Upon successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work, participants will be eligible to apply for registration with the professional body for social work, Social Work England. The diploma meets Social Work England’s professional standards, which define what a social worker should know and understand by the end of their social work training.
The postgraduate diploma curriculum is informed by the Professional Capabilities Framework, published by BASW (British Association of Social Workers) and Social Work England’s professional standards. It therefore equips participants with the requisite knowledge, theory, skills and values needed for effective social work with children and families.
The curriculum equips participants with advanced knowledge and skills in three evidence-based approaches to practice: systemically informed social work practice, motivational interviewing, and parenting interventions (based on social learning theory, attachment theory, trauma-informed approaches and mentalisation) in addition to other theories and methods.
The course develops reflective practitioners, who are able to demonstrate a deep and systematic value and ethical base underpinning all social work practice and academic activities. Participants will undertake critical analyses of the various societal, personal and professional contexts that influence them and the children and families that they work with, and they will need to clearly evidence this within academic assignments, family assessment and reports.
Participants must also demonstrate sound ethical values; take an anti-racist, anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory approach; and focus their practice on children.
In general, the postgraduate diploma provides an intensive and stimulating learning environment, which enables participants to become reflexive and resilient practitioners who are well equipped to make a significant positive contribution to the agencies, children and families with whom they work.
The course enables participants to critically engage with theory and practice and form analytical perspectives on the factors that influence social work and related fields. It enables participants to make evidence-informed decisions, which incorporate practice and academic knowledge and skills and are ethically sound. Participants will examine and learn how to clearly articulate their own relationship with power and privilege. They will also learn how to identify and challenge discrimination and oppression in the workplace.
Leadership development forms an integral part of the postgraduate diploma and participants are will identify their own leadership style and develop a comprehensive understanding of leadership capabilities (resilience and self-reflexivity, professional authority, holding to account, inspiring others, learning and development, and analysis and decisions making) and how these relate to their practice.
The postgraduate diploma develops key transferable skills, in particular research mindedness, written and verbal presentation of knowledge and argument, working with and enabling the development of others, critical reflection and management of their own learning. Participants will be equipped to adhere to continuous professional development standards and the development of the profession
On successful completion of this scheme, participants will be able to:
Subject specific knowledge, understanding and skills
- Demonstrate knowledge of the social, political, theoretical and legal frameworks that inform social work practice and critically analyse their application in practice.
- Systematically apply and integrate principles of social justice, equality, anti-racism, and anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory social work in their practice and critically evaluate the application of these values within the wider profession.
- Demonstrate scholarship, creativity and originality in the application of knowledge, together with an understanding of how research should best inform social work practice.
- Demonstrate a high level of knowledge and skill in the use of systemic theory and practice as an evidence-informed, relational approach to social work and critically evaluate practice, recognising the importance of adapting their approach to the complexities of social work.
- Demonstrate a high level of knowledge and skill in the use of motivational interviewing theory and practice as an evidence-informed, strength-based approach and critically evaluate practice, recognising the importance of adapting their approach to the complexities of social work.
- Demonstrate a high level of knowledge and skill in the use of theory and practice of trauma-informed parenting interventions and critically evaluate practice, recognising the importance of adapting their approach to the complexities of social work.
- Undertake complex assessments that involve identifying, analysing and drawing conclusions from appropriate sources and demonstrate critical reflection on this process.
- Critically appraise the evidence base for the approach to practice taught by Frontline in relation to reducing risk to children and families, demonstrating a consideration of the various and intersectional, personal and structural forces that affect practice.
- Work autonomously to reduce risk, demonstrating a high level of skill in constructing formulations of risk and adapting evidence-based interventions appropriate for the unique context of each family, resisting final or technical solutions which fail to grasp the complexity and uncertainty inherent in child and family social work.
General knowledge, understanding and skills
- Critically reflect on their own learning and practice both individually and alongside colleagues.
- Systemically evaluate and synthesise complex information from a range of sources, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate conclusions clearly to a range of audiences.
- Demonstrate originality in tackling and solving complex problems and work effectively with others in the planning and implementation of work.
- Seek out relevant, current knowledge from a wide range of sources and disciplines.
- Critically appraise and apply theory and findings from research to practice.
Modules
FLSW921 Readiness for practice (10 credits) [core module]
This module prepares participants for practice in accordance with BASW’s Professional Capabilities Framework, which informs the content. Learning outcomes are mapped to Social Work England’s professional standards, to ensure that participants have the foundational knowledge and understanding of social work to enable them to be ready for direct practice.
The module will:
- Aid participants to develop the core social work skills, values and knowledge necessary to meet the PCF levels for readiness for direct practice.
- Ensure that participants are safe to begin and ready for direct practice in their first practice learning environment.
Participants will also complete two days of shadowing of a social worker in a local authority.
Participants will also complete a number of Social Work England skills days.
FLSW922 Principles of relational social work practice (30 credits) [core module]
This module addresses the underpinning principles of the Frontline model, and the knowledge, skills, theory, values and ethics that participants going into child and family social work need to know. The module combines the underpinning and guiding principles of the Frontline approach, including systemic and relationship-based social work practice, a trauma informed approach and motivational interviewing, with the essential agency and practice knowledge that practitioners need to work effectively with children and families. More specifically, this module also provides a critical overview of the nature and scope of contemporary social work, including the social, political and economic context of modern Britain, and how the social work profession strives to tackle issues of social justice, promote change and ameliorate the lives of people.
The module also introduces participants to the key tenets of systemic social work theory and practice, along with core skills and knowledge of assessment, risk, multi-agency working and direct work skills with children, families and adults.
The learning from this module is designed to be applied in practice as part of participants’ first placement.
FLSW923 The legal context of social work practice (30 credits) [core module]
This module presents and enables participants to learn essential legal, ethical, social policy and sociological themes, including social justice and the social work value base in the context of social work practice with vulnerable people. It will also help participants to be able to support children, families and adults to navigate the legal context of social work.
Participants will develop their understanding of how different individuals experience the legal system and the work a social worker must do to understand this and how this is applied in their practice.
FLSW924 Advanced relational social work practice (30 credits) [core module]
The module will:
- Provide participants with advanced knowledge and skills in systemic and trauma informed social work practice work with children, families and adults and further embed the principles taught in FLSW922 including motivational interviewing.
- Enable advanced understanding of the complexities of contemporary social work and the impact, not only of familial influences, structures, harms and traumas, but also wider contextual factors and influences such as extra-familial factors, community spaces and wider social relationships on children, young people and adults.
- Develop advanced knowledge and application of risk assessment including the systemic concepts of ‘safe and unsafe uncertainty’, critical analysis, reflection and reflexivity skills for social work with children, families and adults.
- Enable advanced understanding and application of anti-discriminatory, anti-oppressive and anti-racist social work practice and a child-focused approach to practice.
- Allow participants to demonstrate a critical awareness of the organisational contexts and processes influencing contemporary social work practice, including the impact of leadership, organisational and individual resilience, wellbeing and burnout, compassion fatigue and models of supervision and support.
The learning from this module is designed to be applied in practice as part of the participants’ second placement.
FLSW925 Practice learning experience one (10 credits) [core module]
This module provides participants with an authentic experience within a social work agency to develop and demonstrate competence and capability in accordance with the end of first placement level of the BASW’s Professional Capabilities Framework and Social Work England’s professional standards.
Participants will have the opportunity to integrate knowledge, skills and values in social work practice through their practice learning experience and contrasting learning experience. They typically complete at least 70 days: 60 practice learning experience and 10 contrasting learning experience days.
Participants will also complete a number of Social Work England skills days.
FLSW926 Practice learning experience two (10 credits) [core module]
This module provides participants with an authentic experience within a social work agency to develop and demonstrate competence and capability in accordance with the end of last placement descriptors of the BASW’s Professional Capabilities Framework and Social Work England’s professional standards.
Participants will have the opportunity to integrate knowledge, skills and values in social work practice through their practice learning experience and contrasting learning experience. They typically complete at least 100 days: 80 practice learning experience and 20 contrasting learning experience days.
Participants will also complete a number of Social Work England skills days.
Assessment
The assessment strategy reflects the increasing complexity of the practice that is undertaken by participants over time and their developing ability to integrate learning into practice. To this end, assessment will include:
- Formative and summative assessment of practice with families by the consultant social worker.
- Holistic assessments involving the application of learning across increasingly challenging practice situations, such as presenting information in different formats to different audiences; academic assessments that draw upon participants’ own case examples or authentic case studies and direct observations of practice with families and children as part of their practice learning portfolios.
- In addition, participants will be expected to demonstrate high levels of critical appraisal of their own practice, through written assessments ranging from reflective pieces and intervention case studies to academic essays that demonstrate advanced levels of critical evaluation and the application of research and theory.
- Assessments change and develop across the programme in line with participant’s expanding knowledge, skills and values, and to reflect the increasing capability levels required in the Professional Capabilities Framework.