Step Up to Social Work:A employer-led route to qualification

Learner Guide an

Welcome and Overview of the session

West London Social Work Project

Higher Education

Leadershipand

Frontlinemangers

NQSWCareer

Pathways

Enabling the Social Work Role

Step Up

Frontline Child Protection Services

Recruitment and Retention

Introductions….

• Name, team and experience of social work students

• One thing you wouldn’t want a student to say on their first day!

• Feedback to the group (1 min)

HEI Workstream

• Shared ownership for Social Work Education

• Admissions

• Assessment

• Placements

• Course content and delivery

• Workforce planning

Key Priorities for Graduates

In pairs discuss: (20 mins)

• Does this statement reflect your current experience of social work students or NQSWs?

• Is this what you, your team and service users require from social work graduates?

• Are there any additional skills and attributes you feel are essential?

• Feedback to the larger group (20 mins)

Emphasis on ‘skills’

1 Good written and recording skills: an ability to express themselves competently

2 Strong IT skills across a range of office and database programmes

3 Assessment skills; analysis is evidence based

4 Strong understanding of risk and ‘managing risk’

5 Forensic social work skills including working with resistant families

6 Interagency collaboration and working in partnership

7 Care planning and review, including ICS skills

8 Demonstrate professional behaviour and understand professional systems

9 Strong interpersonal and communication skills

10 Self reflective, makes good use of supervision and responsible for own development. Confidence and personal resilience

Step Up to Social Work

• What is ‘Step Up to Social Work’?

• How does it differ from other models of social work education?

• Who are the students?

• Who are the key stakeholders?

• What does the course and the student journey look like?

Work-based Learning

• Significant departure from traditional forms of learning that are ‘teacher controlled’ towards ‘employer-led’

• Construction of learning experiences to enable skills development

• It is a process rather than a ‘one off’ event• Encourages students to take responsibility for

their own learning• Integration of theory/practice and learning from

the working environment, supplemented with academic delivery.

What is a Learner Guide?

• An experienced and confident professional

• Sound working knowledge of the organisation

• Ability to mentor, coach and support students within a Work-based Learning Framework

Roles and Responsibilities of the Learner Guide

• Develop a supportive relationship with individual student• Provide professional and personal support to students• motivate and encourage students• contribute to the supportive culture for the student on the

MA `Step Up To Social Work’ Programme• help the student to develop and grow as a result of the

learning outcomes of the modules on the programme• make contact with the student’s Personal Tutor and/or

Practice Educator as required.• Review the student’s progress • Seek clarification from the module leader if they are

unsure about any aspect of their expected role and responsibility as a learner guide, in relation to each module or its documentation

The Learner Guide is not responsible for:

• Formal supervision

• Formal assessment of the student

• Line management, or case accountability

• Practice teaching or assessing

Key Skills for a Learner Guide

• Listening and Questioning

• Reviewing and reflecting

• Advising

• Informing

• Giving and receiving feedback

Responsibilities of the student

• Arrange, prepare and attend support meetings with their learner guide to ensure a positive learning experience is achieved

• Notify all concerned of unavoidable absences and reschedule.

• Produce a diverse range of evidence within their portfolio which is appropriate and sufficient and maintains confidentiality, to meet the learning outcomes of each module.

• Complete a record of all meetings and agreements with their learner guide which must be signed by both parties.

UNIVERSITY OF SALFORDQUALITY ASSURANCE

LEARNER GUIDE

ACADEMIC TUTOR

HOST TEAM

ACADEMIC INPUT

STUDENT

SUSS

PRACTICEEDUCATOR &

WBS

PRACTICETUTOR (UoS)

UoHSTUDENT SERVICES

UoSSTUDENT SERVICES

Learner Guide and StudentComplete Learning Agreement

Copy of agreement to Academic Tutor

Copy toHost Team Manager

for information

The learner guide will need to know:

-The services and role of stakeholders

-The modules, including Learning Outcomes

-The assessment format

-How to develop a learning agreement

-Concerns raised by Learner Guide will go to SUSS

Learner Guide

INFORMATION PACK

Key Priorities and Skills Development

In pairs consider the Skills Development examples, and the following questions: (30 mins)

• What approach will you take in relation to arranging skills development opportunities (i.e. who to contact, and when etc?)

• What do you think the main challenges will be, and how to plan to overcome them?

• Feedback to the larger group (30 mins)

Student Evaluation Forms

• One evaluation form for each skills development day

• To be read and signed by the Learner Guide

• To be used to review student progress• Evaluations to be shared with UoH• To be used as the basis for planning skills

development activity for the next Learning Block

Key dates

TBC individually

Follow up telephone call

Friday 10th September

Official Step Up Launch

Westminster Council Chambers

Thursday 16th September

Host Team Induction (am)

Learning Mentor (pm)

Friday 24th September

First Learner Guide meeting with student

Monday 20th September

Academic Delivery Commences

Contact Details

• Shauna Guinn, HEI Partnership Officer

shauna.guinn@lbhf.gov.uk

07881 486441

• Anthea Anthony, HEI Partnership Officer

anthea.anthony@lbhf.gov.uk

07825 420416