1. Use a range of digital tools and platforms to locate information relevant to social work practice and effectively communicate this information to the required professional standard.

Communication

Digital Literacy

2. Demonstrate professional communication and engagement skills with service users and carers, informed by relationship-based practice principles.

Communication

3. Demonstrate the professional capabilities required by the readiness for supervised practice’ level of Professional Capabilities Framework (BASW 2018).

Knowledge and Understanding

Safe and Professional Practice

4. Reflect on feedback, learning experiences, and professional expectations to identify ongoing learning and development needs.

Reflection

Personal development and entrepreneurship

Formative assessment:

Students will submit a draft of the 750-word assignment to a specified academic for their review. The focus on this is on demonstrating and developing academic skills rather than subject specific knowledge.

You will also undertake a range of skills focused tasks such as simulated practice experiences, writing case notes, chronologies and genograms to assist in developing skills and identifying appropriate learning needs.

Summative assessment:

15-minute role play – students will undertake a role play based on a case study with an expert by experience. The case study will be developed in partnership with key stakeholders to ensure it is reflective of contemporary social work practice.

750-word assignment – students will produce an assignment on a topic relevant to the case study, this should demonstrate the appropriate academic skills for level 4 study, including appropriate use of academic sources, literature searching etc.

Professional development portfolio. Three short reflections mapped to the super domains of the PCF

250-word Reflection on the role play (Practice)

250-word Reflection on an interesting situation during the shadowing days (Purpose)

250-word Reflection on a learning experience from a taught session (Impact)

Log of skills days attended

Skills matrix mapped to the ‘readiness for supervised practice’ level of the Professional Capabilities Framework (No more than 500 words)

Future learning needs (No more than 500 words)

Academic knowledge and skills

Students will develop academic communication skills required to meet undergraduate standards, including formal academic writing, structuring assignments effectively, addressing learning outcomes, and selecting, using, and referencing evidence to support reflective and analytical written work.

Students will be introduced to reflective practice and a range of reflective models and will apply these to analysing learning experiences and practice scenarios in preparation for written reflective assignments and portfolio development.

Students will develop skills in locating, evaluating, and using academic and professional sources to support learning and assessment tasks, including effective use of library resources, digital technologies, and the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Practice knowledge and skills

Students will explore the professional and regulatory context of social work, including standards of conduct, ethical expectations, and professional accountability, with application to professional documentation and portfolio evidence.

Students will examine professionalism in social work, including personal and professional boundaries and issues that may lead to Fitness to Practise concerns, and consider how professional behaviour is demonstrated within assessed practice activities.

Students will explore social work values and ethical principles and apply these to practice scenarios and reflective work included within the professional portfolio.

Students will be introduced to professional capability frameworks and will use these to support reflection on learning, feedback, and ongoing development needs.

Students will be introduced to relationship-based practice in social work and its core elements of understanding, collaboration, commitment, and communication, with direct application to observed practice, skills-based activities, and role play.

Students will explore communication in social work across a range of contexts.

Students will develop skills to interpret, respond to, and manage a range of practice situations, drawing on reflection, supervision, emotional intelligence, and strategies to support resilience, with application to both practice-based assessment and reflective portfolio evidence.

The Preparation for Practice module is designed to equip you with the foundational professional knowledge and skills needed to develop, progress, and succeed in both the academic and practice elements of the course. Core topics include the professional and regulatory context of social work, academic writing and referencing, reflective skills, and relationship-based practice.

Scheduled Teaching and Learning Activities

These will include:

During the classroom sessions there may be -

Lectures on key topics

Peer learning: Small group discussion to explore some of the key issues in greater depth.

Case-based learning: Realistic scenarios to support in the application of skills in practice

Simulated practice experiences, this may include the use of digital tools such as Verti to simulate interactions with people who access social work services

Reflective groups: Peer discussion.

Guest speakers: Experienced practitioners and people with lived experience of social works

A series of 15 mandatory skills days focused on developing core professional, communication, and engagement skills relevant to social work practice. These include three-days of shadowing experience within a local social care sector organisation, designed to support observation of professional practice, professional conduct, and workplace expectations.

Directed Independent Study

This will include:

Accessing and engaging with online learning materials and resources.

Use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to support learning, communication, and assessment activity.

Independent reading and study to consolidate knowledge and understanding introduced during scheduled teaching and learning activities.

Preparation for formative and summative assessments, including reflective writing, portfolio development, and practice-based assessment tasks.

Bottomley, J et al (2018) Academic Writing and Referencing for your Social Work Degree. St Albans: Critical Publishing

Mantell, A & Scragg, T (2023) Reflective Practice in Social Work (2nd ed). London: Sage

Rogers, M et al (2020) Developing Skills & Knowledge for Social Work Practice. 2nd ed. London: Sage

Koproswska, J (2024) Communication & Interpersonal Skills in Social Work (6th ed). London: Sage

Simulation suites

Virti or other digital tools to support with phenomena or simulation-based learning