Private Care Sector Workforce Initiative
Practice learning in Care Homes - 2009 Pilot Project report
The report of this successful pilot project can be accessed by Clicking here.
A further event was held on 9th December in Edinburgh to review the pilot project and to plan the next steps in the process. An evaluation of this event can be viewed by clicking here
Full Details of the Pilot Project are below
Summary
Funded by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Scottish Care in partnership with the Scottish Social Services Learning Network South East, arranged that nine private sector care homes in Edinburgh, Lothians and the Scottish Borders areas would offer a practice learning opportunity (placement) to a social work student. Scottish Care worked through the Private Care Sector Workforce Initiative for its part of this pilot project.
This was seen as a ground breaking venture as the care home sector in Scotland have not previously been significantly involved in offering practice learning opportunities to students on a professional social work programme, although there has been substantial involvement in practice learning for social care staff and in nurse education. The changing demography of the population and the strategic and policy shift to community based care of older people, in particular, has implications for the education, knowledge and skills of social work students and social workers as a whole. This project was perceived in part as a means to engage in some of the issues regarding the place of social work in care homes and to open a dialogue between care homes, social work educators, local authority social work services, the SSSC and the Scottish Government. Prior to this pilot, in 2008, a scoping exercise was carried out by Scottish Care and this addressed some of the wider issues in relation to practice learning in care homes in Scotland.
A key aspect of this project was to develop capacity in the care home sector and to consider issues of sustainability in the provision of practice learning opportunities in care homes.
The care homes in the pilot mostly provide care to older people but some units are specialist dementia units and one caters for people with brain injuries. All the students were from the University of Edinburgh and most were on the BSc programme. All the placements were first placements for the students and lasted 68 days, from early March to early June 2009. Three experienced independent practice teachers provided the supervision and assessment of these students. A five day course was provided for the link workers, all of whom were new to this role and this is referred to as the ‘link-up course.’
One home opted out of the project in the early stages for internal reasons and one home offered to take two students, so nine students had placements in eight homes within the project.
The staff selected as link workers in the homes were registered nurses. Their functions included unit manager, depute home manager and care home manager.
The project was considered a success on various levels by all those who took part. The care homes, the practice teachers and the university are all willing to engage in similar work again.
In the context of the developing policy framework, the work of the project also serves to raise issues in relation to the future education, roles, knowledge and skills of social work and social workers in working with older people; and highlights the lack of integration in the learning and assessment processes across social work, social care and nursing in the care home setting.
Report from the Scoping Exercise - June 2008:
‘To carry out a scoping exercise to inform the development of a sustainable framework of Practice Learning Opportunities in care homes for older people, with specific reference to the independent sector.’
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Report from the Practice Learning Opportunities in Care Homes Project - July 2009:
‘Practice Learning Opportunities in Care Homes: A report of a project to provide social work practice learning opportunities in private care homes in the South East of Scotland’
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Two extracts from this report are also available:
• ‘Reminiscence Work in Dementia Care: A case study of student work in a care home placement’
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• ‘Guides to Placement Activities in Care Homes’
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A further event was held on 9th December in Edinburgh to review the findings of the pilot project and to plan the next steps in the process. An evaluation of this event can be viewed by clicking here.
If you are interested in taking a social work student in your care home or care at home/housing support service, please contact David Rennie at or at 07946 607532.
