Placement essay PDF

Preview

Summary

Placement essay...

Description

PRACTICE PLACEMENT 3813 words

1501461 8 MAY 2017 SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE 1 SS2029 BA (HONS) SOCIAL WORK 2ND STAGE DAVID HUMPHREY TH

PART 1 Context and purpose As a social worker in training I was placed at a non-profit registered charity organisation based in Aberdeen. The organisation provides an activity-focussed service for adults with additional support needs. It was formed in 2010 when a considerable number of day centres for this group had been closed down. The closure had an adverse effect on the provision of activities for adults with additional support needs in the area. When the work of the service commenced 7 years ago, it provided activities only once a week. However, it quickly proved to be successful and at the present moment runs five days per week and offers a great variety of activities such as drama, arts and crafts sessions, cooking classes, dance, music and sport exercises. The service also provides one to one support and multisensory sessions which are proved to provide genuine favourable circumstances for learning (Westwood et al. 2017). There are activities every week day in a number of community centres in the Aberdeen City area. What is more, on three out of five days a week they take place at more than one location at the same time putting into evidence the service’s outstanding quality and increased service user interest (Create 2017). Every session is guided and supported by skilled and committed staff members. All support workers have been adequately trained, have

1

great experience and well-established relationships with the service users. They must also be registered members of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme). The PVG Scheme is a registration system for everyone who as part of their work, paid or unpaid, is involved with children or, as in this case, vulnerable adults. The system was established by the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 to ensure that an individual will only work with a child or protected adult if there is no known reason why that individual might be barred from doing such work. In terms of accessibility, all buildings in which the organisation provides service are accessible for service users with reduced mobility. Also, the locations are in a close distance of a bus stop and main bus route. What is more, transport could be provided for the service users if they wish or need to use it. All vehicles are wheel-chair accessible which ensures that the service is reachable for everyone who chooses to engage with it. This is a simple step which attempts to tackle oppression and promote anti-discriminatory practice (Adams, Dominelli and Payne 2002). The mission of the service is to protect the rights of adults with learning disabilities to be healthy and active participants in community life in order for them to have an equal chance to feel fulfilled (Create 2015). This reflects the influence of The Keys to Life – Scotland’s current 10-year learning disability strategy which commenced in 2013 and is focused on enhancing the life quality of people with learning disabilities. The new strategy updates and builds on the previous policy document The Same

2

As You? which was published in 2000 (Scottish Government 2000). The Keys to Life recommends 52 actions to be undertaken by various public bodies – the Scottish government, the local authorities, the NHS as well as the voluntary sector. The primary change of The Same As You? is the approach adopted by Keys to Life. It is centred around the human rights of people with learning disabilities and promotes empowerment and provision of support for every individual of the group so that they can live a healthy and happy life (Scottish Government 2013). As the strategy is based on outcomes, there are four for the period between 2015 and 2017 – ensuring that people with learning disabilities have the highest possible living standard, have their right to choose respected, are allowed to be independent members of the community and favourable circumstances for them to take part in every aspect of society exist. An Expert group of 14 people with learning disabilities has been formed by ENABLE Scotland to provide

the

Scottish

Government

Implementation

Group

with

recommendations on whether the actions taken are appropriate and effective (Enable Scotland 2017). The existence of such a group suggests practice informed by and working in accordance with The Code of Ethics for Social Work (British Association of Social Workers 2012). Another document with great influence on the work of the organisation is the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. This piece of legislation endeavours to provide protection and advantages for adults at risk of harm. It puts pressure on local authorities and a great number of public bodies to operate in partnership in order to ensure the 3

safety of adults who are not capable of safeguarding themselves, their rights and properties. The Act defines what “an adult at risk of harm” is and supplies a three-point test with the assistance of which it can be identified whether someone is such an adult. It also outlines essential principles regarding intervention in the life of such an adult. The organisation I was placed at provides a number of training opportunities for every staff member and volunteer. It is compulsory for each employee regardless of whether they are doing paid or unpaid work to complete an Adult Support and Protection: Module 1 training. As a student on placement I was also required to undergo this course. It was conducted for 3 hours by a qualified social worker employed by the Aberdeen City Council. The main aims of the training are to build essential skills for recognising harm and to provide trainees with up-to-date information on the Grampian Interagency Policy and Procedure for the Support and Protection of Adults at Risk of Harm as well as the relevant legislation

(the

already

mentioned

(Scotland) Act 2007).

4

Adult

Support

and

Protection

PART 2 Evaluation of the service A way of evaluating the service, which the organisation provides, is examining whether it progresses in the direction of achieving its mission to protect the rights of adults with learning disabilities to be healthy and active participants in community life in order to be given the chance to feel fulfilled (Create 2015). In spite of the fact that in theory this service user group have equal rights, powers and chances as any non-disabled people, this is not the reality at all times. The needs and abilities of people

with

learning

disabilities

have

been

misunderstood

and

underestimated for a long period of time (Debenham 2014). The organisation attempts to fight any such misconceptions and challenge discrimination. In order to successfully accomplish its mission, it has set several aims. This part of the essay will discuss some of them providing examples experienced first-hand. To start with, the organisation focuses on providing service users with empowering life choices. By attempting to give them as much control over their everyday life as possible, it endeavours to allow them to lead the kind of life they wish to. Solomon (1976) states that empowerment is a process during which individuals, who are generally stigmatised, are encouraged and supported to establish and improve skills to challenge existing oppression and discrimination. The service demonstrates a great example of empowerment with simple but purposeful life choices being 5

provided at all times. This happens even though most of the service users have very limited or no verbal communication which might contribute to their vulnerability. The boundaries which constrain some of them to express themselves explicitly might result in others imposing their views on them or “putting words into their mouths”. However, the service makes sure that individuals are neither treated as easy targets, nor victims of such poor practice. This varies from making sure they are having the drink they wish to have to supporting them to make а decision where they want to live. Another outstanding example of the service’s empowering practice is allowing service users to lead activities. I became a witness of a sport session planned and guided by a service user which had great success. Other individuals expressed not only that they were pleased with the activity but also that they desire to lead a session themselves. Second,

the

organisation

encourages

involvement

in

the

community. This aim is met by placing the service in a number of different locations in Aberdeen. The facilities accommodating the activities are mainstream and as such offer services for many other groups from diverse backgrounds, age, race etc. In this way, the adults with additional support needs which use the service have the opportunity to sense the community life and establish relationships with members of various community groups. This is the foundation of inclusion and society participation (Gates and Atherton 2007).

6

Next, the variety of activities, workshops and events aim to offer favourable circumstances for learning and development. People who have learning disabilities are generally described as individuals that experience difficulties to learn particular life skills (Mental Health Foundation 2017). Nevertheless, the service attempts to prove that adults with learning disabilities can improve talents and develop new skills through sessions based on their strengths. For instance, service users are encouraged to take part in arts and crafts sessions to enhance fine motor skills. The Media Project supports service users to build good technical abilities with a range of modern equipment, time-management skills as well as communication skills. The service works towards encouraging service users to be more aware of their rights through educational and training opportunities. It also provides access to appropriate information and advice on what other services might be of interest to them. A good example is the Safe from Harm training which was conducted during my placement and was free for any service user wishing to attend. It is designed by NHS especially for people with learning disabilities and focuses on educating them on what harm is, how to recognise it, how to protect themselves from it and who to contact if they believe someone is harming them. Feedback from the attendees was sought after the training was completed and they evaluated it as “easy to understand”, “useful” and “interesting”.

7

Next, the service endeavours to supply service users with the chance to present talents, skills and abilities to the public. This could again support them in becoming active participants in society. Apart from the daily activities, there is a drama group which meets one evening per week and over the period of six to eight months prepares a comedy stage performance. This is an annual showcase of the dramatic, musical and dance abilities of the members of the drama group. The event is held in a popular venue in Aberdeen where every member of the public has the chance to attend. Through appreciating everyone’s unique needs, strengths and goals the organisation commits to consider every service user as an individual but also as part of a bigger group. This reflects two vital social work values. Individualisation is a traditional value emphasising on the uniqueness of every individual (Biestek 1961). Thus, the circumstances and needs of every service user should be explored and recognised rather than treated as such of “an adult with a learning disability”. Relating to this, the organisation tries to identify the desired objectives of every service user and support them appropriately to accomplish these goals. De-individualisation is an emancipatory value concentrated on identifying common patterns which influence the environment someone is part of, their needs and possible responds (Thompson 2005). Service users are not simply unique individuals but are also influenced by the wider current context they exist in. However, this does not mean that the two values

8

are in conflict but rather outlines how they can complement each other and inform social work practice (Thompson et al 1994). All in all, the organisation provides outstanding service for adults with additional support needs. This is supported by the positive feedback given by service users and their families as well as the evaluation of current and previous staff members, volunteers, trustees and students on placement.

9

PART 3 Assessment of a service user As all individuals using the service have already been assessed prior to the beginning of my practice placement, I did not have the chance to be engaged in or conduct an initial assessment. Nevertheless, I was provided with the opportunity to be involved in several reviews of support plans and risk assessments. In this part of the essay, one of these reviews will be examined and the undertaken work will be discussed. For the purposes of confidentiality, the name and any personal information relating the service user will be altered and he or she will be referred to as Raymond. As the organisation I was placed at reviews support plans and risk assessment twice a calendar year, it happened to be the time when I was there, when Raymond needed his updated. A social work assessment is a continuous process in which the service user is actively involved (Coulshed and Orme 2006). Its major goal is to analyse the settings in which the individuals’ lives and to commence establishing a plan for bringing change in relation to any issues which they might experience. Trevithick (2012) claims that in order to consider and meet the needs of a service user, a social work assessment has to be carefully planned. Even though the review discussed below might not be considered as a social work assessment as it cannot be characterised by the above definition, it is important that the

10

process is still as purposeful as an assessment and reflects good social work practice. In relation to preparing both Raymond and myself for the review, I considered the time and place of the meeting prior to it taking place. Thompson (2015) emphasises on the importance of choosing time and date which accommodate the everyday life of the service user and would not interrupt the daily routine. A week before the event, a suitable time which would not interrupt activities was suggested and Raymond agreed to the date. The environment in which the review was about to take place was considered well in advance as well. The chosen place was a peaceful area where we were less likely to be interrupted or distracted. Beforehand, I have familiarised myself with the documents we were going to look at. The review process was discussed with the link supervisor to ensure it will be in accordance with the organisation’s policies and standards of practice. Moreover, a trust-relationship was already established between Raymond and myself. Thompson

(2015)

states

that

the

way

a

practitioner

looks

represents their respect to the service user. On the day of the review I paid special attention to the clothes, jewellery and makeup I was wearing in order to make sure they are appropriate. While reviewing the already done assessment, the exchange model of assessment was predominately adopted due to the nature of the event. This model concentrates on empowerment, inclusion and provision of 11

opportunities for purposeful life choices. The service user is considered as the one most aware of his own needs and how these needs can be met (Coulshed and Orme 2006). The role of the practitioners is in no way underestimated, however, they are seen as conductors supporting the service user to find the most suitable external and internal means and utilise them to express their needs. Nevertheless, Milner and O’Byrne (2009) suggest one major limitation of this model which ought to be taken into careful consideration when working with people with learning disabilities – the self-awareness and capacity of the individual. Even though the review consisted of asking a great number of questions

which

is

a

characteristic

of

the

questioning

model

of

assessment, it would not be relevant to say that this model was adopted. This is because it usually emphasises on obstacles and how they can be overcome (Coulshed and Orme 2006). In the beginning of the meeting I established its purpose even though Raymond was already aware of it. This was to make sure he feels comfortable and prepared. It was also for both of us to be explicitly informed about the process and to maintain focus. As we were going to look at a document together and amend it if needed, we sat at a desk next to each other in an appropriate proximity. The written document was placed between us so that both of us could see easily. The next step was exchange of information. At this stage, verbal, non-verbal and symbolic communication skills played a vital role. I began 12

reading over each section of Raymond’s support plan clearly and slowly, section by section. Further on, I recognised Raymond’s abilities and his wish to take the lead in the review. I enabled him to read over the documents and state his opinion. I often asked if he wanted any changes to be made. To guarantee effective interaction, I relied on active listening and presented this through frequent summary of what has been said. This was also to avoid and correct any misunderstanding. While discussing one of the sections, Raymond suddenly became extremely upset. I then paused and gave him time before asking what is wrong. He disclosed that a family member had recently passed away to which I offered sympathy and asked whether he was feeling as he could carry on. I also asked if he wanted this information to be included in the plan. At another point, Raymond mention his approaching holiday abroad about which he was feeling highly enthusiastic. Appreciation to this was expressed and a quick chat conducted, however, the conversation was then turned back to the review of his support plan. Support to focus on the review was provided but Raymond was also allowed time to discuss issues that he felt were important. Despite choosing a quiet area, there were some other interruptions of the process as people came into the room to fetch equipment. These occasions were well handled by waiting until others have left before

13

continuing. This expressed respect to the personal information that Raymond was sharing. Any time something was added to the support plan, I made sure that Raymond agrees with what had been written. This was again done at the end of the review to ensure he is satisfied with his support plan and risk assessment. The above explored application of some assessment and interview skills as well as social works values relate to the Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers (Scottish Social Services Council 2016). These Codes present the expected standard of practice, conduct and behaviour of the workforce of any Scottish social service. They not only regulate the quality of care provided but also aim to improve it.

14

PART 4 Personal and Professional Development Prior the practice learning opportunity, I was in a great battle with my own confidence and was constantly fighting with self-doubt. With the great support of everyone around me during the placement I succeeded in building both personal and professional confidenc...