Module SOCI30120: CONSOLIDATION

Department: Applied Social Sciences

SOCI30120: CONSOLIDATION

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to consolidate and consistently demonstrate the full range of social work competences in direct work with children and young people, their families and carers. It is the first module on the programme and it is set at level 3.

Content

• Lectures/Study:
• 1. The rights of service users and carers, and professional codes of conduct & the different elements of the portfolio;
• 2. The development of children and young people (including attachment, risk & resilience, and well-being), and patterns of transition from childhood to adulthood (including appropriate support services);
• 3. The skills, knowledge and values involved in effective communication and engagement with children and young people, their families and carers;
• 4. The roles and relationships between the different organisations and professionals involved in delivering children’s services, including the relevant legal and policy frameworks; and
• Work-based practice/learning sets:
• 1. Identification and application of the knowledge, skills and values involved in the student’s practice, including multi-agency working, and how to further extend and integrate these to deliver best outcomes for children and young people;
• 2. Discussion and analysis of case examples from students’ work-based practice; and
• 3. Compiling the portfolio.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module students will be expected to be able to demonstrate:
• 1. Effective communication and engagement with children and young people, their families and carers, involving them in the design and delivery of services and decisions that affect their lives (SSS1);
• 2. Understanding of the development of children and young people, including the effects of developmental and behavioural changes, as well as the needs of parents and carers in responding to those changes (SSK1);
• 3. Understanding of the factors that place children and young people at risk, and help to safeguard and promote their well-being and quality of life, as well as the ability to ensure that children and young people are free from harm, and to promote their well-being and quality of life (SSK2 & SSS6);
• 4. Understanding of the patterns of transition from childhood to adulthood and the provision of support to young people during the transition, within the relevant legal frameworks (SSK3 & SSS9);
• 5. Understanding of the roles and relationships between the different services, agencies, teams of professionals and other staff involved in delivering best outcomes for children and young people (SSK4);
• 6. The ability to work effectively within legal frameworks, and with other agencies/networks, sharing information appropriately and overcoming any barriers to communication (SSS2);
• 7. The ability to promote the rights of service users and carers, and to embed service user-focused values in practice (SSS14);
• 8. Acceptance of personal responsibility in relation to professional codes of conduct, including the ability to address any ethical issues arising in relation to professional practice (KS5).

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures & Small group work/plenary sessions:
• Four extended lectures, at the beginning of the module, incorporating small group work and plenary sessions, provide students with key information about the knowledge, skills and values identified in the National Occupational standards for Social Work and the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce which are necessary for competent social work practice in direct work with children and young people, their families and carers.
• Directed reading & Independent study tasks:
• This combination of learning approaches provides students with opportunities to extend and deepen their knowledge via critical reading in relation to specific topics (as well as time for wider reading around the subject), and work on practice examples and other work-related material.
• Work-based practice/ learning sets:
• Students undertake work-based practice as child care social workers throughout the module, which is individually supervised by their line manager. Their learning is supported by two ‘learning set’ meetings and contact with their practice mentor, who also undertakes a direct observation of the student’s practice. Taken together, these processes enable students to consolidate and consistently demonstrate in direct work with children and young people, their families and carers, the full range of competences in social work practice in these contexts, and do preparatory work on elements of their portfolios.
• Portfolio:
• The portfolio, which includes a personal profile and two reflexive commentaries completed by the student, as well as a report on the student’s practice by a practice mentor (incorporating service user and/or carer feedback), assesses student achievement of all of the module’s learning outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Feedback on draft Personal Profile or one Reflexive Commentary.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University