Fit for Purpose? Post-Qualifying Social Work Education in Child Protection in Scotland

Recommendations for post-qualifying training and education in child protection social work consistently form part of the political response to child abuse scandals. The influence of child abuse politics upon the push towards post-qualifying training and education has been consistent across the United Kingdom. Within Scotland educators have been quick to respond to the market demand for programme provision and there is now a growing number of academic programmes being offered by higher education institutions. Yet despite post-qualifying training and education achieving the status of ‘panacea’ there is little in the way of a national dialogue about what post-qualifying training and education in social work child protection should look like. The parameters of this have not been subject to any kind of national debate and the Scottish academic community has not entered into a professional dialogue on these issues. More crucially, educators have not engaged in any level of identifiable evaluation of their provision and there is an absence of engagement with the scholarship of teaching child protection at the post-qualifying level. This paper connects with these issues to question whether the post-qualifying training and education delivered by Scotland's universities can be considered fit for purpose.     

Safer recruitment? Protecting children,improving practice in residential child care

In the wake of a number of high‐profile cases of the abuse of children and young people in residential child care, there have been repeated calls for the improvement of recruitment and selection of residential child care staff. This paper describes the findings from a survey, undertaken in 2005, of operational and human resource managers who have responsibility for the recruitment and selection of residential child care staff in the voluntary and statutory sectors in Scotland. This research was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to identify which elements of safer recruitment procedures had been implemented following the countrywide launch of a Toolkit for Safer Recruitment Practice in 2001. Research findings show that although local authorities were more likely than voluntary organisations to have gone some way toward implementing safer recruitment procedures, the recruitment process lacked rigour and commitment to safer procedures in some organisations. The article discusses the current barriers to the introduction of safer recruitment methods and proposes some possible solutions for the future. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the margin? Residential child care in Scotland and Finland

Situated on the margins of Europe, Scotland and Finland are small countries which share similar demographic and economic profiles. In many European countries, residential child care can also be considered to be ‘on the margin’ of child care provision; there is ambivalence about residential care and a view that it should be used as a last resort. This paper examines systems and practices of residential care in Scotland and Finland, locating these in the context of wider child welfare policy in both countries. The underpinning principles of child welfare provision in both countries are similar—based on children's rights and primarily family-focused. In both countries there are also similar concerns about the fragmentation of child care provision and the cost of residential services. However, there are also important differences relating to child welfare provision and the use of residential care. In Finland, overall numbers of children in residential care are much greater than in Scotland; the age profile of these children and young people is very different; and the two countries vary markedly in the use of secure accommodation and custody. This comparative analysis suggests new ways of understanding the similarities and difference in the use of residential care in the two countries. It highlights the continuing challenge to develop residential care as a positive and integral part of a continuum of care services.     

Scotland's children and the new parliament

The establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 has raised the profile of children's issues and allowed more time for debate and legislation. This has led to some key developments, including a decision to establish a Children's Commissioner, more legislative provisions enabling children's views to be taken into account, and a more explicit commitment to ‘child and family centred’ working. A Ministerial Task Force has been established to ‘drive forward progress on integrated children's services’. Some pre‐school and school age child care services have seen significant growth but the structure of services remains fragmented. A National Education Debate has strengthened the Scottish Executive's resolve to maintain its distinctive education policies and reaffirm its commitment to comprehensive schooling and an ‘equality of outcomes’ approach. New Community Schools put education in the driving seat of change, offering a vehicle for establishing new kinds of services and relationships between services, sectors and age groups. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Residential care for children and young people: priority areas for change

Abuse in residential childcare has been of concern to the public and the profession for a number of years. This article highlights a Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care's (SIRCC) response to the Scottish Government which was requested following allegations of abuse in Glasgow City Council's Kerelaw residential school and secure unit. It offers priority actions to address the challenges of residential childcare and ensure the safety of children and young people as far as is practicably possible. It contextualises the residential childcare task, and explores four interrelated areas in which change is strongly recommended: (1) organisations' cultures; (2) workforce challenges including the status of the sector, staff selection standards, the role of residential childcare workers in relation to their level of autonomy and their education levels; (3) abuse allegations, in particular the sector's growing fearfulness of false allegations, support for practitioners' anonymity when accused of abuse and a reconsideration of criminal record certificate information; and (4) service delivery related to behaviour management and advocacy support. The intersection between the SIRCC and the subsequent Kerelaw Inquiry reports is outlined. Finally, it concludes with a scan of the immediate strategic policy horizon which indicates an unprecedented momentum for change. While based in the Scottish context, it reflects lessons which are applicable internationally. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The involvement of service users in the assessment of Diploma in Social Work students on practice placements

The government, local authorities and academic institutions in the United Kingdom all positively support the involvement of service users in social work practice and education. Based upon research undertaken for a Master's dissertation, this article argues for such an inclusive approach. The author works for the Training and Development Services of an English Social and Caring Services department, which delivers a Diploma in Social Work course in collaboration with the local university college. This course began to incorporate service users' views in the assessment of students on practice placements in the mid-1990s. This was a helpful development, although areas of ambiguity and difficulty became apparent, as did a lack of clarity and consistency in the implementation of the process. A qualitative survey of the views of practice teachers was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews, which focussed on the main principles, issues and practical implications of service user involvement in the assessment of DipSW students. The article offers a summary of the findings of the survey, and a critical discussion of the main issues and difficulties that emerged. Some recommendations are made for the course that the author is associated with, although they would probably apply to most DipSW courses in the United Kingdom. The author is male, white and British.     

The British are not coming!: UK higher education and the nonprofit sector

The rationale for the growth of nonprofit management education in the United States has recently been charted by O'Neill (2005). Ten years previously, the United States and the United Kingdom were at similar levels of development. By 2006 the parallel lines had been broken. Why has nonprofit management education expanded in the United States while provision of graduate education for the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom has stood still? This article explores the factors that have prevented parallel growth in education provision. It argues that the university as an institution, both in terms of its nature and its power structures, is one of those factors. It presents the story of the closing of the world's first voluntary sector course at the London School of Economics and concludes with reflection on the likely future of voluntary sector management education provision in the United Kingdom.     

Surprise in Social Work Education

Training is commonly seen as the most viable way of ensuring good quality care in residential homes for elderly people. The literature on training has focused on a shift in emphasis from traditional 'professional' social work training for staff at a senior level to training which is to be provided for junior level staff. To this end, Scottish/National Vocational Qualifications have been introduced which, through workplace assessment of competence, have been proclaimed to be the means by which to raise the status and career prospects of a social care workforce. This article argues that task-based competence is increasingly being seen as relevant for a 'para-professional' social care workforce such as that found in the residential care sector. In the light of this, research was undertaken to establish whether residents preferred 'trained' staff, holding formal qualifications and/or NVQs, to 'untrained' staff with no recognised qualifications. The research concluded that residents want kind, understanding and experienced staff, and when length of time in post was taken into account, the effect of training was negligible. The study concluded that homes need to select staff for their good personal qualities and encourage them to stay. Staff need training that integrates skill with understanding and above all, assessment should reflect this perspective. Moreover, residents need to be involved in the assessment process.     

The recent history of Scottish child welfare

SUMMARY. During this century, the main features of child care policy in Britain have been the creation of a separate system of juvenile justice, the extension of state responsibilities for child protection and substitute care, a growing emphasis on foster care in preference to residential care, and increased professionalism and co-ordination of services. This article, the second in a two-part series, begun in issue 5(2) looks particularly at differences in child care policy between Scotland and England, the most striking of which has been in the juvenile justice arrangements. The Scottish children's hearings are fully committed to welfare principles, keeping young offenders and children in need of care and protection within a single system of decision-making.     

Managing the process of change in residential child care: A consultancy approach

This article explores the impact of a consultancy undertaken with groups of residential child care staff within a large local authority who were experiencing considerable changes in their working environment as a result of a review of residential care structures. The authors were invited to engage directly with staff on an individual and group basis to help them work through the barriers they perceived to changing their approach to practice. The theoretical underpinning for the work was Charles Handy's [1993, Understanding Organisations (Harmondsworth, Penguin)] belief that change is more likely to have a positive outcome when staff have an investment in and contribution to the change processes. The model of change utilised within the sessions with staff was Kurt Lewin's three stages of 'unfreezing', 'change' and 'refreezing'. The consultancy raised a number of issues about the process of change and how this can be achieved within the residential child care context. In particular, it highlighted the problems of assuming that change is a linear process which can be directly controlled and managed in the flux and uncertainty which characterises this sector.     

The integration of child care services in Scotland

This paper describes the development of integrated child care services in Scotland with a particular focus on the role of residential child care provision. It discusses changes in Social Work Department policies and the impact this has had on their relationship with the Children's Hearings system. Recent research shows the pattern of use of residential and foster care in three Social Work Departments and issues in the development of residential services are identified. Three particular examples of service integration are described: residential outreach work; a centre for young people under an integrated management; and multi-agency youth strategies. Social work and education services in Scotland are in the process of radical change. In the context of the integration of child care services, the paper discusses the impact of local government reorganisation and changes in child care legislation.     

Residential Child Care Agencies as Learning Organisations: Innovation and Learning from Mistakes

The residential child care sector has been scrutinised via numerous inquiries following revelations of abusive and poor practice. These inquiries have made numerous recommendations which involve changes in practice and organisational culture, much of which is congruent with the features of a learning organisation. This article details research which evaluates the extent to which residential child care agencies exhibit the characteristics of a learning organisation. The research involved qualitative and quantitative methods, drawing on the experiences of a range of staff from the residential child care sector within Scotland. The findings revealed that residential child care agencies exhibit many features of a learning organisation, yet the extent to which these characteristics are perceived to exist differs significantly in line with the position staff occupy. Most significant were the findings that many staff do not feel supported to take risks nor encouraged to develop innovative practice; mistakes are not used as learning opportunities and a culture of blame is felt to exist. The implications of this are significant and this article identifies changes necessary to allow residential child care agencies to operate as learning organisations.     

Private placements in social work education: Opportunity or oppression?

This article examines the issues arising from student placements in the private or commercial sector. It focuses on private residential care for adults, as the most developed area of private provision in the UK, and explores the background to this form of provision. The article then considers the private sector placement from the viewpoints of the student, the private sector agency and the educational institution. A checklist for social work educators considering placements in the private sector draws together some of the key issues. The article ends with a discussion of the pragmatic, moral, logistic and educational perspectives which influence attitudes towards the private sector.     

Child day care provision: Explaining local variation

Drawing on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, this article seeks to account for variation in the amount and forms of child day care provision amongst British local authorities. Amongst relevant local factors it notes the legacy of earlier child care provision. It considers the association between provision and indicators of need on the one hand and political motivation on the other. Finally it looks at the process of policy making. The conclusion reflects on the implications of these findings for the government's new pledge to meet the child care challenge. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The neglected priority: sexual abuse in the context of residential child care

In 1995, a questionnaire was sent to Scotland's residential child care services. Of 89 questions, five concerned sexual abuse. Responses were analysed along several variables—service type, gender and age of residents. A detailed report was compiled (Lindsay, 1997). The response rate was 94% of all Scottish services. The largest group of services were children's homes (112–49%), then residential schools (43–19%), residential respite care (28–12%), care leavers services (16–7%), services for young homeless people (15–7%) and secure units (5–3%), with other service types seven (3%). Two‐thirds of services believed they were caring for children who had been abused and one third for children who had abused others. Where children who had abused others were present, in 91% there were also abused children in the same service. The results were consistent across the variables. In a few cases, allegations of abuse had been made against staff. This was commoner in services for males than females. Staff requested more training and support in their stressful role. These findings have implications for the practice and training of residential staff, management policies and procedure and the design of new services. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disabled people's access to social work education--ways and means of promoting environmental change

Disabled people are under-represented among social workers. It is argued that this results in lack of diversity in the workforce and in reduced opportunities to make service delivery more inclusive. An audit tool is outlined which can be used to identify barriers and strengths at DipSW programme, university site, agency site and individual student level to disabled people entering social work education. Completed audits could then form the basis of DipSW Programme Development Plans or curriculum plans for individual students, as required. Review mechanisms at the different levels would help ensure that attention to planning and action does not get lost. Assessment issues and aspects of the practice teacher/student/tutor relationships are also discussed. Disability equality training is seen as a central component of audit and provision. The need for proactive, not reactive, policies is made clear.     

Continuing professional development after qualification--partnerships,pitfalls and potential

Social work educators, employers and policy-makers have increasingly recognised the importance of continuing professional development. The UK social work qualification (DipSW) provides a broad base of practice skills, knowledge and values. However, increasingly complex work, frequent legislative and policy changes, research findings and challenges of working in a societal context of increasing change and diversity all contribute to the necessity of developing strategies for continuing professional development which adequately equip social workers. Such education cannot be alienated from social workers' employment context, and thus needs to remain mindful of employers' needs while concurrently maintaining academic rigour. This paper explores the development and delivery of a year-long post-qualifying training course run collaboratively between West Sussex Social and Caring Services and University College Chichester. It places some of the experiences of tutors, candidates and Training and Development Officers within the wider context of social work education, training and the delivery of social care. In exploring some of the contradictions and tensions experienced it seeks to further understand the challenge of delivering effective training in an increasingly complex and fragmented arena. Finally, it considers possible future developments, mindful of future changes in UK social work education.     

The Role of Social Work Education in Advancing Social Development in the English-speaking Caribbean

This article presents a discussion of the role of professional social work education in advancing social development in the countries of the English-speaking Caribbean. It addresses issues around the development of the profession in the region, student enrolment, curriculum expansion and programme delivery by the institutions which offer social work education. The events which contributed to the emergence of social work education in the region during the fourth decade of the twentieth century and social work education's continued contribution to regional development are discussed. The prospective use of the new Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development to advance the profession in the region in the twenty-first century is noted. The article concludes by highlighting the many challenges that currently impact social work education in the Caribbean and the fact that the development of social work education in the region is inextricably linked to the region's social development needs. Social work education as delivered through the University of the West Indies is used as the case in point for discussion.     

Managing risk under the children act 1989: Diversion in child care?

The idea of diversion has dominated the theory and practice of juvenile justice for some time. Developments in child care practice in the 1980s mirror those which produced diversion. Diversion provides an alternative conceptual framework within which the changes to child care law introduced by the Children Act 1989 can be analysed, particularly the interrelation of s.1(5), the so-called non-intervention principle, and Part III, which establishes the duty of local authorities to provide services for children in need. These provisions and current child care practices may be seen to promote four distinct forms of diversion: (1) diversion from court; (2) diversion from care or residential provision; (3) diversion from procedures; and (4) diversion from social work. Examining the law and practice in terms of diversion focuses on the potential gains and losses resulting from the Children Act's emphasis on partnership, planning and bureaucracy without presuming that losses will be compensated for by the provision of services. It also suggests the need to consider child care in terms of net widening and tariff raising.     

Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion: Implications for Social Work Education

This article considers the importance of understanding poverty for social workers and the ways it is delivered on social work programmes. It reviews the context in which poverty is experienced by service users and social workers. It then goes on to consider the ways in which teaching about poverty has been approached in social work education. Drawing on the experiences of the authors of designing and delivering a module on social work, poverty and social exclusion on a postgraduate DipSW programme it considers an approach to developing poverty aware social work practice for social workers in training. Finally it discusses ways in which the new three year qualification for social work training might develop this subject more fully in ways that seek to combat poverty and social exclusion amongst social work service users.