Capabilities Statement for adults with learning disability · of adults with learning disabilities....
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toolkits for social workers, organisations, people with lived experience and educators Capabilities Statement for adults with learning disability Implementation resources:
Transcript of Capabilities Statement for adults with learning disability · of adults with learning disabilities....
toolkits for social workers, organisations, people with lived experience and educators
Capabilities Statement for adults with learning disability Implementation resources:
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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Information sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The role of the social worker with people with learning disabilities
Top Tips for social workers from adults with learning disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Induction tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Using the Capabilities Statement to build and sustain positive relationships with adults with a learning disability
Reflective tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Using the Capabilities Statements for social with adults with a learning disability in 1:1 and group/peer supervision
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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Introduction
These implementation resources support social workers, organisations, people with lived experience and higher education institutions to implement the Capabilities Statement and continuous professional development (CPD) pathway for social work with adults with learning disability.
The resources have been developed with the support of a cross-sector Advisory Group, including people with lived experience, social workers and educators. The resources include: l a practice toolkit for social workers:
including a video featuring Jill, Jackie and Brendan from Synergy part of Camden Disability Action, plus easy read material
l a toolkit for adults with learning disabilities: including resources that explain the role of the social worker, a feedback resource as part of the Hair Tool, plus easy read material. Resources for critical friends: a video and visual Hair Tool designed by people with lived experience, questions for adults with learning disabilities and social workers to gather feedback and evaluate the impact of practice
l a self-evaluation tool for organisations l a post-graduate curriculum outline for
higher education institutions, including how to develop a modular, blended learning approach
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Background In September 2019, BASW published the Capabilities Statement and continuous professional development (CPD) pathway for social work with adults with learning disability, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Written for the England practice and policy contexts, the Capabilities Statement was co-produced with adults with learning disabilities, families and carers. The Capabilities Statement shows social workers what they need to know and be able to do, to make positive changes in the lives of adults with learning disabilities. The DHSC also commissioned and funded the development of additional resources and activities to support organisations and social workers working with adults with learning disabilities to embed the Capabilities Statement into social work practice. The aim of this work is to develop a consistent pathway for professional development for social workers, and their employers, and help to ensure that people who use their services are supported by social workers with consistent levels of professional skills. Work to develop these additional resources was led by BASW, in partnership with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and Research in Practice for Adults (RIPfA). It was supported by a cross-sector Advisory Group including practitioners, experts-by-experience and educators and informed by wider consultation with the profession, people with lived experience and organisational leaders.
Special thanks to Jill, Jackie and Brendan from Synergy part of Camden Disability Action, members of the Embedding Capabilities Advisory group and other key partners, Bradford City Council Learning Disability service, SORM studios and the City of Stoke-on-Trent Council Learning Disability service, people, families and carers in the development of the toolkit resources. Within these toolkits there are key messages for supervisors, managers, organisational leaders, and educators. Their role includes ensuring that opportunities for social workers to use the Capabilities Statement and toolkit to inform practice are created and supported. How do the toolkits support social work practice? The toolkits: l were developed with sector feedback and
involvement l incorporate feedback from people and
families with lived experience l promote the role and contribution of
social work with adults with learning disabilities
l link to the capabilities statement for social work with adults with learning disabilities providing an evidence base for practice
l provide opportunities for learning, critical reflection, and development
l are designed to support evidence of continuous professional development to meet standard 4 of the regulatory professional standards set by Social Work England.
How to use the toolkits Each toolkit provides an introduction and explanation about how and when to use it. The toolkits can be used as a whole or at different times to support best practice with adults with learning disabilities, families, and carers.
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Introduction
The idea for this information sheet came from telephone interviews, a survey and in consultation with people with a learning disability. They told us it would be helpful to create a simple information sheet about the role of the social worker that they could give to adults with learning disabilities and their families. The information sheet comes in two parts, the first is this page which introduces the resource. The second page contains the information sheet which has been developed to share with people and families.
When can this information sheet be used? It can be shared with a person and/or their family before a visit, during a visit or after a visit from a social worker. It can be used to demonstrate the following areas of the Capabilities Statement in practice:
l Developing relationships with people and families
l Helping people to live the life they choose l Recognising people’s abilities and
strengths l Promoting rights-based practice l Pursuing partnership and co-production l Being accountable In line with the Practice section of the Capabilities Statement, sharing this type of information with people can help to build trust and positive relationships with adults with learning disabilities and families. All the information can be adapted to reflect people’s individual circumstances or local arrangements for the provision of social work. There is an accessible version of the information sheet in Easy Read. The points included are also reflected in the critical friend Hair feedback tool that has been developed to share with people and families to obtain their views about the service they receive Watch this video clip that explains what the Hair tool is and how to use it. Feedback gathered from adults with learning disabilities and their families can be used to inform critical reflection and identify learning and development needs and areas for service improvement within organisations.
INFORMATION SHEET
The role of the social worker with people with learning disabilities
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4 Find out the best way to communicate with you
4 Listen to you 4 Explain what your rights are 4 Support and include you in decisions
about your life 4 Find out what your interests and strengths
are as well as things you like to do 4 Support you to do the things you like and
enjoy doing 4 Believe that people with learning
disabilities are skilled at lots of things 4 Make it possible to use your life-skills and
choose things for themselves
6 Make a clinical diagnosis of learning disability
6 Focus on your diagnosis of learning disability
6 Label you or make assumptions about you
What social workers do:
4 Help you to speak out and have your voice heard
4 Find out how having a learning disability and any other health conditions affect you
4 Explain how to get the support you are entitled to
4 Work with you to develop a plan of support
4 Support you at different stages in your life 4 Offer support to families and carers of
people with a learning disability 4 If you are a parent, support you in your
role 4 Work with others to improve access to
services 4 Work to stop abuse.
6 Focus on what you cannot do 6 Apply rules about behaviour that are
different to other people 6 Ignore your past experiences of services 6 Ignore abuse 6 Make decisions for you 6 Listen to everybody else apart from you 6 Take away your freedom 6 Ignore the views of people important to
you 6 Tell you what to do.
What social workers don’t do:
The role of the social worker with adults with learning disabilities – information sheet
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As my social worker, I want you to:
4 Know how I communicate 4 Be friendly, kind and get to know me 4 Provide easy to read information about
money, housing, support and other things that I may need to make decisions about
4 Understand that things can change 4 Think about how you give me difficult
information.
As my social worker, I want you to:
4 Use simple language 4 Prepare for visits 4 Think about using activities to help me
communicate 4 Take the time to visit me, listen to me and
understand how I express my feelings 4 Stick to what we’ve agreed and let me know
if anything needs to change 4 Help me to make my own decisions – bring
information that I can understand with you.
As my social worker, I want you to:
4 Ask me, do not tell me 4 Focus on what I can do 4 Treat me as an equal 4 Support me to make choices for myself 4 Respect my privacy – do not share inform-
ation about me without my permission 4 Keep in touch, tell me what is happening
next 4 Tell me why if my social worker is changing.
Knowledge
Skills and interventions
How you treat me (Values, ethics and personal behaviours)
As my social worker, I don’t want you to:
6 Waste my time 6 Be late, not turn up or cancel
appointments with me 6 Be mean or rush me 6 Assume I am ok, ask me 6 Say one thing but do another 6 Make promises you cannot keep 6 Ignore me 6 Make decisions for me 6 Focus on my diagnosis only 6 Judge me 6 Ignore my behaviour or feelings.
As my social worker, I don’t want you to:
6 Forget to bring information or give me the wrong information
6 Turn up knowing nothing about me 6 Patronise me or talk to others about me
first 6 Keep changing my social worker.
As my social worker, I don’t want you to:
6 Just get your laptop when you visit me, have a conversation first
6 Rush your visit or make me feel like I am wasting your time, or that I am not important to you
6 Look at your watch all the time or keep checking your mobile phone.
Knowledge
Skills and interventions
Personal behaviours (How you treat me)
Tops Tips for social workers from adults with learning disabilities
What I want my social worker to do
What I do not want my social worker to do6
TOP TIPS
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Skills and
interventions
Values, ethics andpersonal behaviours
Kno
wle
dge
Criticalreflection
What was most important to people with lived experience?
Induction tool
Using the Capabilities Statement to build and sustain positive relationships with adults with a learning disability
Social work with adults with a learning disability is about building and maintaining relationships, supporting people to deal with a range of issues that may be impacting upon their life: “the small and the big stuff” - recognising the impact of discrimination and the importance of social and rights-based approaches. This tool can be used by social workers at the start of their career or by more experienced social workers who may be new to working with people with learning disabilities. The tool supports a rights and relationship based approach to working with adults with a learning disability and should be viewed alongside the short video featuring Jill, Jackie and Brendan from Synergy. The capabilities that people with lived experience said were the most important to them were:
l Knowledge
l Skills and interventions
l Values, ethics and personal behaviours.
The graphic below provides an illustration of where these capabilities sit within the over-arching Professional Capabilities Framework.
This tool has been developed by people with lived experience, social workers, and advocacy organisations, to support social workers to develop and demonstrate the capabilities that are most important to people with learning disabilities. This includes building and sustaining positive working relationships with people and their families.
The tool should be read and used in conjunction with the Practice elements of the Capabilities Statement, to plan and prepare for home visits to an adult with a learning disability and to reflect on practice, to aid learning and development.
The diagram above illustrates the elements of social work capability that were emphasised throughout the co-production and development of the Capabilities Statement with people with lived experience, their
families and professional stakeholders, particularly within the Steering Group.
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l How can you use the capabilities statements to help you plan your interaction/visit to the person/family? (also see Top Tips information sheet)
l How will you ensure that the visit is accessible for the person in terms of the way they communicate?
l The environment where you will meet the person – including any access considerations of sensory needs e.g. lighting, impact of noise (air conditioner) etc
l What information do you need to take with you to the visit that you can give to the person?
l Who else do you need to speak to about the visit?
l What information and joint decisions you need to talk to the person about
l Have you got a way of contacting the person that they are comfortable with if you are going to be late?
l How will you make contact and arrange the visit?
l How are you going to actively engage with and involve the person with a learning disability?
l What accessible information can you send out in advance of the visit? (Hint – consider the role of the social worker tool)
l Are there any communication aids that the person uses that you need to familiarise yourself with?
l Have you planned how you will get there to ensure you are on time?
l Have you offered the person the opportunity to have someone else they trust present at the visit?
l Have you helped them choose an accessible environment to meet that they are comfortable with?
l How will you find out and record the person’s wishes and feelings with their involvement as much as possible?
l How you feel about visiting this person, have you explored this with colleagues and/or your manager?
Knowledge Skills and interventions
Values, ethics and personal behaviours
Before you visit/meet the person you should consider the following:
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l Think of an example during the visit when the Capabilities Statement informed your approach/your response/your behaviour
l What went well/not so well AND how do you know? (think about using the feedback tool to provide evidence here)
l What would you do differently next time?
l How did the visit go? The positives and strengths of the meeting and anything you could do to improve future contact
l Reflect on your experience of using the Capabilities Statement – was it positive/negative?
l What feelings did you experience during and after the visit?
l Explore the impact of your feelings on your behaviour and decision making
l Consider your own values and the impact on the situation
Knowledge Values, ethics and personal behaviours
Skills and interventions
l Have you explained your role and the reason for the visit?
l What barriers have you identified to the person having control of their life?
l Have you clarified what will be discussed and what will happen next?
l How do you demonstrate that you are listening to the person?
l What do you do to help the person feel comfortable?
l How do you provide information to the person?
l What do you do to check their understanding during the meeting and in summarising at the end?
l How do you explore the person’s right to make their own decisions and any support they may need to assist them with this?
l Are you aware of how you are feeling and behaving towards the person?
l Consider your values and ethics throughout the meeting and the impact that may have on how you engage with the person.
l Have you identified what the person likes to do and what they feel they are good at?
l Have you identified what is important to the person?
l How are you capturing their wishes and feelings with their involvement?
Knowledge
Skills and interventions
Values, ethics and personal behaviours
During the visit to the person consider the following:
After the visit to the person and/or family – Use the following questions to critically reflect upon the capabilities drawn upon in this situation:
Engaging in the above will provide evidence in relation to Standard 4.6, 4.7, 4.8 Maintaining my Continuous Professional Development of the regulatory Professional standards for social workers set by Social Work England.
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Introduction
This tool has been designed to help you use the Capabilities Statement for adults with learning disabilities in order to critically reflect upon your practice. It can be used in one-to-one supervision, with a peer or as part of group supervision and in a social care or multi-professional team or setting.
Reflective tool
Using the Capabilities Statements for social with adults with a learning disability in 1:1 and group/peer supervision
Evidence of Continuous Professional Development Engaging with this tool and using the questions to capture your reflections can be used to provide evidence in relation to Standards 4.1-4.8 Maintaining my Continuous Professional Development of the regulatory Professional standards for social workers set by Social Work England.
Choose one or more of the key messages from the Capabilities Statement for social work with adults with learning disabilities. These are set out below using the three super-domains from the Professional Capabilities Framework as headings: Purpose, Practice, Impact. Consider the points and questions below each key message to explore and critically reflect on your practice in the context of the Capabilities Statement.
How to use the tool
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A key message from the Capabilities Statement for social work with adults with learning disabilities describes purpose in the following way: Good social work practice occurs when social workers skilfully combine personal values, behaviour, knowledge, and skills to help people achieve the outcomes that mean the most to them. Points and questions to aid critical reflection:
l Think of a situation from your practice
when you feel you have demonstrated good social work practice as described in the key message
l Describe the situation to your supervisor or peers
l Reflect on what you did, your use of self and the approach (s) you took, theories and/or methods you used
l Explore your feelings in relation to the situation
l Consider your own values and the impact they had
l What went well from your perspective? l What was the feedback from the person
and/or their family? l What were the views of other
professionals/organisations? l What were the challenges? l What have you learnt, with particular
reference to structural inequality and discrimination issues?
l How will this influence your practice in the future?
A key message from the Capabilities Statement for social work with adults with learning disabilities describes practice in the following way:
‘(It’s about) relationship based social work practice. Social work with people with a learning disability differs from generic adult social work… With people with learning disabilities the social worker gets much more involved in the person’s life, dealing with the small stuff, as well as the main issues/concerns/area of need… mental capacity is considered on a day by day (minute by minute) basis… the social worker is the co-ordinator, working in partnership with all other professionals, families, providers and most importantly the person themselves.’
Points and questions to aid critical reflection:
l Think of a situation from your practice working with a person with a learning disability that reflects the social work role as described above
l Describe the situation to your supervisor or peers
l Reflect on what you did, your use of self
The reflective tool
Purpose
Purpose: This section of the Professional Capabilities Framework relates to why we do what we do as social workers, our values and ethics and how we approach our work. It includes the domains: 2 – Values and Ethics; 3 – Diversity and Equality; 4 – Rights, Justice and Economic Wellbeing.
Practice
Practice: The practice section describes the knowledge, skills and critical reflection capabilities specific to social work practice with adults with learning disabilities. It includes the PCF domains: 5 – Knowledge; 6 – Critical Reflection and Analysis; 7 – Skills and Interventions. This section of the Capabilities Statement explains the theoretical, empirical practice knowledge and the skills required to have a positive impact in the lives of people with lived experience. This part of the Capabilities Statement particularly relates to the Knowledge and Skills Statement for Social Workers in Adult Services.
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and the approach (s) you took, theories and/or methods you used
l Explore your feelings in relation to the situation
l Consider your own values and the impact they had
l What went well from your perspective? l What was the feedback from the person
and/or their family? l What were the views of other
professionals/organisations? l What were the challenges? l What have you learnt, with particular
reference to structural inequality and discrimination issues?
l How will this influence your practice in the future?
Points and questions to aid critical reflection:
l Think of a situation (s) from your practice working with a person with a learning disability when you have demonstrated the above
l Describe the situation to your supervisor or peers
l Reflect on what you did, your use of self and the approach (s) you took, theories and/or methods you used
l Explore your feelings in relation to the situation
l Consider your own values and the impact they had
l What went well from your perspective? l What was the feedback from the person
and/or their family? l What were the views of other
professionals/organisations? l What were the challenges? l What have you learnt, with particular
reference to structural inequality and discrimination issues?
l How will this influence your practice in the future?
Key messages from the Capabilities Statement for social work with adults with learning disabilities describes impact in the following way: People with lived experience involved in co-producing the Capabilities Statement said social workers should demonstrate their professionalism by being: l Accountable: ‘[the] social worker shouldn’t
be scared to ask for guidance and support. I think that is [an] important [value]’.
l Reflective: ‘Knowing when to say sorry and learning from your mistakes’
l Motivated to care for them: ‘[to] navigate difficult paths [in my life]’ and ‘make time for me.’
Impact
Impact: in the Professional Capabilities Framework is about ‘How we make a difference and how we know we make a difference. Our ability to bring about change through our practice, through our leadership, through understanding our context and through our overall professionalism.’ It includes Domains 1 – Professionalism; 8 – Contexts and Organisations; 9 – Professional Leadership
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National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2018, People with Learning Disabilities. Available: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/population-groups/people-with-learning-disabilities
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2019, Person centred future planning Quick Guide. Available: www.nice.org.uk/Media/Default/About/NICE-Communities/Social-care/quick-guides/person-centred-future-planning-quick-guide.pdf
Oldham Council SEND Guidance: Person Centred Planning Toolkit Available: www.oldham.gov.uk/downloads/file/3779/send_guidance_person_centred_planning_toolkit Reach Support for Living: A paradigm product, 2019. Available: https://paradigm-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/A-Practical-Guide-to-The-Reach-Standards-2019-compressed-1.pdf
Skills for Health, Core Capabilities Framework for Supporting People with Learning Disabilities www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/services/item/945
Social Care Institute for Excellence, Learning Disabilities resources www.scie.org.uk/atoz/?f_az_subject_thesaurus_terms_s=learning+disabilities&st=atoz
The Power of Small Gestures: Emotions and Relationships in Social Worker Practice www.sheffield.ac.uk/social-sciences/study/crook-public-services-fellowship/disability-disadvantage-cohort
British Association of Social Workers, 2018, Professional Capabilities Framework Available: www.basw.co.uk/system/files/ resources/pcf-fan.pdf
British Association of Social Workers, 2019, Capabilities Statement for Social Workers Working with Adults with Learning Disability. Available: www.basw.co.uk/capabilities-social-work-adults-who-have-learning-disability
British Association of Social Workers, 2019, Continuing professional development pathway for Social Workers Working with Adults with Learning Disability. Available: www.basw.co.uk/system/files/resources/CPD%20Pathway%20Print%2013.06.19%20web.pdf
Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2008, A Guide to the Human Rights Act, A booklet for people with learning disabilities. Available: www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/human-rights-act-learning-disabilities.pdf
Helen Sanderson Associates, Person Centred Thinking Tools: What’s working/not working: http://helensandersonassociates.co.uk/person-centred-practice/person-centred-thinking-tools/whats-workingnot-working
Include me to, video to explain communication and hospital passports: https://includemetoo.org.uk/covid19
Justice for LB Toolkit, 2018, Communication profile, Available: www.advocacyfocus.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=75b96073-a869-40d2-b23d-1119230070fb
360 Degree health care and rehabilitation services Ltd, My Life. Available: www.360degreeshealthcare.co.uk
References
Capabilities Statement social work with adults with learning disability
Cite as: BASW (2020) Capabilities Statement for adults with learning disability Implementation resources: toolkits for social workers, organisations, people with lived experience and educators. BASW: Birmingham. Users are welcome to quote from this guide so long as the source is correctly cited as above. Unattributed quotes are forbidden under copyright protection. www.basw.co.uk
