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SP30257: Working in a social care organisation

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2012/3
Follow this link for further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Follow this link for further information on credits Credits: 6
Follow this link for further information on unit levels Level: Honours (FHEQ level 6)
Follow this link for further information on period slots Period: Semester 1
Follow this link for further information on unit assessment Assessment: CW100
Follow this link for further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment: Supplementary assessment information not currently available (this will be added shortly)
Follow this link for further information on unit rules Requisites:
Follow this link for further information on unit content Description: Aims:
Students will build upon direct or indirect knowledge of social care organisations to understand the connections between, and the impact of policy, organisation, governance, learning, values and ethics, the role of consumers and public involvement, on practice and service delivery. They will learn what effect organisation has on the development of social care practice and service delivery and how different organisations inter-relate to provide the full range of social care services. They will learn to address the place of ethics in social work theory and practice whilst working within social care organisations.

Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to demonstrate that they have learnt to:-
* Think critically about the complex, changing, social, economic, political and cultural contexts in which social care practice is located;
* Understand that practice requires balancing autonomy with complex, multiple and sometimes contradictory accountabilities;
* Integrate knowledge about the relationship between agency policies, structure, legal requirements and professional boundaries in shaping the nature of services provided in inter-disciplinary contexts and the issues associated with working across professional boundaries and within different disciplinary groups;
* Knowledge of the factors and processes that facilitate effective inter-disciplinary, inter-professional and inter-agency collaboration and partnership;
* Develop an understanding about organisational and professional learning, including supervision, recording and professional decision-making;
* Understand the governance and regulatory framework of social care;
* Explore issues of risk assessment and risk management;
* Understand the role of evidence based practice and the influence of public involvement;
* Think critically about performance management and measurement.

Skills:
Students will develop the skills to:
* Develop critical and analytical powers in general (facilitated);
* Gather information from a range of different sources (facilitated);
* Revise and pass exams (facilitated);
* Develop a knowledge of the nature of social care services and practices that can respond to diversity (taught);
* Develop a knowledge of organisational processes (taught);
* Analyse and address in a creative manner human, organisational and structural impediments to change (facilitated);
* Write accurately and clearly in styles adapted to the audience, purpose and context of the communication (taught);
* Consult actively with others, including service users, who hold relevant information or expertise (taught);
* Act co-operatively with others, liaising and negotiating across differences such as organisational and professional boundaries and differences of identity or language (taught);
* Manage uncertainty, change and stress in work situations (taught);
* Understand and manage changing situations and respond in a flexible manner (facilitated).
* to respond to ethical issues in social work practice raised in their prior learning;
* to develop thinking in identifying and clarifying values and principles for social work generally and students individually;
* to explore some of the ethical dilemmas and confusions raised in everyday social work practice;
* to apply sociological knowledge and understanding of ethics to the analysis of complex practice issues;
* how to develop sensitivity to the values and interests of others;
* how to act, with others, to increase social justice by understanding the ethical underpinning of anti-racism and anti-discrimination;
* to understand the arguments that support working in partnership with service users and carers;
* to understand the conceptual links between codes defining ethical practice, the regulation of professional conduct and the management of potential conflicts generated by the codes held by different professional groups;
* the value of advocacy;
* Think through ethical dilemmas when they arise in practice and develop processees to resolve them;
* Advocate on behalf of service users and carers.

Content:
Students will build upon direct and indirect knowledge to understand the connections between policy, organisation, governance, public involvement, learning with practice and service delivery. They will learn what effect organisation has on the development of social work practice and service delivery and how different organisations inter-relate to provide the full range of social care services. Students will develop a critical knowledge about the role of management; the role of consumer involvement; evidence-based practice; issues of governance; team working and inter-disciplinary practice and the newly developing organisational structures. General consideration of ethics and values and their place in social work including perspectives emerging in social work such as `virtue ethics� and faith-based approaches; identification of ethical issues and dilemmas from students' experience - e.g. values and conflicts of interest; authority and accountability in social work; cultural relativism and values; values and the maintenance of purpose and morale; role of user and carer participation; role and value of advocacy; the voice of the service user.
Follow this link for further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

SP30257 is a Designated Essential Unit on the following programmes:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences
  • UHSP-AFB15 : BSc (hons) Social Work and Applied Social Studies (Full-time) - Year 3

Notes:
* This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2012/13 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2013/14 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2012/13.
* Programmes and units are subject to change at any time, in accordance with normal University procedures.
* Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.