- Department: Social Policy and Social Work
- Module co-ordinator: Ms. Polly Sykes
- Credit value: 30 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2021-22
- See module specification for other years: 2022-23
For this 30 day placement, students will undertake take a social care related project within an independent agency. This module is designed to allow students to experience work in social care first hand, building relevant workplace and employability skills and knowledge while exploring their own specific career interests.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Autumn Term 2021-22 to Summer Term 2021-22 |
This module will enable students to:
Develop workplace skills through firsthand experience of working within a community / social care setting, learning to negotiate the challenges of real world practice.
Evaluate and apply empirical knowledge and theoretical perspectives learned throughout the course.
Begin to contextualise and reflect critically on one or more aspects of practice.
Use communication skills effectively in order to engage with the individuals / groups / families who use the services, colleagues, teams and professionals.
Take responsibility for their own wellbeing and resilience through reflection and effective use of onsite support.
By the end of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the following common learning outcomes:
Good workplace skills, including the ability to take responsibility and an ability to communicate effectively.
Understand the remit of their placement provider and work safely and effectively within this remit, paying due attention to policies and procedures.
An ability to describe the legal, organisational and social context within which their service is set.
An insight into how those using the service perceive the support that they are given, and how support might be further developed to meet the needs.
The ability to independently identify, critique and apply a range of interventions and approaches employed in social care support.
Further learning outcomes will be developed individually by each student, as adapted to their specific placement setting and personal learning needs.
The module will be delivered over the course of three terms. Practice experiences can be completed within term time or during university holidays, at the discretion of the student, which would allow the student to explore alternative settings.
The practice experience is flexible, consisting of 30 days or an equivalent number of hours, starting at any point from Autumn Term Week 4 to Spring Term Week 10 and usually finishing at any point up to Week 2 Summer Term. Students should keep the module convenor appraised of progress / obstacles, and should they fall short of the recommended number of hours the convenor will discuss with them the sufficiency of their experience and support them to make progress.
Term one:
The community practice experience is introduced, with input from the module convenor, the careers service, the local accredited volunteer centre (York CVS), and interested local organisations.
Students plan and create a project proposal, and agree parameters with input from the module leader and from any relevant provider organisation. Confirmation of practice / project suitability lies with the module convenor, who will ensure that these placements are in a different setting from the prospective statutory social work placements that take place over the final two years of the programme.
Term two
Students work with provider organisations, building their skills and gathering a portfolio of evidence.
Progress is discussed within drop in sessions and small group sessions, where students can access support from academic staff and peers.
Term three
Students have a final placements session, designed to help them to reflect on their learning and prepare for the assessment.
Students reflect on their own progress and that of their project and prepare their report.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Placement (UK or abroad) Placement Report |
N/A | 100 |
None
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Placement (UK or abroad) Placement Report |
N/A | 100 |
Students will receive feedback four weeks after submission of the reports using an adapted matrix and independent comments.
Students will identify texts specific to their own setting, and will draw on texts used throughout the course to date.
Graham H (2009) Understanding health inequalities. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Parris, M. (2012) An Introduction to Social Work Practice: A Practical Handbook, London: McGraw Hill Education
Social Care Institute for Excellence (2010) ‘The Good Practice Framework’ http://www.scie.org.uk/news/mediareleases/2010/090710.asp (accessed 12/5/2017)