SOUNDS GOOD IN THEORY

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SOUNDS GOOD IN THEORY

• PQ AND EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT Colin Young, Judith
  Evans, Linda Brunt
• Eve ReesYoungc1_at_cardiff.ac.uk

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Linda Brunt

• Team Manager
• Rhondda Cynon Taff

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Workshop Overview

• Origins
• Organisation
• Structure
• Content
• Candidates Experience
• Exercise
• Points for Discussion

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Origins of the South WalesPQ Community Care
Programme

• No equivalent to the PQ Child Care Award in Wales
• Training Officers from Caerphilly, Newport,
  Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend, The Vale
  of Glamorgan and Monmouth worked on a plan for
  an equivalent course for social workers in adult
  services
• The agencies approached the local HEIs. UWIC and
  Cardiff University were interested

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The Welsh Context

• South Wales demography urban Newport Cardiff and
  Swansea, small ex mining towns in the valleys and
  rural South West Wales.
• Distinct multiple cultural identities. Welsh
  language and culture Welsh Assembly Government
  social policy and legislation
• (e.g. Welsh Language Act 1993 requirements)
  

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The Welsh Context

• The root UK Government White Paper in 1998
  advent of new Labours policies in health and
  social care
• Since then, different policies, implemented at
  different times around the UK, e.g

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Distinctive Welsh Policy Examples
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Judith Evans

• Programme Co-ordinator UWIC

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Implications for the programme

• Contractual relationship between 13 agencies,
  commitment to pay for set numbers, range of adult
  service workers, language of assignments,
  assessment, mentoring, externals.
• Example of Anti-Oppressive / anti-discriminatory
  practice, within a bi-lingual context

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Agency commitment
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Core Strengths of the programme

• Agency driven high commitment to management,
  course content and assessment. Formal agency
  contract
• Teaching from tutors up to date with local
  practice
• Very good administration advance planning, clear
  communication and information sharing, careful
  tracking of candidates.
• Clear standards of practice were presented to
  those from a variety of agencies

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Core Strengths of the programme. 2

• Ideas for change came from the candidates, the
  tutors, the Assessment Panel or the Management
  Committee and was taken up in development groups
  when needed.
• Support from agencies for Practice Mentors who
  guided and advised candidates.
• Line managers involved in verifying work of
  candidates
• Effective dialogue between college and agency
  markers regarding the assignments

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Dr Colin Young

• Tutor Cardiff University
• Eve Rees
• Tutor UWIC

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Structure

• Module 1 Contemporary issues in Community
  Care..1 assignment.
• Teaching material started from the
  perspective of day to day practice
• Module 2 The Law and Regulation
• critical for employer engagement - 2
  assignments
• Module 3 Networking and Multi Agency Working.
• Informal presentation plus an assignment
• 60 PQ credits for the three module programme

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Structure 1

• Module 1 e.g. user /carer input, reflective
  practice, risk management within the context of
  organisational practices (e.g. POVA) - Prof. Tom
  Horlick-Jones.
• - addressed contemporary developments in practice
  across a range of service user / carer groups.
• See handout

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REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Schon (1983)

• Candidates having a deeper knowledge than they
  are aware of.
• Asking reflective questions being prepared to
  be constantly surprised by responses.
• Every situation encountered is a complex
  contradiction of the familiar and the unique

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Structure 2

• Module 2 - Law teaching 2 parts teaching split
  between Cardiff University and UWIC
• Part 1 legislation, guidance and judgements -
  law quiz, law test using a given scenario
  facilitated by Martin James, Operational
  Manager, Cardiff Council
• Part 2 - Regulation (see handout)

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Structure 3

• Module 3 completed the sequence partnership
  working, focus on skills

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Assessment

• Assessment Panel of tutors plus one rep from each
  agency
• All assignments read by a tutor and agency panel
  member
• Struggles between knowledge and practice issues.
• As both were of equal importance candidates could
  fail for either.

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Results
(n 23)
(n 14)
(n 26)
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Candidates comments

• Mod.1 Session on D/deaf awareness was very
  informative and thought-provoking. Useful day
  now I feel more enthusiastic about my job.
• Mod.2 Really think Im starting to get it now!
  Head is still trying to take it all in overall
  very good and so interesting An excellent
  course delivered effectively in a way that is of
  great practical use in practice settings

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Group ExerciseUsing Success as Audit (Prof.
Johannes Herwig-Lempp, Merseburg University)

• Asking for recognition of success
• How did you do it?
• How could you apply what you have learnt to
  future experiences?
• Asking for recognition for oneself and from
  others
• Recording success as part of an organisations
  audit

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Service user Involvement

• Service user input on the teaching of module 1
• Material presented at 2 involvement events
  organised by the Coalition of Disabled People
  service user input on module development for new
  PQ MSc course commencing Oct. 2008

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What have we learned

• If agencies come up with the idea initially they
  are more committed to continued partnership and
  prepared to work on content, management and
  assessment.
• A good administrator improves everything.
• Being responsive to change was possible when
  Assessment Panel, Management Committee and
  Practice Mentor reps worked together on issues.
• Annual update of material was necessary to
  reflect social policy changes.
• Candidates valued the opportunity to step back
  from the emotional impact of their work and see
  the work in the wider context

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Questions for discussion

• How applicable are the issues raised to your own
  workplace setting what have you learnt and how
  could you apply it? What would you do
  differently?
• What are the obstacles?
• What things have we missed?

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References

• Herwig-Lempp, J (2005) Lets talk about Success!
  Guidelines and 6 arguments why to talk about
  success. Unpublished paper. Merseburg
  University.
• Schon, D (1983) The Reflective Practitioner
  Aldershot Ashgate.