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Curricular information is subject to change
Students will develop an understanding of child welfare and protection systems, theories, policies and practice and will develop sufficient competence to assume practice placements in the fields of family support, community based responses, duty/intake, child protection and welfare, children in care and related functions and services.
• Students will develop an understanding and knowledge of service provision and decision making in the child welfare system.
• Students will have a critical understanding of child protection and welfare assessments and will have a working knowledge to enable them to undertake assessments and interventions, using the Signs of Safety framework, with children and families at risk during their first social work placement.
• Students will have an understanding of the importance of locating specific agency policies, practice protocols and law in relation to assessment and intervention work in child welfare and protection settings.
• Students will be introduced to concepts of care plans, court reports and knowledge and skills to work competently with children and families.
• Students will begin to integrate knowledge and skills acquired and developed in other year one modules.
CORU Standards of Proficiency
Following this module students will be able to satisfy the following Social Workers Registration Board (CORU) standards of proficiency:
Domain 1: Professional autonomy and accountability
1. Be able to practice safely and effectively within the legal, ethical and practice boundaries of the profession
2. Be able to identify the limits of their practice and know when to seek advice and additional expertise or refer to another professional
3. Be able to act in the best interest of service users at all times with due regard to their will and preference
5. Respect and uphold the rights, dignity and autonomy of every service user including their role in the diagnostic, therapeutic and social care process
7. Understand the importance of maintaining accurate up to date documentation
9. Recognise the importance of practising in a non-discriminatory, culturally sensitive way and acknowledge and respect the differences in beliefs and cultural practices of individuals or groups
10. Understand the role of policies and systems to protect the health, safety, welfare, equality and dignity of service users, staff and volunteers
11. Understand and respect the confidentiality of service users and use information only for the purpose for which it was given
12. Understand the limits of confidentiality in the context of a variety of team settings
13. Understand and be able to apply the limits of the concept of confidentiality particularly in relation to child protection, vulnerable adults and elder abuse
16. Be able to gain informed consent to carry out assessments or provide treatment/interventions and document evidence that consent has been obtained
18. Recognise personal responsibility and professional accountability for one’s actions and be able to justify professional decisions made
20. Understand the principles of professional decision-making and be able to make informed decisions within the context of competing demands including those relating to ethical conflicts and available resources
Domain 2: Communication, Collaborative Practice and Team-working
1. Be able to communicate diagnosis/assessment and/or treatment/management options in a way that can be understood by the service user including non-voluntary service users
2. Be able to modify and adapt communication methods and styles, including verbal and nonverbal methods to suit the individual service users considering issues of language, culture, beliefs and health and/or social care
3. Recognise service users as active participants in their health and social care and be able to support service users in communicating their health and/or social care needs, choices and concerns
4. Understand the need to empower service users to manage their well-being where possible and recognise the need to provide advice to the service user on self-treatment, where appropriate
5. Be able to recognise when the services of a professional translator are required
6. Be able to produce clear, concise, accurate and objective documentation
9. Be able to express professional, informed and considered opinions to service users, health professionals and others e.g. carers, relatives in varied practice settings and contexts and within the boundaries of confidentiality
12. Understand the need to work in partnership with service users, their relatives/carers, guardians and other professionals in planning and evaluating goals, treatments and interventions and be aware of the concepts of power and authority in relationships with service users
13. Understand the need to build and sustain professional relationships as both an independent practitioner and collaboratively as a member of a team
14. Understand the role and impact of effective interdisciplinary team working in meeting service user needs and be able to effectively contribute to decision-making within a team setting
15. Understand the role of relationships with professional colleagues and other workers in service delivery and the need to create professional relationships based on mutual respect and trust
Domain 3: Safety and Quality
1. Be able to gather all appropriate background information relevant to the service user’s health and social care needs
2. Be able to justify the selection of and implement appropriate assessment techniques and be able to undertake and record a thorough, sensitive and detailed assessment
4. Be able to analyse and critically evaluate the information collected in the assessment process
5. Be able to demonstrate sound logical reasoning and problem solving skills to determine appropriate problem lists, action plans and goals
6. Be able to demonstrate an evidence-informed approach to professional decision-making, adapting practice to the needs of the service user and draw on appropriate knowledge and skills in order to make professional judgments
7. Be able to prioritise and maintain the safety of both service users and those involved in their care
8. Be able to evaluate intervention plans using appropriate tools and recognised performance/ outcome measures along with service user responses to the interventions. Revise the plans as necessary and where appropriate, in conjunction with the service user
10. Be able to recognise important risk factors and implement risk management strategies; be able to make reasoned decisions and/or provide guidance to others to initiate, continue, modify or cease interventions, techniques or courses of action and record decisions and concerns
12. Be able to carry out and document a risk analysis and implement effective risk management controls and strategies; be able to clearly communicate any identified risk, adverse events or near misses in line with current legislation/guidelines
14. Be able to establish safe environments for practice which minimises risks to service users, those treating them and others
Domain 4: Professional Development
4. Understand and recognise the impact of personal values and life experience on professional practice and be able to take responsibility and manage this impact appropriately
Domain 5: Provision of quality services
1. Know, understand, and apply the key concepts of the domains of knowledge which are relevant to the profession for individuals, groups and communities
2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of social work theory, methods and skills, social policy and social research, including consideration in a global context
3. Have a critical understanding of sociology, psychology, human growth and development, health, law, economics and political science
5. Critically understand and be able to apply principles of social justice in one’s work including being able to appropriately challenge negative discrimination and unjust policies and practices.
6. Demonstrate a critical understanding of cultural competence; and work towards social inclusion
7. Critically understand and apply a human rights-based approach
8. Critically understand the legislative basis of actions within a service
9. Demonstrate an awareness and critical understanding of how social work practice is influenced by regulations, national guidelines and standards, findings of inquiries, investigations, associated reports; issues and trends in public and policy development; and be able to access new and emerging information which affects social work practice
10. Critically understand the role and purpose of relationship-based practice, including the importance of planning the withdrawal of services
11. Be able to maintain professional boundaries with service users within a variety of social work settings and be able to identify and manage any associated challenges
12. Critically understand and apply the principles of partnership, participation and power sharing within the social work context.
13. Be able to evaluate the effect of their own characteristics, values and practice on interactions with service users and be able to critically reflect on this to improve practice
14. Critically understand the concepts and frameworks that underpin a range of individual counselling theory and skills; theory and practice of working with children and families; community work theory and practice and group work theory and practice
15. Recognise the role of advocacy in promoting the needs and interests of service users; be able to advocate on the behalf of service users
16. Critically understand the capacity of system-level change to improve outcomes, access to care, and delivery of services, particularly for marginalised groups
17. Recognise that service users have the right to self-determination including to take risks
20. Be able to write concise, accurate reports which articulate and justify professional decisions made
22. Demonstrate skills in evidence-informed practice, including translation of theory, concepts and methods to professional practice
23. Demonstrate safe and effective implementation of practical, technical and clinical skills
24. Be able to identify and critically understand the impact of organisational, governmental, community and societal structures, systems and culture on health and social care
History and Construction of the Child Welfare System in Ireland.
Child Welfare and Protection – Process, Pathways and Thresholds
Critical Theories in Child Protection and Welfare
Assessment and Signs of Safety
Theory and Practice - Physical and Emotional Abuse
Theory and Practice - Neglect and Poverty
Theory and Practice - Domestic Violence
Direct Work with Children
Statutory Pathways - Care and Aftercare
Home Visiting
| Student Effort Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 |
| Autonomous Student Learning | 103 |
| Total | 125 |
Not applicable to this module.
| Remediation Type | Remediation Timing |
|---|---|
| In-Module Resit | Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board |
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback
Individual and general group feedback will occur post-assignment. Individual feedback will also be accessible during the module where students have queries in respect of their own performance. In addition to this, the Brightspace platform will provide online automated feedback post-assessment.