Lucille Allain

User and Carer Involvement in Social Work Education—A University Case Study: Manipulation or Citizen Control?

This paper provides an account of one universitys experience of involving service users and carers in the delivery of the new undergraduate and postgraduate social work degrees. It poses the question as to whether user and carer involvement in social work education can be viewed as a means of promoting citizen participation or whether it is a case of manipulating relatively powerless groups. In addressing this question, service users and carers and social work tutors describe, from their own distinct perspectives, the processes in which they were both involved.

Social work with looked after children

Written for social work degree students, this practical book looks at the experience of children in need who live in state care and the social worker’s role in working with these children. Topics include relevant studies and legislation; residential care; foster care; adoption; and leaving care. The book also looks at the needs of children and young people living away from home and discusses both the Looked After Children (LAC) system and consultation with looked after children. Throughout, practical examples and case studies encourage readers to apply their new knowledge to practice.

An investigation of how a group of social workers respond to the cultural needs of black, minority ethnic looked after children

This paper reflects on the findings from a small qualitative study of how social workers from one local authority respond to the cultural needs of black, minority ethnic looked after young people aged eleven years old and over. Cultural needs are defined as those specified in the Children Act 1989 as arising from the young persons religion, cultural and linguistic background alongside their racial origin. Cultural competence as an emerging model is examined in terms of its relevance for contemporary social work practice. The model is selected as it offers a theoretical paradigm which facilitates understanding of the complex position of looked after young people from diaspora communities. Analysis of data from eight interviews revealed five key issues: how legislation can support practice; the organisational response; the meaning of cultural competence in practice; the importance of direct work with the young person and the identification of cultural needs as dynamic and evolving. Findings suggest that, despite the barriers, those interviewed were committed to meeting the diverse cultural needs of young people through listening to young people and undertaking in-depth direct work.This paper reflects on the findings from a small qualitative study of how social workers from one local authority respond to the cultural needs of black, minority ethnic looked after young people aged eleven years old and over. Cultural needs are defined as those specified in the Children Act 1989 as arising from the young persons religion, cultural and linguistic background alongside their racial origin. Cultural competence as an emerging model is examined in terms of its relevance for contemporary social work practice. The model is selected as it offers a theoretical paradigm which facilitates understanding of the complex position of looked after young people from diaspora communities. Analysis of data from eight interviews revealed five key issues: how legislation can support practice; the organisational response; the meaning of cultural competence in practice; the importance of direct work with the young person and the identification of cultural needs as dynamic and evolving. Findings suggest that, despite the barriers, those interviewed were committed to meeting the diverse cultural needs of young people through listening to young people and undertaking in-depth direct work.

Integrating services for disabled children and their families in two English local authorities

Recent critiques challenge the assumption that working in a more integrated way will necessarily improve the quality of services received by children in need and their families. This paper explores the process of service integration for disabled children and their families in two inner city local authorities in England, with particular reference to ways in which history and geography impact. Service users and their carers hold similar ideas about features important in order for integration to be successful – including clear signposts into and through services and reliable and respectful relationships with professionals in the context of inclusive service planning. Professionals concur. They appear to benefit from the establishment of clear processes and boundaries between services, enabling them to build bridges between organizations towards the creation of innovative, integrated services.

‘Back to our Roots?’ Re-visiting psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in the education of student social workers

While there is a well-established literature on psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in social work education, little has been published recently. This paper reviews the rationale for its use, evaluating its impact on students’ learning in the light of contemporary policy and practice contexts facing social work education. Analysis of feedback gained from a recent cohort, identifies three ways in which learning through baby and young child observation contributes: firstly, students encounter and learn about the complexity of child development from the direct experience of observing and secondly, observing facilitates the development of important skills for practice; students’ ‘use of self’. Thirdly, through observing, students describe how they develop the capacity to take-up and sustain a professional role. Well-structured teaching and learning through observation is therefore shown to provide a rigorous, theoretically-grounded contribution to the training of university-based social work students entering this complex and challenging professional field.