Discussion with colleagues
Work shadowing
Visiting Departments and other agencies and reflections on this
Simulation exercises
Role playing scenarios in supervision or group work
'Walk me through it' - giving accounts of how you would act in a given situation
Reflection on what you could have done differently
Discussing, debating and reflecting
Joint visiting
Courses and their impact on thinking
Attendance at conferences
E learning
Videos or TED talks
Reading
Briefings on procedures
Discussions with other students on ASYE programme
Examples of continuous professional development (CPD) activities that could be undertaken during the ASYE period, to underpin the assessment process (based on HCPC requirements – see website for detailed information here)
Learning By Doing
Undertake Case Studies
Opportunities for Reflective Practice
Discussion with colleagues
Co-working with experienced social worker
Co-supervision
Involvement of wider work of employer (e.g. involvement in a project or research for a specific piece of work)
Work shadowing
In service training
Visiting other depts and agencies and reporting back
Work rotation
Filling in self-assessment questionnaires
Simulation exercises
Group supervision exercises
Team meetings used to build resilience
Written reflective pieces
Role playing in supervision
Life story work
'Walk me through it '- giving an account of how you'd act in specific situation
Reflection on what you could have done differently
Writing court reports/other reports
Taking opportunities to discuss, debate and reflect / Professional Activity
Member of specialist group
Involvement with a professional body
Developing specialist skills
Being an expert witness
Membership of other professional groups
Undertaking Research
Discussions with others on ASYE
Formal/Informal/Educational
Courses
Research
Attending conferences
Writing articles or papers
Going to seminars
E-learning
Videos/TED talks
'Use of self' sessions to increase self-awareness
Development of theoretical knowledge
Training in use of specific tools used
Training in critical analysis models
Videoed work to look at self-presentation
Use of in-house and external briefs on learning from practice e.g. TCSW, RIP, Community Care Inform
Coaching from others
APPENDIX 1
THE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
This section outlines the knowledge and skills statements in terms of what a new social worker, in the initial stages of their professional journey, will need to know. These statements are not definitive, they can be added to, to meet any specific needs. Examples of the type of evidence that would be acceptable to judge the performance of the NQSW against knowledge and skill statements are also given in this section.
Statement 1 - Relationships and effective direct work
Build effective relationships with children, young people and families, which form the bedrock of all support and child protection responses. Be both authoritative and empathic and work in partnership with children, families and professionals, enabling full participation in assessment, planning, review and decision making. Ensure child protection is always privileged.
Provide support based on best evidence, which is tailored to meet individual child and family needs, and which addresses relevant and significant risks. Secure access to services, negotiating and challenging other professionals and organisations to provide the help required. Ensure children and families, including children in public care receive the support to which they are entitled.
Support children and families in transition, including children and young people moving to and between placements, those returning home, those being adopted or moving through to independence. Help children to separate from, and sustain, multiple relationships recognising the impact of loss and change.
Is able to start and develop relationships: Newly qualified social workers need to know how to begin relationships with people. They need to be able to communicate the purpose of their involvement in a confident and understandable way so that the families know what they are going to be engaged in. Getting to know the service users well they need to get the family to understand the problem to be tackled.
Purposeful visiting: They need to understand the concept of purposeful visiting, understanding the plan for the child and ensuring that the family do too.
Using and adapting skills and tools in context: They also need a range of skills and tools to use to work with the family to tackle the issues there are. They need to tailor the work to the people they are working with.
Some suggested examples of evidence on the level of performance in this capability:Observation:
- of role playing scenarios or of examples in the field
- of how the NQSW takes part in any team discussions on building effective relationships
- of effective body language
- Supervisors evidence of NQSW explaining the family issue in supervision and describing how they are going to tackle it
- checking that they are clear about the child's plan, checking what they are doing to achieve it and examining what success will look like
- Notes on reflections from supervision after generating ideas of different ways of doing things, to generate and test flexibility of thinking
- Notes on reflection of awareness of self when dealing with cases
- Evidence of discussions around theoretical knowledge and skills involved in cases
Statement 2 – Communication
Communicate clearly and sensitively with children of different ages and abilities, their families and in a range of settings and circumstances. Use methods based on best evidence. Create immediate rapport with people not previously known which facilitates engagement and motivation to participate in child protection enquiries, assessments and services.
Act respectfully even when people are angry, hostile and resistant to change. Manage tensions between parents, carers and family members, in ways that show persistence, determination and professional confidence.
Listen to the views, wishes and feelings of children and families and help parents and carers understand the ways in which their children communicate through their behaviour. Help them to understand how they might communicate more effectively with their children.
Promote speech, language and communication support, identifying those children and adults who are experiencing difficulties expressing themselves. Produce written case notes and reports, which are well argued, focused, and jargon free. Present a clear analysis and a sound rationale for actions as well as any conclusions reached, so that all parties are well informed.
Communicating with service users. Newly qualified social workers need to be able to display sensitivity to a client's ability to communicate, starting from where the services users are, in a meaningful way. This includes being aware of the impact of a client's learning disabilities e.g. checking they understand what is being asked of them.
They need to be respectful to service users and other professionals
They need to demonstrate skills in being able to communicate with parents , in an open, compassionate and empathic way, the reasons for protecting the children/ Being able to have challenging conversations appropriately, taking into account different perspectives. Demonstrate clarity of thought, perceptions and perspectives.
Listening. Listening and hearing the perspective of the service user .e.g. understanding of the way in which people communicate through their behaviour; reading beyond the irritation that the behaviour might cause.
Written work. Writing life story work with children, demonstrate appropriate (age and/or understanding) level of communication, explaining drugs or incest at appropriate level for child.
Written work, including case notes, adapt this appropriately to the task at hand - understand the audience e.g. difference between a court report and a child placement report, writing for a senior manager a potential adopter or for a child.
Some suggested examples of evidence on the level of performance in this capability:Evidence of written work
- life story books, reports, case notes etc.
- talking to children, discussing issues with parents, reaction to service user representations
- evidence of ability to adapt communication to appropriately meet individual need s of service users
- discussion on clarity of thought, perspectives, assumptions
Statement 3 - Child development
Observe and talk to children in their environment including at home, at school, with parents, carers, friends and peers to help understand the physical and emotional world in which the child lives, including the quality of child and parent/carer interaction and other key relationships. Establish the pattern of development for the child, promote optimal child development and be alert to signs that may indicate that the child is not meeting key developmental milestones, has been harmed or is at risk of harm.
Take account of typical age-related physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural development over time, accepting that normative developmental tasks are different for each child depending on the interaction for that child between health, environmental and genetic factors. Assess the influence of cultural and social factors on child development, the effect of different parenting styles, and the effect of loss, change and uncertainty in the development of resilience.
Explore the extent to which behavioural and emotional development may also be a result of communication difficulties, ill health or disability, adjusting practice to take account of these differences. Seek further advice from relevant professionals to fully understand a child’s development and behaviour.
Talking to children/young people: Newly qualified social workers need to be able to talk to the child about what has happened, in an informed way. This will involve an understanding of the health, growth and development of children and young people.
Child development and the influencing factors: The NQSW needs to use the knowledge they have to identify the developmental pattern of the child. Do they understand the environmental, social, cultural and factors that influence child development, can they spot these in practice and articulate them?
Working with the parents/carers perspectives: They need to consider the ability of the parent to see things from the child's perspective, observing and interpreting the interaction between the parent and the child. They also need to be able to identify and articulate when there are concerns and when relationships are positive. They also need to respond to concerns professionally and intervene in a way that aims not to raise the defences of the parent.
Some suggested examples of evidence on the level of performance in this capability:Evidence of written work
- case notes, life story work
- talking to children, discussing issues with parents
- evidence of ability to adapt communication to appropriately meet individual need s of children and young people
- discussion on their understanding and assessment of the physical and emotional world of the child
- discussion of their ability to relate their theoretical understanding of the impact of parenting styles and impact of loss and uncertainty to specific cases
Statement 4 - Adult mental ill health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, physical ill health and disability
Identify the impact of adult mental ill health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, physical ill health and disability on family functioning and social circumstances and in particular the effect on children, including those who are young carers. Access the help and assistance of other professionals in the identification and prevention of adult social need and risk, including mental health and learning disability assessment.
Coordinate emergency and routine services and synthesise multi-disciplinary judgements as part of ongoing social work assessment. Use a range of strategies to help families facing these difficulties.
Identify concerning adult behaviours that may indicate risk or increasing risk to children. Assess the likely impact on, and inter-relationship between, parenting and child development. Recognise and act upon escalating social needs and risks, helping to ensure that vulnerable adults are safeguarded and that a child is protected and their best interests always prioritised.
Understanding the impact: Newly qualified social workers need to know how should have a basic understanding of the impact of adult mental ill health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, physical ill health and disability on family functioning and the impact on the child(ren) or young person.
Working with other agencies: They should be able to work effectively with other agencies to collate knowledge and understanding of the situation?
Demonstrate sensitivity: Are able to show sensitivity in dealing with these issues.
Evaluate need: When there are escalating social needs they should be able to make an assessment and using the appropriate tools, baseline where the family are at. They need to identify the tools that will give them something to measure against and show ability to use them effectively e.g. Graded Care Profile, DASH assessment, Duluth wheel, or other, as defined by the employer.
Can demonstrate evidence of the impact on the child.
Some suggested examples of evidence on the level of performance in this capability:Training undertaken
- CPD record, certificates
- case notes, completed assessment profiles
- talking to children and parents and consideration of the assessment made
- appropriate use of tools
- simulated exercises
- discussion on their assessment of the impact on the child
- questioning their knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand in a case discussion
- discussion on the child's best interests
Statement 5 - Abuse and neglect of children
Exchange information with partner agencies about children and adults where there is concern about the safety and welfare of children. Triangulate evidence to ensure robust conclusions are drawn. Recognise harm and the risk indicators of different forms of harm to children relating to sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect. Take into account the long-term effects of cumulative harm, particularly in relation to early indicators of neglect.
Consider the possibility of child sexual exploitation, grooming (on and offline), female genital mutilation and enforced marriage and the range of adult behaviours which pose a risk to children, recognising too the potential for children to be perpetrators of abuse.
Lead the investigation of allegations of significant harm to children in consultation with other professionals and practice supervisors. Draw one’s own conclusions about the likelihood of, for example, sexual abuse or non-accidental injury having occurred and the extent to which any injury is consistent with the explanation offered. Commission a second professional opinion and take legal advice where necessary.
Identify thresholds appropriately: With safeguarding e.g. neglect, CSE, emotional abuse, at any single point in time it can be difficult to decide when to take more robust action to safeguard. The NQSW needs to show they are able to baseline using appropriate threshold documents. They also need to show their understanding and use of knowledge/research which considers the long term damaging effects of harm on the child.
Sharing information: They are able to share and discuss information with colleagues from the wider workforce and to share the baseline information appropriately.
Demonstrates analysis and decision making: They are able to demonstrate the triangulation of evidence for assessment purposes and professional discussions. They can demonstrate analysis and decision making that indicates when robust action is required to address allegations of significant harm.
Understanding of diversity and discrimination: They identify and take account of the significance of diversity and discrimination of the lives of people and shows understanding in practice
Some suggested examples of evidence on the level of performance in this capability:Training undertaken
- CPD record, training in use of tools
- case notes, completed assessment profiles
- talking to children and parents and consideration of the assessment made
- appropriate use of relevant tools
- simulated exercises
- appropriate use of multi-agency information
- evidence presented in strategy discussions
- discussion on their assessment of the impact on the child
- reflecting on their evidence in a case discussion
- discussion and questioning on the child's best interests and long term impact
Statement 6 - Child and family assessment
Carry out in-depth and ongoing family assessment of social need and risk to children, with particular emphasis on parental capacity and capability to change. Use professional curiosity and authority while maintaining a position of partnership, involving all key family members, including fathers. Acknowledge any conflict between parental and children’s interests, prioritising the protection of children as set out in legislation.
Use child observation skills, genograms, ecomaps, chronologies and other evidence based tools ensuring active child and family participation in the process. Incorporate the contributions that other professional disciplines make to social work assessments.
Hold an empathic position about difficult social circumstances experienced by children and families, taking account of the relationship between poverty and social deprivation, and the effect of stress on family functioning, providing help and support. Take into account individual child and family history and how this might affect the ability of adults and children to engage with services.