| Academics | people working in colleges and universities as teachers and researchers |
| Access | being able to obtain, for example, entry to a building or information |
| Accessible | used to describe, for example, a building that can easily be entered or information that can be readily understood |
| Advocacy | somebody who argues your case for you |
| Assessment | Establishing what are the problems or issues |
| BA | Bachelor of Arts degree |
| Benchmark | a standard by which other similar things are measured |
| Care plan | Following assessment the local authority will provide a written plan |
| Carer | someone, usually a family member or friend, who provides support to someone in their daily life |
| College of Social Work | College upholding and strengthening professional standards |
| Co-production | describes organisations working together on the same issue |
| Direct Payments | choosing the services you receive |
| Disability Living Allowance | a benefit that helps the extra costs that disabled people face as a result of their disabilities |
| Discrimination | treating someone unfairly because of a personal characteristic, such as, for example, impairment, age or sexuality |
| Educator | Responsible for student’s learning and assessment |
| E-learning | Learning through information found on the internet |
| GSCC | no longer operating |
| Housing benefit | helps with rent if you are on a low income |
| Income support | is a benefit if you are on a low income |
| lived experience | personal experience of using services |
| MA | Master of Arts degree |
| MScSW | Master of Science in Social Work |
| NQSW | newly qualified social worker |
| Participation | taking part in |
| Personalisation | is a way of thinking and working that puts the service user at the centre of public services |
| Portfolio | a showcase of your work to demonstrate your skill |
| Practice (placement) | students having a work experience as part of their degree course |
| Primary care trust | a public organisation that runs the local healthcare system outside of hospitals |
| Registration | the action or process of registering or of being registered |
| Regulation | a rule prescribed for regulating governing principles of organisation |
| Respite | is a break from caring for someone else |
| Service user | people who need health and social care services whether statutory or voluntary services |
| Social services | is a department of your local authority that deals with issues around disability and caring |
| Special needs | describes a child who has a disability that means they find learning more difficult than most children of a similar age |
| SW | social worker |
| Toolkit | can be methods, model, ideas |
| VLE | virtual learning environment |
Organisations
CSW = College of Social Work
GSCC = General Social Care Council
BASW = British Association of Social Workers
HPC/HCPC = Health Professions Council/Health and Care Professions Council