Partnership with Carers in Social Work Education: Redressing the Balance

1
Partnership with Carers in Social Work Education
Redressing the Balance

• Andy Cheng, Jill Scholl
• and Imogen Taylor
• University of Sussex

2
In this presentation

• Project aims
• Who we are the project team
• What we did our definition mapping consulting
  and communicating
• Key emerging themes
• The barriers to partnership carers voices
• Identifying potential tensions in carer/user
  relationship
• Identifying the voices of carers less frequently
  heard
• Is there an imbalance that needs to be redressed
  and how can this be done?

3
Project aims

• To identify and report on the ways in which
  carers are involved in social work education
• To identify the challenges encountered
• To identify and promote the exchange of good
  practice
• To explore how participation can be widened to
  include seldom heard carer groups
• To create a national forum for carers involved in
  social work education
• To consult on the need for a web-based networking
  facility

4
The Project Team

• Carers
• University staff involving carers in social work
  education
• The Princess Royal trust for Carers
• Crossroads Association
• Carers UK
• SWAP (Higher Education Academy subject centre for
  Social Policy and Social Work)
• Local carers centre (involved in developing
  Primary and Community carer)
• SCIE

5
What we did Our Definition

• Carers are people who support family members of
  friends who need care, help or support. Carers
  can be adults caring for other adults, parents
  caring for ill or disabled children under the age
  of 18, or young carers under 18, who care for
  another family member. There is not a typical
  carer. Carers may be of any age, culture or
  religion, and from a diverse range of
  backgrounds. Some carers do not see themselves as
  carers, but see themselves primarily as a parent,
  child, wife or husband, partner, friend or
  neighbour.

6
What we did Mapping

• Semi-structured interviews
• Interviews with
• people responding to a call for information
• people as suggested by earlier interviewees
• people as suggested by steering group and project
  team
• (plus a random selection of HEIs who did not
  respond to call for information)
• Producing 34 interviews
• 23 with HEI staff (involvement co-ordinators or
  academic staff in charge of involvement)
• 11 with external organisations (independent
  co-ordinators, carers centre staff, skills for
  care and carers)

7
What we did consulting and communicating

• Regional cluster groups
• Carers
• HEI involvement co-ordinators
• Other stake holders (eg Skills for Care)
• Taking place
• South West (Taunton)
• West Midlands (Birmingham)
• North West (Manchester)
• one comprised of Steering Group members
• People attending (excluding steering group
  event)
• 39 carers
• 17 HEI staff or other stakeholders

8
The barriers to partnership carers voices

• They (the service users) werent keen to
  engage broadly with carers. They saw themselves
  as having a users perspective and that carers
  perspectives were sometimes contradictory to
  that.
• If theyre getting a service provided to look
  after the person they care for then that time is
  precious and they dont want to spend it sitting
  talking to somebody about how blinking awful this
  is, or how great that is

• Because they become so overwhelmed.., it is
  easier for them not to take it on
• There are bits where a person will decide not
  to do a particular session because they dont
  want to exceed the benefit level
• Carers might want to share some negative
  comments about the services user because of the
  dark thoughts that come with caring, they might
  not want that caring role.

9
Identifying potential tensions in carer/user
relationship

• Safety, confidence and competence in
  acknowledging any differences
• Views of carers may be in tension with the views
  of users e.g. different views re sharing
  information and data protection whose views
  take priority?
• Social workers may unwittingly align with the
  user and exclude the carer or vice versa
• Ensuring carer perspectives are integrated in
  module design e.g. Law re data protection, risk
  assessment

10
Identifying the voices of carers less frequently
heard

• People who have not yet recognised the
  designation carerCarers unavailable during
  university teaching hours e.g. young carers
• Carers unable to leave their homes
• Carers in rural communities or who have other
  access difficulties
• Carers who self-fund and do not access social
  care
• Carers from excluded communities e.g. BME,
  religion sexuality
• Carers with no geographic base e.g. travellers
• Carers with reduced communication or mental
  capacity e.g. people with learning disabilities,
  dementia

11
Is there an imbalance that needs to be redressed
and how can this be done?

• Acknowledge and act on the wide range of carer
  identities and perspectives
• Carers champion who recognises and addresses
  the difference between carers and users
• Carers champion who develops and builds on
  links with carers organisations in the community
• Sufficient resource to fund replacement care
  costs
• Ensuring carer perspectives are integrated in
  module design and delivery e.g. Law re data
  protection, risk assessment, etc.

12
Partnership with Carers in Social Work Education
Redressing the Balance

• Imogen Taylor, Andy Cheng
• and Jill Scholl
• University of Sussex