Good Quality Assessments

The questioning and procedural models of social work assessment are also ‘process-focused’ and have similarities in making assumptions that expertise in determining the nature and resolution of the issues is not held by the individual but mainly by professionals or other people who are either directly or indirectly affected by the issues. The difference between the two assessments models is that the questioning model is referred as the process reflecting on the social workers agenda while the procedural model seen as policy

Throughout this essay, the health, safety and welfare policy and practise that came about after the Victoria Climbie case will be reviewed and evaluated. After arriving in England in November 1991 from the Ivory Coast, eight-year old Victoria Climbie suffered abuse from her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and her great-aunts partner. The anguish and eventual murder of Victoria in 2000 from hypothermia, caused by malnourishment and damp conditions, provoked ‘the most extensive investigation into the child protection system in British history’ as described by Batty (Macleod-Brudenell, 2004). The high media profiled incident exposed a clear lack of precision and communication between all professionals and agencies involved. This is shown by

Integrated working is achieved through effective collaboration and co-ordination across all services and sectors including voluntary who work with children, young people and their families. These sectors could be housing, police, health, child-minders, community groups or early year’s workers. The above services are a fundamental role for both children, families and carers who may need the support of these agencies .Multi- agency Collaboration is crucial in partnership working, to support better outcomes for children and their families. Integrated working brings many benefits to delivering a more improved service by:

When childcare settings and anyone involved in working with children and young people come together and work in partnership with one another, the outcome can only be a positive one for both the children and young people and those providing a duty of care to a child. Working in partnership with others is important for children and young people so outcomes can be improved for children and their families through a wider range of access of different service providers and there will be more efficiency in delivering these services whilst benefiting all involved.

Different agencies involved in safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and their roles:

To identify multi agency success where there are concerns with regards to safeguarding issues. Within childcare practice we must be aware that we have a clear and defined role in relation to child protection. Professionals working with children/young people i.e. teaching assistants, volunteers, outside agencies are CRB checked (criminal records bureau). Adults working with children should also be fully trained in safeguarding children by a nominated safeguarding adviser and have the opportunity to receive training in order to develop their understanding of the signs and indicators of abuse or neglect, this training is offered every 3 years. In order for child protection to work effectively we must ensure we have good inter relationships with other agencies and good

Partnership working in the context of safeguarding: the importance of the role of all parties in child protection; multi- agencies involvement in safeguarding; essential nature of communication to ensure the safety and protection of children; prompt action to ensure early intervention; prevention of children/young people not receiving protection; lessons learned from high profile cases; shared competencies; the Integrated Workforce Agenda

The importance of interagency working in the safeguarding and protection of children in the UK

The social worker explores the issues that currently affect the client system. This identifies key issues, family history, cultural identities and values (Brew & Kottler 2008, p. 75). In collaboration, the social worker and the client system to prepare a plan of action. This includes outlining strengths, resources, goals, objectives, and targets for change (Miley, O’Melia & Dubois 2013, p. 119). Tools can be used to gather more information such as genograms and eco-maps. The genogram is utilised to identify the client system’s family and explore the

‘When a child dies, and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the death…. Organisations should consider whether there are any lessons to be learnt about the ways in which they work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’ (DfES 2006: 8.2 p169)

Trying to balance a holistic assessment of needs against predicting the uncertainties of future risks is difficult due to the complexities of people’s lives; any assessment needs to be undertaken with some aspect of research and a knowledge base to make sense of the information gathered. Knowledge used by social workers (SWs) has to be relevant and transferrable between the complex range of situations and circumstances where social work is undertaken.

A journal articles published by Maiter et al (2015) explained how social workers might misinterpret the parent’s understanding is not considering that some culture does not speak English as their first language which might mean they do not fully understand what is going on unless it is explained in their first language. Therefore; Maiter et al advised the importance of having interpreters available when conducting interviews in the child and family members’ first language. Beckett and Maynard, (2012) stated that social workers could also misunderstand cultural values and/or beliefs, which could lead to not being aware when a child at risk of abuse or harm. Therefore; to avoid this they should be trained to be familiar with different cultures

Question 1: In order for social workers to benefit their clients at a maximum capacity, a specific process needs to be followed. This process is known as the helping process, which begins with Phase I: Exploration, Engagement, Assessment, and Planning. In this phase, we begin to establish rapport with our clients, and therefore begin the helping process (Hepworth, 2013, p. 37). The depths of the problem are discussed, along with the client’s view of how they see their own issue, and what they would like to see change throughout their time with the social worker. Assessment is also involved in this phase because what is discussed is not a static contract. A scholarly article states that “needs assessments are critical to planning, but must be anchored first in the organization’s identity…” (Placido, 2014, p. 81). This is very much so applied to phase I, because an assessment needs to be made for the client to prosper. Assessing the client is also important so that clients can grow and change and avoid certain obstacles along the way that might derail them from the progress that has been made (Placido, 2014, p. 81). This phase is also where the client can set goals with their social worker to accomplish in time, and also where a preliminary plan can be discussed. Phase one allows social workers to explain their role to the clients and what the social worker will be able to do to help them, along with what is not allowed in the professional relationship. Referrals can be made

A skill often used by social workers is assessment. Assessment is the process of gathering information (Badger, 2014). Once the information is gathered, it is reviewed and applied in conjunction with theory to gain a better understanding (Badger, 2014). The assessment can be narrow or broad varying on factors such as, the client system, the role of the social worker, and the purpose of the assessment (Badger, 2014). The most common form of assessment is the bio-psycho-social assessment (Badger, 2014). However, there are needs, risk, assets, strengths, and capacity-building assessment (Badger, 2014).

Education is a field that is constantly evolving and as teachers it is important that changes are made to be as effective as possible. Curriculum mapping, planning, and assessment building have been topics at the forefront of many conversations in the field of education. As teachers have become smarter about their field, they have made instructional and assessment changes that benefit students learning needs. The assessment practices we use in the classroom should be used to promote student learning (McTighe & O’Connor, 2005). As educators it is important that the goals we have are used to support the learning in all students. Providing students with quality assessments can help students be successful in the learning process