eLearning: Communication skills

Published: 2008

These elearning resources are freely available to all users. Through audio, video and interactive uses of technology, they provide the user with an engaging look at the principles of good communication skills and how to apply these to practice.

The resources also support learning and teaching for the Health and Social Care Diploma, levels 2 and 3. You can see how the modules map across to the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) by downloading the QCF mapping document.

	Overview of communication skills in social work The importance of effective communication, communication in practice, underpinning knowledge, principles and skills. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Forming and maintaining relationships Importance of relationships in social work, self knowledge, personal qualities and professional attributes that aid relationship building. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Providing information and explaining developing a shared agenda with the service user, planning and preparation, establishing and agreeing purpose, explaining and providing information. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Gathering information Observation skills, listening skills, question types, creative ways of gathering information. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Barriers to communication Understanding factors that can disrupt or confuse communication, planning to reduce communication barriers. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Particular communication needs Introduction to particular communication needs, sensory and cognitive impairment, understanding and working with communication needs. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Communicating in challenging situations What is meant by ‘challenging situations’, defensive behaviour including, silence, mistrust and aggression, breaking bad news. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Using play and the creative arts to communicate with children and young people Why play based methods can help children communicate, how to use visual imagery, creative writing, stories and music as communication tools. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Communicating through action and other means of communication Practical support and help, communicating at a distance, record keeping, presentation skills. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record
	Communication across cultural and social differences Dilemmas that can arise across cultural and social divides, the impact of identity, beliefs and culture on communication. View elearning resource View text-only version Download SCORM compliant version Learning record

• Who they are suitable forOpen

  These resources are suitable for students studying towards the social work degree, educators and practising social workers.

• About the authorsOpen

  Michelle Lefevre

  Michelle is a lecturer in social work and social care at the University of Sussex where she is the Director of post-qualifying programmes for social work practice in children’s services settings. She is also a qualified and registered social worker and arts psychotherapist, carrying out individual therapy with children and adults and undertaking expert witness assessments for the family courts.  Her recent research has particularly focused on communication between children and their social workers. This has included a knowledge review for SCIE on how communication skills with children should best be taught to social workers, two follow-up journal articles for Child and family social work and a SWAP-funded dissemination project.  She has recently co-edited an anthology for BAAF on direct work with children and young people and is currently writing a book for the Policy Press on Communicating with children and young people.

  Sally Richards

  Sally is a lecturer in social work and Director of post-graduate research in the school of health and social care at the University of Reading. She is a qualified and registered social worker and a former probation officer. Her research and publications have focused on older people in social and health care settings. She is particularly interested in communication between practitioners and older people, communication through life story and narrative and in spirituality and old age. Sally was co-author of a SCIE knowledge review on learning and teaching communication skills in social work education and a follow up journal article on ethical dilemmas encountered in teaching communication skills in the current practice context.

  Pamela Trevithick

  Pamela is a principal lecturer and former course leader of the BSc in social work at the University of Gloucestershire. Since qualifying in 1980, she has worked in a variety of statutory and non statutory settings and is the author of the best-selling text Social work skills: A practice handbook. She is also the first co-author of a SCIE knowledge review on learning and teaching communication skills in social work education, co-editor of the journal Groupwork and on two editorial boards: Journal of social work practice and Journal of social work practice and Communities and children Australia. Pamela regularly gives talks/presentations on social work knowledge and skills, particularly the importance of communication skills within social work.

• AcknowledgementsOpen

  SCIE would like to thank the following people:

  1. Our peer reviewers: Juliet Koprowska, Bernard Moss, Helen Coleman and Denise Wright.
  2. The students who took part in our user trials

• Technical developmentOpen

  Programming and graphic design by Cimex Ltd.

• SCORM Compliant versionOpen

  If you are a member of staff from a Higher Education institution who would like to download the activity for use in a virtual learning environment (VLE),such as WebCT, Blackboard or Moodle you should use the SCORM compliant version above.

  Please note that this resource was not designed to export any scores or track progress throughout the resource. Therefore, this resource can be imported into a virtual learning environment and freely accessed by users, but there will be no tracking or grading functionality.

• AccessibilityOpen

  This elearning resource has been designed to be accessible to the widest audience possible and reviewed for compliance to accessibility standards by the Digital Media Access Group at the University of Dundee. This page lists some of the features used to make the resources easier to use. If you are experiencing problems using the resources, or have any questions and comments about their accessibility, please let us know.

  Using the resources without a mouse

  All materials have been designed to be accessible using the keyboard. Use the Tab key to access navigational elements such as buttons and interactive diagrams. Pop-up windows with scroll bars can be accessed with the tab key, with the scroll-bar being operable via the up and down arrow keys.

  Changing the appearance of the resources

  If you need to adjust the way the resources appear, a Text Only version has been provided for each resource, allowing you to make changes to the resource's appearance through your browser. For example, you can use your browser to make the text larger, or change the font or colour of the text to suit your personal preferences. For more help on how to do this, visit the BBC's My Web My Way website

  Accessing the resources with a screen reader

  All resources have a narration of the main text. However if you use a screen reader, we recommend using the Text Only version for each resource. These provide broadly the same information and experience as the Flash version, but currently the nature of some features of the Flash resources mean that these features do not work as required in a screen reader

• CopyrightOpen

  All material in these elearning resources, including text, graphics, photographs, video and audio is copyright of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), unless otherwise stated. Use of these resources, and import of the resources into learning management systems, for educational purposes is freely permitted, but commercial use of this learning resource is not authorised unless permission is first obtained from SCIE.

• Images and audioOpen

  The majority of the images and voices used in this resource are those of actors.  This approach has been adopted to protect the identities of the service users and carers whose accounts have been drawn upon or the accounts have been based on situations indicative of the events or issues being covered.

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