Walk a few miles in somebody elses shoes

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Walk a few miles in somebody elses shoes

• Involving people who use social care services and
  their carers in social work training at Luton
  University

JSWEC Conference July 2005
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Conference theme

• Challenging Service Userism in Learning,
  Practice and Research

A summary of the methods developed by David
Thomas and Annie Lawton together with people who
use services and carers
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Four areas of work..

• Interviewing students to come on the course
• Teaching students
• Assessing to see how students are doing
• Being part of a group to manage the work

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Where did we start?

• Involve a good mix of people
• Involve people from the start not an add on
• Involvement should have meaning
• Think about the support people need
• Be prepared to do things differently

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Involve a good mix of people

• People with a learning disability
• The elderly
• People using mental health services
• Children with disabilities
• Children and families (including foster carers)
• Adults with physical disabilities
• Social work students

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Involve people from the start

• We listened to lots of different people who
  use services and their carers. We asked them
• What makes a good social worker?
• What should they do?
• What do they need to learn to do this?

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They all agreed 6 skills

• Communication
• Managing their time and workload
• Problem solving
• Learning from experience
• Focussing on the client
• Understanding how all the different parts of a
  persons life can affect them

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Involvement should have meaning

• Did these skills match the things that social
  work students would be taught and assessed on at
  university?
• Do they fit with the key roles that social
  work students have to learn about?

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Key Roles

• Key Role 1
• Prepare for, and work with individuals,
  families, carers, groups and communities to
  assess their needs and circumstances
• Key Role 2
• Plan, carry out, review and evaluate social work
  practice, with individuals, families, carers,
  groups, communities and other professionals
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• Key Role 3
• Support individuals to represent their needs,
  views and circumstances

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• Key Role 4
• Manage risk to individuals, families, carers,
  groups, communities, self and colleagues
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• Key Role 5
• Manage and be accountable, with supervision and
  support, for your own social work practice within
  your organisation
• Key Role 6
  Demonstrate professional competence
  in social work practice

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Think about support

• Support needs to be built in from the start
• Someone to contact
• Transport
• Information
• Child care / carer support
• Meetings where and when?
• Payment and expenses

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Do things differently

• Teaching doesnt have to be in the university
• Interviews dont have to be formal
• Assessment sheets can have pictures on
• Drumming can teach you a lot about yourself!

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People wear lots of different shoes!
Social work student who is a carer for his Mum
Social worker who uses social care services
Care home resident who used to be an occupational
therapist
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What about you?

• How many different pairs of shoes do you wear?

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Summary

• We have started the work
• We are all learning a lot
• There is still a long way to go
• But walking in someone elses shoes helps you
  to understand what their life is like and learn
  how to work together.

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• Thank you!
• Any questions?