Enabling and embedding creative participation in child and family social work: Practice Tool (2022)
We all have a need to be seen and heard. For children who have experienced disruption, harm, danger or trauma, this need is crucial and it is the job of child and family social work professionals to ensure this happens. The need to develop effective communication skills to improve the quality of everyday interactions with children is an important component of professional education and practice. Just as all children are unique, each relationship and interaction between a child and practitioner will be distinctive and influenced by the child’s individual experiences.
This practice tool considers the degree to which children can actively take part in decision-making processes that affect their safety and security. It focuses on:
- keeping the child ‘visible’
- encouraging deeper collaborative and relational encounters with children
- providing examples of good practice, using a fictional and unfolding case study to explore how social workers can creatively facilitate children’s participation.
Professional Standards
PQS:KSS - Relationships and effective direct work | Communication | Analysis, decision-making, planning and review | Effective use of power and authority | Purposeful and effective social work | Developing excellent practitioners
PCF - Intervention and skills | Values and ethics | Knowledge
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