Courses

Including the Social Care Wales Codes of Professional Practice and Duties and Responsibilities

• Employer/employee responsibilities
• Standards of conduct and practice expected
• Professional values and ethics
• Wellbeing of individuals

Attending this course will help me a great deal to better support staff in social care teams. The course was presented very well. Paula gave great examples and made sure everyone got involved in the session.

Manger – Social Care (Ceredigion)

This day’s training will cover a range of skills and strategies helpful for the development and maintenance of professional boundaries in a social care/work setting, supporting staff to work with professional confidence and competence.

Aims and objectives:

• Developing awareness of professionalism and professional identity.
• Exploration of developing and maintaining professional boundaries in a social care/work setting.
• Raising awareness of the standards of conduct and practice that are expected of social care professionals in Wales.
• Consideration of values and ethical practice and how these are underpinned by the Code of Professional Practice ensuring that the well-being of the individual is always central to practice.
• Building an understanding of roles and responsibilities in relation to the Code of Professional Practice and employer/employee responsibilities, including how this links to legislation and policy.
• Exploration of “professional curiosity” and the communication skills required to question our own assumptions when working with individuals and families.
• Consideration of confidentiality and discretion including use of social media.
• Exploration of some of the challenges and difficulties when managing professional values and boundaries that can arise in social care/work setting.

I really got a lot out of this course, good balance between exercises, personal reflection and information giving. Felt it enabled me to reflect on my practice and take away those reflection to learn from. Trainer managed group well, allowed people to talk but kept the group on task.

Social Worker (Pembrokeshire)

Aims and objectives:

• Raise awareness of the underpinning principles of “Professional Curiosity” and how it can be embedded within practice to continue to raise the standards of work undertaken with individuals and families by social care professionals in Wales.
• Exploration of the importance of developing and maintaining professional boundaries and how this links to “Professional Curiosity” in a social care/work setting.
• Consideration of ways in which practitioners can be supported through supervision and within the team to develop their understanding of Professional Curiosity.
• Increasing skills and confidence in the critical analysis of information and effective challenging when working with individuals, families, and other professionals.
• Exploration of how use of “Professional Curiosity” can support practitioners to develop the communication and observational skills required to work effectively with individuals and families using a person-centred strengths-based approach.
• Building the confidence of practitioners to question assumptions, become aware of personal and confirmation bias and help them to recognising and work with disguised compliance.
• Consideration of Professional Curiosity in relation to values and ethical practice and how this should encompass practice to ensure the underpinning principles the Code of Professional Practice are central.
• Exploration of some of the challenges and difficulties face by practitioners and mangers/supervisors when working with “respectful uncertainly” and how to support practitioners in a range of setting to maintain professional boundaries and develop skills in critical evaluation of information and multiagency working.

I particularly like the multi-agency joined up discussions with varied views and experiences and the tool used to look at situations from a different perspective. The training reinforced and built confidence in respect of what I do ok- many heads are better than one. It will help me continue to reflect, challenge and be open to challenges.

Social Worker – Bridgend

Social workers are now required to pass the Consolidation Programme in their first 3 years in practice in order to re-register as social workers, it is therefore important that they are supported through mentoring over this time in their transition to experience practitioners.

Mentoring skills for mentors of newly qualified social workers (NQSW) in their first 3 years of practice is a bespoke training course which aims to ensure mentors clearly understand the roles and responsibilities involved in supporting the NQSW through mentoring. This one-day training will aim to develop the skills and knowledge of the mentor ensuring they can deliver mentoring with both confidence and competence and in line with the Social Care Wales NQSW guidelines and organisational responsibilities and procedures.

• The Role and Purpose of Mentoring including responsibilities, developing competence & confidence, links to National Occupational Standards, Codes of Professional Practice and Social Care Wales First 3 years in Practice guidelines and Local Authorities Policy.
• The Practice of Mentoring including mentoring skills, interacting, listening, facilitating, encouraging networks, preparation, self-evaluation, theories and models, goal setting, use of LA mentor/ supervisor toolkit.

The Principles of Mentoring including process, values, relationship between supervising, coaching, and mentoring, managing boundaries, motivating, and empowering mentees.

Great examples of case studies and application of theory. Excellent advice in Mentoring and the role of the mentor, well presented and easy to understand.

Senior practitioner – Adult Social Work (Carmarthenshire)

The training is designed for both new and experienced supervisors and will cover a range of skills and strategies for supervising social workers/social care workers.

The training is designed for both new and experienced supervisors and will cover a range of skills and strategies for supervising social workers/social care workers. The training aims to develop and build the supervisors skill base, knowledge and understanding of the supervisory process and how this can support social workers and social care workers in their role and meet organisational requirements.

• Understanding the purpose and principles of supervision in and clarifying the role and responsibility of the supervisor.
• Developing skills and knowledge needed for the delivery of effective supervision, exploration of methods of giving critical feedback and encouraging reflective learning to build competence and confidence.
• Clarifying expectations and motivating the supervisee, dealing with difficulties and challenges, including values, ethics, and anti-discriminatory/oppressive practice.
• Exploration of how supervision feeds into the probationary process and beyond.

I really enjoyed this course and found the trainer skilled and knowledgeable in facilitating understanding and learning around supervision.

Children’s service – Social Worker/Manager (Ceredigion).

For: Social Work Educators / Practice Assessors

Training Master Classes / Workshops:

Aims and objectives:

The aim of these workshops is to develop strategies, skills, and knowledge to build a toolkit that is useful in the practice education and assessment of social work students in a practice learning environment. The training with uses a variety of training methods including group and individual work based on practice scenarios.

Setting the scene – Supervision of social work students. 

Setting the scene – The learning agreement, pre-placement meeting, building the induction programme. Supervising and motivating students – developing an approach to assessing in a learning environment, integrating reflective practice.

Making to most of the observation/critical feedback and integrating theory to practice.

Making the most of observations and giving critical feedback – getting the most out of the experience. Integrating theory to practice,

Dealing with difficult and challenging situations.                  

Dealing with difficult and challenging situations, students not meeting the required standards, risk of a failing students and looking after yourself. Supporting the student to evidence the Nation Occupational Standards.

Working with difference and diversity.

Working with difference and diversity – supporting students in critical decision making and to manage and develop boundaries and values. Welsh context – building confidence at evidencing Welsh context.

Report writing – assessment and evaluation.

Assessment in practice educating and writing the report – gathering evidence/understanding expectations. Evaluation and self-evaluation.

These virtual workshops are for practice assessors/educators of all different levels of experience and those working towards the practice assessors/educator’s qualification. Workshops will include facilitated peer support, mentoring and a chance to share practice, ideas and experiences.

Workshops are counted as CPD hours that can be used for SCW re-registration.

Workshops will be run online as a half day event or can be delivered as bespoke full days training – see below.

Full program:

[full program description]

• Critically Reflective Practice
• Mentor Skills for Mentors
• Advanced Supervision Skill
• Assessment Skills
• Developing Emotional Resilience for Social Workers/Social Care Workers

All training courses incorporate a variety of training methods including Powerpoint, handouts, workbooks, group work, scenarios and case studies, reflective learning, and self-evaluation.

Bespoke training can be arranged on request.

Duties and Responsibilities

Half-day session

• Understanding of the roles and responsibilities in relation to the Code of Professional Practice and employer/employee responsibilities.
• Raising awareness of the standards of conduct and practice that are expected of social care profession in Wales.
• Exploration of values and best practice in line with the Code of Professional Practice and how this ensures the wellbeing the individuals social care professional work with.