Social Work Taskforce report

I’ve been unable to find the actual Taskforce report, entitled ‘Building a Safe, Confident Future’ on the net as yet, but the details have been published in both Community Care and The Guardian.
The content includes tighter entry criteria for social work courses, which will also be overhauled with a common curriculum and more robustly assessed [...]

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Final placement and other ramblings

Once again I’m in the position of impatiently waiting to hear about my next placement.  I know which authority took my application papers and when.   Now I just have to wait for them to contact me when they have found me a suitable practice teacher.
This has led to me reflecting on my last placement and [...]

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Changing views about ‘recovery’

Once again, I have had to rethink and challenge my attitudes and beliefs.  This time about mental health, provoked by the literature review I was required to write. I eventually chose the concept of ‘recovery’, which proved fascinating- and challenging.
To give a quick synopsis, the recovery movement argues that everyone who experiences any form of [...]

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Too much choice…

The mental health pathway for my course is assessed by means of 2 assignments- a literature review, of your own choice but discussed with the tutor to ensure suitability, and an essay about assessment within mental health services, including assessment of risk.
The first gives me a headache- for no other reason than that it is [...]

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Back to uni

Today was day 88 of placement; in 4 more weeks it will be over.  Tomorrow I return to university to begin the second year of my MA.  The combination of both has put me in a reflective mood.
It seems like only yesterday that I was starting the first year of the course, full of hopes [...]

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Anti-oppressive practice?

Yesterday I went on an unannounced visit to a carer’s home with a recently qualified male worker, to observe the way the checks are done.  Some very real safety concerns emerged, but the carer gave two explanations, which, while not seeming totally plausible in terms of the actual concerns, were certainly partially credible.  The issues [...]

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Hitting the ground running

I posted a while ago about spending some time with the local authority fostering team to gain extra experience and meet the assessment requirements for my placement.  I began last week and from now on, I will spend two and half days in each location.   Fostering was certainly very different from the children’s advocacy [...]

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Reflections after two thirds of placement

Yet again it’s been ages since I last posted- I totally underestimated how difficult this stage of the course is.
I am effectively working full-time- for no salary- and then coming home at night and having to write a reflective log, thinking about what I’ve learned that day.  At weekends I write the essays, or update [...]

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Very long day, but very worthwhile

Got home at around 9pm from the BASW student conference, with flea bitten legs and a headache (courtesy of one train passenger with a manky dog and a very annoying son with a loud and piercing voice), but it really was a worthwhile day.
I’m tired, but my enthusiasm for social work has been renewed.  It [...]

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An ethical dilemma

As part of the assessment for the placement part of the social work course, on at least two separate occasions the practice  teacher has to observe the student working directly with service users, and provide a report with feedback about the student’s competence. The date set for my first one is tomorrow.  As I am [...]

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