Evaluation of a ‘whole programme’ strategy for developing social work students’ skills in communication with children and young people

Improving outcomes for children and young people through effective social work practice requires skilled engagement and communication with the children and young people themselves. Social work qualification programmes play a key role in ensuring practitioners are equipped for this role. However, recent research by the presenter and colleagues noted an absence of empirical evidence on what constitutes effective methods of teaching and learning communication skills with children and a lack of academic consensus regarding curriculum structure, content or delivery, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at least. That previous research did enable the authors, though, to identify a taxonomy of knowledge, values, personal qualities and micro-skills which underpin effective communication with children and young people in social work practice and, consequently, what might need to be covered by qualifying programmes. Hypotheses were developed regarding the kinds of pedagogical methods which might be effective in teaching these. Rather than considering disparate ways of teaching discrete skills, a ‘whole programme’ approach was proposed. This approach was then instituted in a Masters degree qualifying social work programme in England, where this presenter teaches. This paper will present the findings of a 2 year evaluation of the effectiveness of this pedagogical approach (linked to the Outcomes in Social Work Education project). Qualitative and quantitative data was collected at four points during the programme, including at the beginning and end of the programme. Quantitative measures included students rating their subjective perception of what aspects of the programme (or other experiences) contributed to their enhanced confidence in communicating with children and young people. Qualitative measures included a vignette tool which indicated students’ underpinning knowledge about what constituted effective communication and how best to achieve it. The paper will end with considering implications for both curriculum structure and programme evaluation

Becoming effective communicators with children in social work practice: who you are, not just what you know and do

Shortcomings in the quality and level of social workers’ communication with children have led to queries about the role qualifying training plays in equipping students for this challenging aspect of their practice (SWTF, 2009; House of Commons, 2009). This thesis seeks to clarify some of the factors and processes which support qualifying students in learning to become effective communicators with children. The evidence for what should be taught to students to enable them to communicate effectively with children and the programme structures and pedagogic approaches which best facilitate students’ learning and development are explored. An original framework for practice is outlined which constitutes a taxonomy of 32 evidence-informed ‘dimensions’ of ‘Communicative Capability’ needed for effective social work practice with children, set within ‘domains’ of ‘Knowing’ (knowledge and understanding), ‘Doing’ (skills and techniques), and ‘Being’ (ethics, values, personal qualities and emotional capacities). The compass of the dimensions is broad and diverse, so requires teaching and learning opportunities across the whole curriculum including in fieldwork placements, rather than just through a discrete course or specific pedagogical model (Lefevre et al, 2008). The Communicative Capabilities taxonomy has been used as a framework for analysing data collected from social work students on an MA qualifying programme which I teach. Taking a realist approach (Robson, 2011), as an insider (Drake, 2010), I sought to learn more about students’ journeys towards qualified practice so as to identify any factors or processes which support or hinder students’ learning and development. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected at four time points during the programme using self-efficacy scales, course feedback, and written responses to a case vignette, which were analysed for students’ awareness of the Communicative Capabilities. Baseline data on student characteristics, intentions and experiences were gathered so that individual trajectories could be identified and mapped against these. Once students had been qualified for between 16-18 months, follow-up interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of five participants using a semi-structured questionnaire. There were a number of limitations and methodological constraints, most notably those engendered by the lack of a comparison group and small sample, so findings must be regarded as emergent and tentative. An analysis of students’ learning journeys indicated trajectories were rooted in specific experiences, strengths and learning styles. Students would benefit from developing a personalised learning plan which would enable them to maximise their potential and plug gaps in their capabilities. Ways need to be found to enable students to build up from generalist proficiencies in communication, so that first generic, then child-focused, and finally child-specialist applied capabilities in communication can be developed to at least a basic level at the point of qualification. Drawing on Kolb (1984), a cyclical model of the teaching and learning process has been mapped to the development of Knowing, Being and Doing capabilities. Students enter qualifying training with pre-course concrete experience of communication which provides a valuable source for inductive learning through critical reflection. Related theoretical input enables them to conceptualise processes of communication (developing Knowing). Skills may be acquired and honed through active experimentation with techniques and methods both in the university and in placements which are subject to observation and feedback (Doing). Tutor modelling and experiential approaches to capability-building help engender the kind of thoughtful, ethical, contained and engaged use of self by students (Being) which matters to children. Learning needs to be integrated and consolidated so that it is not forgotten or absorbed solely into tacit professional knowledge (Eraut, 1994). The learning cycle has been developed into a proposed framework for how qualifying programmes could ensure a coherent and integrated learning experience

Innovating in the Time of Covid: Adapting Services for Young People Experiencing Extra‐Familial Risks and Harms

This paper explores how seven organisations from the children's social care sector in England adapted their service during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions to better meet the needs of young people experiencing extra-familial risks and harms. Particularly, it focuses on these organisations' experience of attempting to transform services in a unique crisis context and considers what insights this situated study offers into the processes of innovation and practice improvement in the sector. Twelve respondents from these seven organisations participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed both narratively and thematically. Six of these participants were interviewed longitudinally over 6 months, enabling consideration of barriers encountered within their innovation journeys and the factors and conditions that facilitated the process. From these, three longitudinal narrative accounts were selected, highlighting themes emblematic of the overall dataset. The findings indicate that, unencumbered by the usual constraints of bureaucracy, organisations could adapt service provision with unprecedented speed, to respond in more youth-centred and welfare-oriented ways to young people's needs. Rapid cycles of iterative development in response to young people's feedback suggested a surprising potential for agility and responsivity in the children's services sector, raising questions about whether and how this might be mobilised outside of crisis conditions

Building trust with children and young people at risk of child sexual exploitation: the professional challenge

Research with children and young people at risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) has highlighted that professionals need to engage children in relationships of trust if they are to be most successful in enabling children to explore and address risky behaviours, situations and relationships. More needs to be understood about professional approaches to building such trusting relationships, particularly when children feel (often with good cause) that professionals are not always able to balance their need for protection and guidance with their right to a voice and to make agentic choices about their own lives. This paper draws on interim findings from a two-year realist evaluation study funded by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner in England into the implementation and evaluation of a new child-centred framework for working with CSE , ‘See Me, Hear Me’, within three pilot local authority sites in different regions of England. A survey and qualitative interviews reveal how professionals from a range of disciplines draw on their knowledge, skills, personal qualities and values to develop trust. Key themes for effective practice were relationship-based practice, an ethically grounded approach, child-centred, and being skilled and knowledgeable in relation to working with CSE

Piloting and evaluating the ‘See Me, Hear Me’ Framework for working with Child Sexual Exploitation

The ‘See Me, Hear Me’ (SMHM) Framework sets out a child-centred multi-agency approach for preventing the sexual exploitation of children, which focuses on identifying, protecting and supporting the victims, disrupting and stopping perpetrators, securing justice for victims, and obtaining convictions. Developed following a two-year Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in Gangs and Groups by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) (Berelowitz, et al., 2013), the Framework was envisioned as a model of ‘end to end’ prevention and support which links strategic leadership and co-ordination with multi-agency safeguarding arrangements on the ground in order to confront the risk and impact of sexual exploitation of children. The OCC sought to test the efficacy of the framework for practice by commissioning a pilot implementation and evaluation project, which was awarded to the University of Sussex in 2014. The project had three primary aims: 1. To support the implementation of the ‘See Me, Hear Me’ Framework in each locality (a set of rights-based/relationship-focused principles for practice across the multi-agency system as a whole); 2. To evaluate the efficacy of the service model developed in the three sites and the impact it achieves for children; 3. To recommend ways in which the diffusion of this approach might be achieved effectively, across similar local authority areas and in respect of safeguarding practice in general. In this brief, summative report we will focus on describing key findings and areas of learning identified in conducting the evaluation for this pilot project. We will discuss the contrasting approaches to multi-agency practice developed across the pilot sites to put the integration of children’s right to both a voice and to protection at the heart of the child protection process, and consider the implications of findings on the process of piloting the SMHM framework for current policy and practice development in child protection relevant to CSE and other vulnerabilities. These key findings may be briefly summarised as: 1. A core challenge in addressing CSE in a multi-agency context is the need to hold the tension between children’s right to safety and protection, and their right to participate in making decisions that affect them. Professionals felt able to hold this tension and effectively balance children’s rights to both protection and participation when they prioritized transparent, strengths and relationship-based practice, partnered effectively with parents and other agencies, and were provided with both time and space to do the work. 2. Practice systems can be effectively built around the child-centred SMHM principles; they are useful and practical for diverse professionals, and may provide consistency and unity in multi-agency work. Local practice systems can differ and still effectively apply SMHM principles, as no ideal practice system configuration emerged in this study. Instead, having the freedom to determine how a local practice system best meets the needs of children at risk of CSE enables the system to work more effectively, if careful attention is first given to the facilitating and constraining conditions present in the system

Safeguarding Young People Beyond the Family Home

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. During adolescence, young people are exposed to a range of risks beyond their family homes including sexual and criminal exploitation, peer-on-peer abuse and gang-related violence. However, it has only been over the past two decades that the critical safeguarding implications of these harms have started to be recognised. Social care organisations are increasingly experimenting with new approaches but continue to experience challenges in supporting affected young people and their families. This book analyses the results of the first rapid evidence assessment of social care organisations’ responses to risks and harms outside the home across 10 countries. The authors highlight key areas for service development, give insights into how these risks and harms can be understood, and consider wider implications for policy and practice

“No we can’t use less words! Or can we?” Reflections on a journey into e-learning

Academics used to traditional styles of writing and presenting material are likely to find developing e-learning materials an unsettling experience. E-learning experts provide invaluable support throughout the process, but their guidance and feedback sounds uncannily like our advice to students: ‘What you are trying to do is far too ambitious!’; ‘What is the point you are making here?’ ‘Is all this detail necessary?’ The potential of e-learning for creative design is exciting, even seductive, until you are told that the image that links to the carefully crafted text does not work! This paper draws on our shared experiences, as academics and e-learning designers, of developing a set of e-learning objects on communication skills. Our collaboration has highlighted many challenges in the process of writing for e-learning. For example: • Determining the scope of a learning object and selecting appropriate content • Making the content engaging and interactive to hold the user’s attention • Using activities rather than text as the main vehicle for learning • Including all the information the user will need to achieve the learning objectives • Explaining complex points in simple and concise language • Choosing images and other design features that link effectively to the text • Adjusting to non-linear approaches to learning. Tackling these challenges has prompted us to rethink our teaching. We are now conscious of how our teaching materials rely on our presence to enthuse, to explain and to fill in the gaps. We have become more confident in our ability to convey complex ideas in simple language and more willing to experiment with creative and interactive forms of presentation. Most important of all we have been forced to rethink our assumptions about what is meant by a sound learning experience

Unaccompanied young females and social workers: meaning-making in the practice space

This article considers the role and importance of the intersubjective practice space created between social workers and unaccompanied young females (UYFs) – girls and young women under 18 years of age, who arrive in a country not in the care of a parent or guardian, and claim asylum in their own right. The voices of UYFs are under-represented in the literature and there is very little research which considers social work with this marginalised group. Through a study of how UYFs and practitioners in England experienced and constructed each other during their everyday practice encounters, we discuss the potential of the practice space for creating mutual understandings and enabling positive changes. Analysis revealed that their subjective and affective experience of their encounters and of each other, both as individual humans and as representations of particular categories (asylum-seeker/looked-after child and professional helper/agent of the state), influenced how they engaged, communicated, co-constructed understandings of each other, and viewed the process and outcomes of the social work contact. We argue for the importance of practice encounter spaces, their distinctiveness from what is written in policy and law, and their potential as a site for creativity and change

Safeguarding Young People Beyond the Family Home

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. During adolescence, young people are exposed to a range of risks beyond their family homes including sexual and criminal exploitation, peer-on-peer abuse and gang-related violence. However, it has only been over the past two decades that the critical safeguarding implications of these harms have started to be recognised. Social care organisations are increasingly experimenting with new approaches but continue to experience challenges in supporting affected young people and their families. This book analyses the results of the first rapid evidence assessment of social care organisations’ responses to risks and harms outside the home across 10 countries. The authors highlight key areas for service development, give insights into how these risks and harms can be understood, and consider wider implications for policy and practice

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Smoke-Free Policies in Multi-Unit Housing in Georgia

Background: Nonsmokers living in multi-unit housing (MUH) without a smoke-free (SF) policy are vulnerable to secondhand and thirdhand smoke exposure. This study aimed to investigate the presence and type of SF policies in MUH in Georgia. Another aim was to explore knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of property managers and owners (PM/Os) regarding SF MUH policies, including e-cigarettes. Methods: Throughout 2015 PM/Os of MUH in Savannah and Atlanta were surveyed regarding SF policies in MUH. A list with contact information of PM/Os was obtained from the ASDE Survey Sampler. The participants were mailed an invitation letter and were called one week later to schedule the interview. To be eligible, the participant must have been an English-speaking adult working as a PM/O in MUH. The survey administered was adapted from a survey designed by CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. All survey data were entered into SPSS and analyzed using SAS. Results: The greatest number of the 91 PM/Os surveyed were female (70.3%) and/or white (48.4%), with an average age of 41.7 years. Most properties were market-rate (71.3%) or were a mix of market-rate and subsidized units (17.2%). Forty-one PM/Os reported some smoking restriction, while 50 had no policy. Properties mainly prohibited smoking in common outdoor areas (n=18) or inside individual apartments (n=13). Policies included bans of non-cigarette combustible products (n=19), hookah (n=12), e-cigarettes (n=7), and smokeless tobacco (n=5). Most PM/Os reported high compliance and positive resident reactions to the policy. Comparing responses by policy status, no differences in knowledge nor support for tobacco control legislation were found, except for SF outdoor seating in restaurants, which was more frequently supported by PM/Os with smoking restrictions. Personal beliefs on restricting use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes in MUH did not differ significantly by policy status, but those with a SF policy were more supportive of prohibiting smokeless tobacco use in MUH. Conclusions: Implementing smoke-free policies in multi-unit housing is feasible and is generally supported by residents