Professional Confidence and Competence - Postgraduate
The inspection into the care and protection of children in Eilean Siar, states "High quality confident staff are necessary to protect children and help their families" (SWIA 2005, 78).
Early in their training, students should be exploring the notion that personal responsibility and accountability is intrinsic to professional competence and confidence. Students need to demonstrate that they are able to take responsibility for their own continuing professional development. The expectation is that students will actively identify gaps in their knowledge base or areas where they lack confidence and with the support of academic staff and practice teachers, take steps to address these. For example students may identify a lack of confidence in how to respond appropriately to a child protection referral. In this instance students would be expected to identify relevant procedures and guidance and apply them to a case scenario.
Students must be able to demonstrate to practice teachers and HEIs that they are clear about their professional role and responsibilities and are also clear as to the limits of their knowledge and responsibilities and when they need to share information with other professionals to protect a child or include information from other sources in their assessment. In addition, they need to recognise that the act of sharing information does not in itself constitute action to protect. Here the lessons from Eilean Siar need to be learned "Gathering together large amounts of information is not an assessment. Sharing it does not constitute a child protection plan" (SWIA 2005, 77).
Students have a responsibility to register with the professional body and need to demonstrate that they have an understanding of the implications of this in relation to child care and protection.
Students should be expected to reflect critically on their own practice and conduct and on the practice and conduct of others, maintaining a focus on the needs of service users. Irrespective of whether the student's primary responsibility is to an adult service user or his/her child, the student needs to demonstrate that they can objectively consider the needs of both and identify and intervene where these needs may conflict.
Students need to demonstrate that they are clear about the importance of professional boundaries and their professional role. They need to be able to identify and analyse instances when their own needs may influence their responses and take action to address this. For example, students may be visiting households where the emotional or physical needs of children are not met. While it may be tempting to try and bridge the gap or personally compensate, this might mean that students cross professional boundaries and they need to be able to reflect critically on their own motives and the needs of children.
From consultation with a service user representative, it was clear that children and young people valued dedicated workers who actually cared about what happened to them. In being clear about their boundaries we do not want students to lose this personal commitment to individuals. Whilst at university and on practice learning opportunities, students should be encouraged to explore personal/professional boundaries using case scenarios. Some of these scenarios should draw on child care and protection.
Social workers have a range of powers and responsibilities underpinned by legal frameworks and relevant guidance. Students need to develop the confidence to use their authority appropriately. Within child care and protection they need to be able to balance their duties to protect children with their responsibilities not to intervene unnecessarily. Here students would be expected to demonstrate (through supervision, tutorials, role play and written work) that they can evidence the basis for any decision using research, appropriate assessment tools and analysis.
Students need to demonstrate that they can exercise initiative and work autonomously. However, they also need to demonstrate that they will seek appropriate support and guidance through supervision and that they are clear as to the value and purpose of supervision. In particular they need to be clear about the role of supervision on the decision making process. Students should be equipped to expect a quality of supervision that will enable them to discuss complex and 'grey' areas of concern about a child's wellbeing. Students should expect that one of the purposes of supervision is to have their assessments challenged.
Students need to be competent and confident at translating their knowledge of risk assessment in to practice in child care and protection. This is reflected in the 21st Century Social Work Review Interim Report (2005) which states that social workers "need to be able to make complex decisions about the level of risk. This requires a high level of skill and personal autonomy and accountability".
Children and young people may not be in a position to articulate their own needs. They require social workers who are skilled and confident at accurately communicating in a range of formal and informal settings. Social workers who are unable to do this verbally and in writing will do children a disservice. The Executive Recommendations and summary from the Inquiry into the death of Caleb Ness criticised the report prepared for the case conference. It stated that "the report was inaccurate in vital respects. It suggested that the couple were stable whereas in fact Shirley had made Alec move out a few weeks previously. The gaps in information relating to the two older children in care, Alec's brain injury, the nature and extent of the criminal records of both parents were not identified. The child protection case conference was not told that Caleb was suffering from neo natal abstinence syndrome" (O'Brien, 2003, 7).
A student's ability to communicate effectively can be assessed in the HEI through role playing case conferences, Children's Hearings and in practice learning opportunities by presenting their own assessments to similar forums. For example, a student undertaking their practice learning opportunity within adult services might be asked to present their assessment of parenting capacity to a multi-agency group.