Effective Communication – Level 10
Students will be expected to be competent in communicating at a professional level with peers and senior colleagues. This will include the ability to deliver formal presentations.
By this stage, students should be competent in communicating with children, young people and their parents/carers and interpreting what children say (and do). This includes applying their knowledge about how children communicate to their practice. Where students do not undertake practice learning opportunities in child care settings, they need to be given specific opportunities to demonstrate their skills in communicating with children. In the report of the Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, Lord Laming highlighted the fact that no social worker had ever got beyond asking Victoria "hello, how are you?" (2003, 65).
Formal meetings can understandably raise anxiety for children and their carers. Students need to be able to explain the purpose of such meetings in a manner which is aimed at decreasing anxiety.
Children and families may need significant support within formal and informal settings to present their views, verbally or in written forms. Students should be able to facilitate children and parents to communicate their views.
Students will be required to demonstrate effective written communication: this would include production of written case recording/reports/assessments/letters to an appropriate standard and format. The importance of clear unambiguous written communication was also highlighted in the Laming Inquiry (2003) which stated that "staff must be held accountable for the quality of the information they provide" (1.43).
Students will be required to demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of their responsibility to effectively and accurately share information with other professionals, and children and their families in accordance with relevant guidance. For example Protecting Children - a Shared Responsibility (1998) or Getting Our Priorities Right (2003).
It is recommended that students be required to make formal presentations in a variety of settings to a range of audiences. During practice learning opportunities students should demonstrate their ability to present their assessment, for instance, in a review, children's hearing, core group, or inter-agency meeting.
Students should be able to articulate clearly and explicitly their skills and knowledge in relation to communication in a child care and child protection context to tutors, peers, practice teachers and future employers.