Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection

1. Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection PEPE Conference Edinburgh Wednesday 23rd January 2008Helen Whincup and Margaret Bruce University of Dundee

2. Scottish Context • New 4 year Honours Degree in Social Work (generic) • 2 year Post-Graduate (generic) • Registration with Scottish Social Services Council • Specialist teams

3. Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (IRRIS) • A collaboration of all 9 Scottish Universities teaching social work • Established in 2003 to “ bring about transformational change in the education and training of Scottish social workers”

4. Child Protection Development and Training Project • Evaluative audit of teaching and learning in relation to Child Care and Protection • Develop Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection • Establish how these would be embedded.

5. Relevant Frameworks • Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) • Standards in Social Work Education • Scottish Social Services Council: Codes of Practice • Children’s Charter and Framework for Standards

6. Terminology • Different practitioners have different definitions of child protection • Key Capabilities refer to ‘child protection’ in the context of child care and meeting children’s needs, rather than the investigative interviewing process.

7. The Key Capabilities • Effective Communication • Knowledge and Understanding • Professional Confidence and Competence • Values and Ethical Practice

8. Purpose of Key Capabilities To ensure that all social workers at the point of qualifying: • are aware of their roles and responsibilities in respect of children and young people. • are able to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to child care and protection.

9. Context • Qualifying social work programmes are generic, Key Capabilities sit within this context. • Contribution Key Capabilities can make to generic teaching and learning

10. Practice Learning Underpinning Key Capabilities: Whatever practice learning opportunity a student is engaged in they must be able to evidence their knowledge and application of child care and protection, as it is relevant to their setting.

11. Practice Learning In addition: “during one of their assessed practice learning opportunities, students should undertake an assessment of a child or of parenting capacity. The student may not necessarily be primary case holder rather they might be co-working within or across organisations.”

12. Practice Learning Opportunities: • Ethical and Meaningful • Outcomes for service user, student and organisation • Creative links within and between teams

13. Outcome Every qualified social worker should emerge having undertaken an assessment of a child or parenting capacity.

14. Status “Key Capabilities developed by the project must now be embedded in the teaching and learning of social work degree programmes to ensure that a consistent approach is adopted.” Peter Peacock MSP 13th June 2006

15. Key Capabilities website www.iriss.ac.uk/keycapabilities Includes: • Examples of embedding • Frequently asked questions • Links to key documents • Information from the SSSC • Information from workshops