SW0624 - Developing Skills for Complex Social Work Practice

In order to prepare for the final practice placement, you will concentrate on developing core skills to enable you to implement professional social work practice. Specialist seminars will enable a detailed consideration of safeguarding practice in contemporary social work. The development of your practice-based skills will form part of the teaching and learning strategy: this learning will then be applied and demonstrated in the practice learning opportunity.

You will be able to learn in a wide variety of ways on this module. You will have a structured programme of lectures delivered by academic staff, social work practitioners and service users. Within these, you will experience a range of teaching strategies, including seminar work, some directed learning and experiential learning activities.

The placement days attached to this module will offer you the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills as a qualifying social work practitioner with service users, carers and other professionals in practice settings. Teaching and learning provided by the practice educator will include practical experience, individual supervision, discussion, written work, reading and reflection

You will be offered formative feedback from your peers and seminar leaders during workshop sessions. In the practice learning opportunity you will receive feedback from your practice educator, service users and other social work practitioners.

The module will be summative assessed by an assignment which will focus on professional judgment and decision making and a Pass/Fail assessment of your ability to work to the Professional Capabilities Framework at qualifying level.

Support will include feedback from tutors during small-group seminars and tutorials. In addition tutors will respond to questions via the module’s discussion board on the University’s eLearning Portal so that the whole group can benefit.

During the practice learning opportunity, you will be supported in your learning by a Practice Educator (PE) and have different opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge in order to practise as a qualifying social work practitioner in a variety of settings. Your PE will provide you with practice learning support and will be responsible for assessing your practice based learning. Throughout the duration of your practice learning opportunity, you will have regular supervision with your PE in relation to your development in meeting the requirements of the PCF. Supervision with your practice educator will support you in discussing professional issues and focus on encouraging your critical reflection on your learning experience. During the period of practice-based learning you will also be supported by your personal tutor, who will monitor your professional development and provide academic support. You will meet with your tutor and practice educator (your practice learning team) early in in the placement to complete a practice learning agreement, to ensure that the expectations about placement are clear to all parties and that you have a range of learning opportunities to meet your developmental needs. You will also attend an interim review meeting with your practice learning team about halfway through the placement to discuss your progress.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk

Knowledge & Understanding:
• Critically appraise the complex nature of social work assessment and decision making within relevant legal and policy frameworks, applying the best available evidence to practice

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• Demonstrate the ability to form and sustain effective transformational relationships with service users and other key stakeholders
• Demonstrate the critical ability to make evidence-based judgements to inform decision making in situations of complexity and uncertainty
• Understand the role of reflective supervision and how to maximise its benefit for your practice.


Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Demonstrate a reflexive understanding of your personal contribution to social work intervention and the process of managing change.

The summative assessment for the module is in two parts:

1. A written assignment (2500 words) in which you need to demonstrate an understanding and application of professional judgement and decision making in relation to a case study from your own practice (Marked out of 100%)

2. Fully completed Practice Learning Documentation which evidences your ability to work to the Professional Capabilities Framework at a qualifying level (Marked Pass/Fail by your Practice Educator)

Both parts must be passed to successfully complete the module.

Formative assessment:

You will complete a series of structured formative tasks during your practice placement. Using examples from your own practice, you will make links to the professional evidence base for practice and consider with your practice educator how your knowledge, skills and values have developed as a result.

SW0417, SW0418, SW0419, SW0420, SW0421, SW0422, SW0514, SW0515, SW0516, SW0517, SW0518.

SW0623, SW0625, SW0626, SW0627

This module will build on the intervention modules you have completed at levels 4 and 5. This will focus on the social work process of assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation in complex situations and prepare you to undertake direct work with service users.

In order to prepare for the final practice placement, the teaching will concentrate on developing core skills to implement professional social work practice within a statutory framework. Specialist workshops will facilitate a detailed consideration of safeguarding practice in contemporary social work. Skills development will form part of the teaching and learning strategy: this learning will then be applied and demonstrated in the practice learning opportunity.

The 30 placement days attached to this module will offer you the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills as qualifying social work practitioners with service users, carers and other professionals in practice settings.