The overall purpose of this task is for to you demonstrate that you are able to justify and critically analyse your own practice in relation to social work law, knowledge, skills and values relating to: social work methods and models of intervention; ethical dilemmas; inter-professional challenges and/or dilemmas; risk and resilience; research; and/or evidence based practice. You must accurately reference your work throughout.
Provide a critical reflection on a piece of work you have undertaken with an individual, family or group. Include brief references to the PCF, legislation, and relevant literature to support your discussions and evaluate your learning, and include a reference list.
- Provide a brief introductory paragraph regarding the event/case, including the main reason for the agency’s involvement.
- Outline how you assessed and planned your work
- Outline what interventions you actually carried out and why
- Include a critical evaluation of your understanding and use of professional judgement and autonomy.
- Discuss and evaluate how you assessed and managed risk
- What skills, methods and approaches did you consider or apply to your practice
- What helped you to reflect on your practice and development
- Include the challenges and dilemmas you faced and how you addressed these
- Reflect on what you learnt about yourself (self-awareness), your skills, your values, and your resilience
- What future learning needs have you identified and how will you address these
I need to write a critical reflective piece of work about a young person in placement in the leaving care team
The local authority received a number of referrals relating to the care of A and her siblings which raised concerns surrounding the parents chaotic lifestyle, physical assaults neglect issues and the children being left alone at home. My young person (YP) was then placed in a long-term foster placement with her younger sibling as well as another sibling group. The marriage broke down of the foster carers which led to deterioration in home conditions within the placement and there were major concerns raise with regards to the male foster carers care provided to the children. Although support was given to the male foster carer to care for the children he was unable to keep the standards expected as a foster carer and the safeguarding of the children became a real issue.
The male foster carer was unable meet the individual needs of all the children within the placement, the children were not offered consistency of care. Health and safety issues were raised with regards to the placement and had not improved over a sustained period of time. The foster carers inability to maintain confidentiality when talking in the household.
It was then agreed with Social Services that our YP be removed and placed within a new foster placement. YP was very resistant to this change as she did not want to leave the male foster carer who she classed as her father. YP was displaying challenging behavior within her new placement as she felt that by displaying his behavior she would be returned to her previous placement. The stability offered to the YP in her new placement saw a great improvement within her school and her engagement within school. Three months after being in her new placement her reading age had increased by two years.
YP can struggle with her emotions and will often lash out if things are not going her way. YP did suffer from enuresis which was thought to be linked to her behavior although this is under control now. YP needed constant prompting with regards to her personal hygiene and self care skills. YP also found following rules and boundaries very difficult due to the instability f the previous placemen. YP has previously been known to use sexualized behavior. Since moving to her new foster placement the improvement in the YP has been evident. She looks healthy and is always dressed clean and smart. She now participates in age appropriate activities and enjoys engaging with other peers.
YP recently started displaying challenging behavior and it led to a breakdown within her foster placement. YP was two months ago moved to supported accommodation which consisted of support staff residing with her in a terrace house for 24 hours a day. But this accommodation would mean that the YP would have to be able to use her independence skills and begin to mature in order to achieve this. YP has thrived since she has been in this placement There have been no concerns at all with regards to her self care skills or how she manages daily tasks within the house. YP is able to cook basic meals, self-care skills, carry out cleaning duties, complete washing her clothes.
Even though the YP is 17 years of age she does present as a lot younger and is a very vulnerable young person. There are concerns regarding YP identity as she relates to her previous foster carers as her parents. Recently birth mum has been back in contact with YP and this has been a very positive step. The relationship between mum and YP is a very strong bond but is still at its early stages. Currently contact is monthly and is supervised with a view to becoming unsupervised over the next few months Mum comes across quite pushy with regards to contact and needs to understand that it needs to happen in baby steps so that the YP feels comfortable.
YP is currently attending college and is in her second year. YP does enjoy college but finds it hard to make new peer groups and isolates herself from other students on her course. YP does not want people t know that she is in care and comes across as being embarrassed by this which is what can be expected.
YP engages well with people when she gets to know them but seems to get on well better with adults that children her own age.
Then I need 100 words completed for each section below relating to the Leaving Care Team within Social Services. This is separate to the above essay.
The above essay is to be 2000 words and below 900 words
| 1. Professionalism
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. (these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 1.1 Recognise the role of the professional social worker in a range of contexts. | ||
| 1.2 Recognise the important role of the supervision and make an active contribution. | ||
| 1.3 Demonstrate professionalism in terms of presentation, demeanour, reliability, honesty and respectfulness. | ||
| 1.4With guidance take responsibility for managing your time and workload effectively. | ||
| 1.5 Be able to show awareness of personal and professional boundaries. | ||
| 1.6 With guidance recognise your limitations, and how to seek advice. | ||
| 1.7Recognise and act on own learning needs in response to practice experience. | ||
| 1.8Show awareness of own safety, health, wellbeing and emotional resilience and seek advice as necessary. | ||
| 1.9Identify concerns about practice and procedures and how they can be questioned. | ||
| 2. Values and Ethics
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 2.1Understand and with support, apply the profession’s ethical principles. | ||
| 2.2 Recognise and with support manage the impact of own values on professional practice. | ||
| 2.3 Identify and with guidance, manage potentially conflicting values and ethical dilemmas.
|
||
| 2.4 Elicit and respect the needs and views of service users and carers and, with support, promote their participation in decision-making wherever possible. | ||
| 2.5 Recognise and, with support, promote individuals’ rights to autonomy and self-determination. | ||
| 2.6 Promote and protect the privacy of individuals within and outside their families and networks, recognising the requirements of professional accountability and information sharing | ||
| 3. Diversity
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 3.1 Understand how an individual’s identity is informed by factors such as culture, economic status, family composition, life experiences and characteristics, and take account of these to understand their experiences. | ||
| 3.2 With reference to current legislative requirements, recognise personal and organisational discrimination and oppression, and identify ways in which they might be challenged. | ||
| 3.3 Recognise and, with support, manage the impact on people of the power invested in your role. | ||
| 4. Rights, Justice and Economic Wellbeing
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 4.1 Understand and, with support, apply in practice the principles of social justice, inclusion and equality. | ||
| 4.2Understand how legislation and guidance can advance or constrain people’s rights. | ||
| 4.3Work within the principles of human and civil rights and equalities legislation. | ||
| 4.4 Recognise the impact of poverty and social exclusion and promote enhanced economic status through access to education, work, housing, health services and welfare benefits. | ||
| 4.5 Recognise the value of independent advocacy. | ||
| 5. Knowledge
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 5.1 With guidance apply research, theory and knowledge from sociology, social policy, psychology, health and human growth and development to social work practice. | ||
| 5.2 Understand the legal and policy frameworks and guidance that inform and mandate social work practice, relevant to placement setting. | ||
| 5.3 Understand forms of harm, their impact on people, and the implications for practice. | ||
| 5.4 Apply knowledge from a range of theories and models for social work intervention with individuals, families, groups and communities, and the methods derived from them. | ||
| 5.5 Value and take account of the expertise of service users and carers and professionals. | ||
| 6. Critical Reflection and Analysis
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 6.1 Recognise the importance of applying imagination, creativity and curiosity to practice. | ||
| 6.2 Inform decision-making through the identification and gathering of information from more than one source and, with support, question its reliability and validity. | ||
| 6.4 With guidance understand how to evaluate and review hypotheses in response to information available at the time and apply in practice with support. | ||
| 6.5 With guidance use evidence to inform decisions. | ||
| 7. Intervention and Skills
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 7.1With guidance use a range of verbal, non-verbal and written methods of communication relevant to the placement. | ||
| 7.2With guidance communicate information, advice, instruction and opinion so as to advocate, influence and persuade. | ||
| 7.3 Demonstrate the ability to build and conclude compassionate and effective relationships appropriate to the placement setting. | ||
| 7.4With guidance demonstrate an holistic approach to the identification of needs, circumstances, rights, strengths and risks. | ||
| 7.5 Identify and use appropriate frameworks to assess, give meaning to, plan, implement and review effective interventions and evaluate the outcomes. | ||
| 7.6With guidance use a planned and structured approach, informed by at least two social work methods and models. | ||
| 7.7Recognise the importance of community resources, groups and networks for individuals. | ||
| 7.8Demonstrate skills in recording and report writing appropriate to the setting. | ||
| 7.9With guidance, demonstrate skills in sharing information appropriately and respectfully. | ||
| 7.10 Demonstrate awareness of the impact of multiple factors, changing circumstances and uncertainty in people’s lives. | ||
| 7.11 With guidance understand the authority of the social work role. | ||
| 7.12 With guidance identify the factors that may create or exacerbate risk to individuals, their families or carers, to the public or to professionals, including yourself. | ||
| 7.13 With guidance identify appropriate responses to safeguard vulnerable people. | ||
| 8. Contexts and Organisations
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 8.1 With guidance, recognise that social work operates within, and responds to, changing economic, social, political and organisational contexts. | ||
| 8.2 With guidance understand legal obligations, structures and behaviours within organisations and how these impact on policy, procedure and practice. | ||
| 8.3 With guidance work within the organisational context of your placement setting and understand the lines of accountability. | ||
| 8.4 Understand and respect the role of others within the organisation and work effectively with them. | ||
| 8.5 Take responsibility for your role and impact within teams and with guidance contribute positively to team working. | ||
| 8.6 Understand the inter-agency, multi-disciplinary and inter-professional dimensions to practice and, with guidance, demonstrate partnership working. | ||
| 9.Professional Leadership
Below are indicators of professional social work activity. ( these indicators do not need to be individually evidenced) |
||
| 9.1 Identify how professional leadership in social work can enhance practice. | ||
| 9.2 Recognise the value of sharing and supporting the learning and development of others. | ||