Module SOCI40120: DIRECT WORK

Department: Applied Social Sciences

SOCI40120: DIRECT WORK

Prerequisites

• Consolidation Module.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to develop effective and competent post-qualification (specialist level) practice, in depth, in direct work with children and young people, their families and carers. It is the second module in the first year of the programme, following the Consolidation module, and is set at level 4.

Content

• Lectures & Small group work/plenary sessions:
• 1. The principles of partnership working with children and young people, their families and carers;
• 2. Methods of effective communication, support and advocacy with children and young people, their families and carers;
• 3. Models and frameworks associated with assessing the needs of children and young people (and the services to meet them) in relation to:
• a) their physical and mental health
• b) the impact of drug and alcohol misuse on their lives
• c) physical impairment and /or learning difficulties
• d) involvement with the youth and family justice systems
• e) seeking asylum, either unaccompanied or as a member of a family
• f) being accommodated or looked after by a local authority and leaving care (including the responsibilities of corporate parents)
• g) private fostering arrangements (including the social, psychological and legal components);
• 4. The processes involved in promoting positive change, and planning for/responding to changes, within families (including the impact of social work interventions);
• 5. The impact of discrimination and disadvantage on the lives of children and young people, and how to counteract it;
• 6. The impact of parental problems (including mental and physical illness, drug and alcohol misuse, disability, and domestic violence) on children and young people, and how to address them;
• 7. The rights of service users and carers and how to embed service user-focused values in direct work; and
• 8. The relationship of professional codes of conduct to direct work with children and young people, their families and carers, including how to address any ethical issues that may arise.
• Work-based practice:
• 1. Discussion and analysis (with the line manager/practice mentor) of case examples from the student’s direct work with and multi-agency working on behalf of children and young people, their families and carers
• 2. The development of critical understanding in relation to the application of knowledge, skills and values in direct work and multi-agency working, and how to extend and integrate these to deliver best outcomes for children and young people; and
• 3. Observation of the student’s direct work with service users and/or carers.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module students will be expected to be able to demonstrate:
• 1. Partnership working with children and young people, their families and carers, including effective skills in communication, support and advocacy (SSS1 & 4);
• 2. Understanding and appropriate application of models and frameworks in practice that assesses the needs of children and young people (and the services to meet them) in relation to:
• a) their physical and mental health;
• b) any impact of drug and alcohol misuse on their lives
• c) any physical impairment and/or learning difficulties;
• d) any involvement with the youth and family justice systems;
• e) the seeking of asylum (either unaccompanied, or as a member of a family);
• f) being accommodated or looked after by a local authority and/or leaving care (including the responsibilities of corporate parents); and g) private fostering arrangements, including the social, psychological and legal components (SSK5 & SSS13);
• 3. The promotion of positive change, as well as planning for and responding to changes within families, including realistic evaluation of the impact of social work interventions (SSS5);
• 4. Empowerment of children and young people whose lives are affected by discrimination and disadvantage, as a result of factors such as poverty, unemployment, homelessness, racism, homophobia, and bullying (SSK6 & SSS10);
• 5. Work to address parental problems (including mental and physical illness, drug and alcohol misuse, disability, and domestic violence) and their impact on children and young people (SSK7 & SSS11);
• 6. Work that promotes the rights of service users and carers, and embeds in policy and practice service user-focused values (SSS14); and
• 7. 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 and research (KS5).

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

• Lectures & Small group work/plenary sessions:
• Extended lectures, including small group work and plenary sessions, which run throughout the module, provide students with key information and opportunities for discussion/skills enhancement in relation to the specific knowledge, skills and values required for competent post-qualifying direct work with children and young people, their families and carers.
• Directed reading & Independent study tasks:
• Directed reading (as well as time to undertake wider, self-directed reading) provides students with opportunities to extend and deepen their knowledge in relation to specific aspects of direct work with children and young people, their families and carers. Independent study tasks support this learning by requiring students to research particular questions and issues, or apply their knowledge to practice examples.
• Work-based practice:
• All students on the programme will undertake direct work with children and young people, their families and carers within their employment settings during this module. Through the supervision and support provided by their line manager and practice mentor, respectively, this will enable them to extend and deepen their critical understanding of the application of knowledge, skills and values in post-qualifying (specialist level) social work practice with these groups.
• Reflexive Commentary:
• This form of assessment, which incorporates a report on one piece of the student’s direct practice by their mentor, requires students to write critically and reflectively about the way that they have used knowledge, skills and values in their direct practice with children, young people and families, with an emphasis on the experiences of service users and carers and multi-agency working, thereby assessing the student’s achievement of all of the module’s learning outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Feedback on independent study tasks and other exercises in small group work within extended lectures, and feedback from practice mentor following direct observation of practice.

■ 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