What you will study
The module concentrates on writing about practice, and learning how to apply theoretical learning to practice contexts. The module is divided into eight blocks of learning. Each block covers a particular aspect of understanding social work and use case study material to illustrate and apply these ideas into practice situations.
Block 1 - provides an overview of some of the ideas about how individual psychology and identity are relevant to all social work settings. This includes what values underpin professional identity in the complex situations social workers deal with.
Block 2 - explores the social context that is important both to understand how services are delivered, but also the wider supports and environments that can support or restrict people’s opportunities and life chances. How social workers are concerned with these inequalities, and issues of social justice are examined.
Block 3 - uses children and family work to consider how and why social workers might come to be engaged with people.
Block 4 - concentrates on using issues facing older people in coming to consider the skills and approaches to formal assessment in social work, and how to establish an understanding of someone’s situation.
Block 5 - develops social work approaches of groups and community work to support people with mental health distress. The themes of stigma and discrimination are explored in particular and the models of the constructive ways social workers can address these issues.
Block 6 - provides information about adults with learning disabilities and in particular how their engagement in reviews of services they receive personally, or more general service reviews and evaluations is an important principle for social work with all service users and their carers.
Block 7 - uses models of work with families with children with disabilities to consider partnership working and ideas of early intervention in social work.
Block 8 - concentrates on the issues of professional development and understanding of the personal and regulatory requirements for individuals wishing to develop their professionalism generally or continue with the social work programme.
In order to pass the module, you will be required to:
- complete a minimum period of 10 days verified practice learning in a social care/social work setting. If you are studying as an independent student it will be your responsibility to arrange the practice experience including identifying a verifier. For sponsored students this will be the responsibility of your sponsoring agency. To carry out this practice experience, you may be asked to provide a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificate. If you do not have a certificate and one is required, it will be your responsibility to negotiate and fund it.
- attend seven compulsory learning events (3 face-to-face day-long workshops, normally held on a Saturday, and 4 online tutorials). These provide you with the chance to explore the theoretical themes in relation to the realities of social work practice. Any workshop days missed will have to be added onto the verified practice element, and will require you to complete an alternative piece of work to compensate for this absence.
It is also recommended that you shadow a social worker during your 10-day practice experience. This is not a requirement, however, if this opportunity is not available.
During this module you will develop your ICT skills and can gain marks for this both in continuous assessment and in the end-of-module assessment. There may also be online discussions that take place to continue your interactions with your tutor and fellow students and develop your online communication skills.
Professional recognition
This is one of a set of modules that together constitute approved programmes leading to social work degrees in England and Scotland. The degrees are endorsed by Social Work England and the Scottish Social Services Council.