Working with children and families
This album takes an extensive look at the ins-and-outs of family life and caring for children. It draws on interviews with a wide-ranging selection of professionals, from people who deal directly with children at nurseries or schools to those that help shape national policy, to throw light on national initiatives and schemes such as ChildLine, and explore family life from different perspectives and social levels. This material forms part of The Open University course K204 Working with children a
The law and social work in Scotland
This album tackles the complex relationships social workers experience in the wide spectrum of their work, from those with families affected by social deprivation to those with judges, lawyers and other members of the legal system. The tracks analyse the role of the family in Scottish life in relation to the many voluntary bodies that exist to assist and inform them, and the legal obligations of social workers. Participants from single mothers to solicitors presented their perspectives in a ser
Communication in health and social care
Whether working with older people, vulnerable children or patients suffering ill health or disability, care providers' ability to communicate is not only useful, but essential. This album provides an invaluable insight into all aspects of communication, with both colleagues and service users. It shows how the difficulties of operating effectively in stressful situations can be overcome and even used as a learning and developmental experience. With contributions from carers and service users, thi
Managing care
In the arenas of health and social work, management is a crucial part of ensuring quality of service and care for users and staff, and the development of services and standards into the future. The discussions and interviews in this album focus on the importance of management strategies and techniques and garner the opinions and insights of staff at all levels, as well as those in care. These in-depth and frank audio tracks give a real-life sense of the managerial experience, including starting
Social care, social work and the law
The law and aspects of the legal system have a massive impact on the lives of social workers, from defining policy and procedure to the actual process of day-to-day working. This album presents an encompassing and engrossing look at the interaction between legal and social teams, and how different professions and groups interact to ensure equality and representation for all members of society. Not only do these discussions offer an insight into the justification and implementation of policy, the
Growing up with Disability
In todays world growing up is tough - making friends, fitting in, changing schools. And it's even harder for children with disabilities. This album looks at PLUS, an organisation working towards the inclusion of disabled children and young adults in social activities and organisations, encouraging friendships and fun. It looks at PLUS from the view of the children, the carers and the families.
This material forms part of The Open University course KE312 Working together for children.Author(s):
Critical social work practice
This series of tracks looks at social work practice around the world and compares attitudes and management techniques within the social work field. Material is taken from The Open University Course K315 Critical social work practice. The OpenLearn team.
First published on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 as Author(s):
Challenging ideas in mental health
Mental health service users often feel - and often are - disempowered from taking control of their own destiny. The video tracks on this album tell the story of people who have been confined to the psychiatric wing of a large Northern hospital. Scripted and acted by mental health service users/survivors, A Quiet Night on Roundhay Wing presents an insiders' perspective on the people and practices that have dominated – and defined – their lives, often over many years. Although the events port
Social Care: Past and Present
Issues surrounding care and welfare affect people in many different ways - it may depend on individual circumstances or on the location and nature of the community. The tracks on this album look at welfare issues faced by different communities across the UK, focusing mainly on care of the elderly, and people with physical or mental disabilities. The album also explores how care and welfare in the community has changed over the years. This material was part of The Open University course K202 C
Introduction This course looks at the way people identify and become attached to places, buildings and objects. It also analyses how this attachment can impact on personal well-being. Understanding this is important in assessing the care people of all ages need and how this care should be delivered. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Author(s):
Introduction This course examines life stories. It looks at the way in which objects, trends, cultures or disabilities may contribute to a person's identity. This course also considers the contribution that our own life stories make to who we are, and how remembering and revisiting our past may help us to move forward with our lives. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Author(s):
Introduction The majority of people who sleep on the streets, and in hostels and night shelters are men. However, the number of women, particularly younger women, in these circumstances has increased (Anderson et al., 1993). They are often people with complex care and support needs, which go way beyond the provision of accommodation. But, as you will learn in this course, complex needs are both a cause and a product of homelessness. In this audio course, you will hear from four people, who will each
Understanding the past
Care can make deep inroads into personal lives and life narratives, so it is essential that care workers are sensitive to this and provide appropriate support. In this free course, Understanding the past, the history of Lennox Castle Hospital in Scotland provides a focus for considering the impact of institutional life.
First published on Fri, 04 Mar 2016
Introduction The course explores what it means to become a critical social work practitioner by using a series of activities and readings to guide you through some new and important concepts. An understanding of ‘critical perspectives’ will help you take a positive and constructive approach to the challenging problems that arise in social work practice. You will be introduced to a critical understanding of the nature and boundaries of personal and professional discretion and judgement in the del
Ageing and disability: Transitions into residential care
Moving into a care home can have a profound emotional impact on an individual just the anticipation of residential care is one of the biggest sources of fear for the elderly. This free course, Ageing and disability: Transitions into residential care, discusses the role of social workers and care staff in supporting individuals through the transition, and how residential environments affect quality of life.
Author(s):
9.1 Overview There are over 139,000 social service workers in Scotland, providing care and support to some of the most vulnerable sections of society. The Scottish Social Services Council is responsible for specifying the standards to which social service workers involved in providing or delivering social work, social care services, early education and child care will work. In this section of the OpenLearn Scotland collection, we look at issues relating to social care by focusing on three particular
8.7 Fuel poverty in Scotland Fuel poverty is a critical issue facing people on very low incomes, particularly in countries like Scotland, with its severe winters. Winter deaths are disproportionately high when compared with other parts of Britain. This course aims to give you an understanding of what poverty is like, and how adequate heating can become a matter of life and death. To access this material click on the course link below. It leads to a separate OpenLearn course and will open in a new window.
8.6 Poverty in Scotland Poverty in Scotland 2007 is the fifth in a series of books which, since the mid-1990s, have provided a comprehensive picture of the extent of poverty in Scottish society. Each of these books has been charged with making accessible what is often a complex world of figures, diverse measurements, competing definitions and contrasting interpretations of poverty – and identifying what should be done to address poverty. This book is presented as a pdf and was first produced in 2006.
8.5 Who belongs to Glasgow? There are many different ways of interpreting and representing the character and identity of a place – many different geographical imaginations. Identities of places are a product of social action and of how people construct their own representations of particular places. Thus this course explores ideas about place and identity using the concept of ‘geographical imagination’. This is achieved by examining the images that represent a place, to reveal how those images came about and
5.5 Science in the Scottish Enlightenment This course is concerned with science in Scotland, one of the most dynamic centres of Enlightenment thinking. Writers speak of the mid-eighteenth century as Scotland's ‘Golden Age’. In order to get a flavour of this age, it is necessary to take a very broad view of what we mean by ‘science’. Staying within the boundaries recognised by modern science faculties misses most of what is distinctive about eighteenth-century Scotland. The interconnections and cross-fertilisation between disc
