| Abstract: | The social Work service in most Social Services Departments is organised in distinct geographically based units. Indeed, such units have become synonymous with social work teams. These “teams” rely heavily for their success, as responsive and resourceful units, on their ability to work together. The authors believe there are advantages in a collective approach to a team's decision making and service delivery. They describe a method for developing teamwork, centred around a study day, organised on the basis of structured participation and planned in a way which addresses a range of team concerns. The programme used on the study day stresses the importance of clear objectives, agreed democratically, and the active involvement of all team members. Although this training method developed gradually and pragmatically it is based on a model of team development which identifies a progression through stages of team functioning. The model of learning emphasises change through participation in a climate of openness and trust. Examples of a programme used by the authors, together with a report prepared as feedback to a team, are included as appendices. |
