SCIE opinion - 15 March 2011
Any comments on this opinion? Please email media@scie.org.uk
SCIE's Parental Mental Health guide helped me reunite a child with their mother
Karen Burrell, Social Worker, Children and Families
I studied social work in Cambridge. My third year placement was with Peterborough's Children's Services in Referral and Assessment. Since qualifying I have been working for Peterborough Children in Need Team, and have just completed the NQSW programme. I am now going onto the Early professional development (EPD) programme with support from my employer.
As a student I found SCIE's resources useful for research. From their Good Practice Framework through to their e-learning resources, and recently the workforce development products.
As an NQSW I have continued to use them - the NQSW resource covering the 12 outcome statements contained in the NQSW framework has been a good resource in my first year of work. Knowing the information is easily available if you need it is comforting and refreshes your memory whenever you hit what I call the 'blind spot', and you are unsure which course of action to take next.
But most importantly their practice guides support me in taking decisions that make a positive difference to children and families' lives every day. Following the Parental Mental Health resource guides as a student, helped me to successfully reunite a child living in a foster home with their mother, which was a good outcome for everyone involved. The new Think child, think parent, think family, is the latest resource I have accessed and used as guidance in my practice.
For me the clear format and colours used on their website are also noticeable - I am marginally colour-blind and have difficulty using some websites, but the colours on SCIE's website are really accessible. Now working in Peterborough and talking to the current students, I always recommend SCIE.
Social workers page
Go to our social workers page for:
- The newly qualified Social Worker resource
- SCIE/NICE guidance on Looked After Children
- Supporting carers
- Parental mental health - Think Child, Think Parent, Think Family
- Safeguarding Children - the SCIE model
- Personalisation in adult services
- Interpreting and delivering the Mental Capacity Act
- Social Care Online - research and information
- The Good Practice Framework
Newly qualified social workers
This resource has been designed to support you to meet the 12 outcomes statements contained in the NQSW framework in adult services developed by Skills For Care