year of our programme, you are a student receiving a student tax-free bursary.  In your second year, you will be employed by your host organisation and paid a taxable salary.

In your first year you’ll be a student, so you’re likely to be entitled to a discount for your household, or in some cases fully exempt from paying council tax (you’ll need to check with your local council for your individual circumstances). During your second year you’ll be employed, so you will need to pay council tax.

During the first year you’ll be a student. Because you’re not in employment, you won’t be entitled to child tax credits or the 30 hours free childcare. In Year Two however, you’ll be employed by your host organisation and will be entitled to these again.

Our training programme is fully funded (see above question for detail on payments). The bursary you receive may affect your ability to secure and/or continue receiving additional benefits.

For instance, in the first year, you are a full-time student, which means you are not eligible to receive Universal Credit. In the second year you are employed directly by your host organisation.

Please see the questions above on childcare and council tax for more information on this kind of support. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and you should seek advice from the Department for Work and Pensions directly to make sure you have an accurate picture of what is available to you.

You’ll need to travel to our face-to-face teaching days. There will be around six to ten in Year One and around five in Year Two. These may be held at Middlesex University or in regional hubs. We will reimburse you for these travel costs.

You’ll be responsible for your costs for getting to your host organisation (the NHS Trust or Local Authority where you will learn and work), but when you need to travel as part of your work – for example visiting service users at home – you may be able to claim part or all of those costs back on expenses from your host organisation.

You will be required to upgrade your car insurance to business insurance if you’ll be using it to travel away from your office base. This cost is not covered by Think Ahead or your host organisation.

There are some professional requirements which you may need to pay for, such as renewing your DBS update service (£13) at the end of Year One and registering to the Social Work England register when you qualify as a NQSW (£90).

If you require overnight stays for teaching days, we will contribute towards you dinner costs but you may need to top it up.

We understand that with increases in cost-of-living, financial security may be a concern for some. If receiving a bursary means your circumstances may change, such as no longer being in receipt of benefits, Think Ahead have a limited hardship fund available. We want the programme to be as accessible as possible and a Recruitment Associate will be able to give you more information on the fund, if you pass the assessment.

We would also encourage applicants and trainees to think about their finances before starting the programme. Resources such as the Turn2us Benefits Calculator can help.

Everyone’s circumstances are different and you should seek advice from the Department for Work and Pensions directly to make sure you have an accurate picture of the support available to you.