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Reflective Practice for Apprentices - SPY00036C

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  • Department: Social Policy and Social Work
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: C
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25

Module summary

The module is designed to help apprentices to begin to understand the processes involved in reflecting upon practice and the contexts of practice, to appreciate the ways in which critical reflection can contribute to good practice and to explore ethical issues and dilemmas involved in practice. It will also consider the relationship between reflective practice and professional development.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

The module is designed to help apprentices to begin to understand the processes involved in reflecting upon practice and the contexts of practice, to appreciate the ways in which critical reflection can contribute to good practice and to explore ethical issues and dilemmas involved in practice. It will also consider the relationship between reflective practice and professional development.

Apprentices will develop their ability to:

  • reflect upon, analyse and theorise their practice.

  • enhance their skills in assessment and intervention.

  • deepen their understanding of people with lived experience and social issues relevant to social work practice.

  • develop a critical understanding of organisations related to social work.

  • understand the theory and practice of inter-professional working.

Relationship to the domains of the PCF

At the end of this module the apprentices will demonstrate that they have attained the ‘readiness for practice’ level descriptors in the following principal domains:

Professionalism:

Identify and behave as a professional social worker, committed to professional development.

Values and ethics:

Apply social work ethical principles and values to guide professional practices.

Critical reflection and analysis:

Apply critical reflection and analysis to inform and provide a rationale for professional decision-making.

Intervention and skills:

Use judgement, knowledge and authority to understand how to intervene with individuals, families and communities to promote independence, provide support, prevent harm and enable progress.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, apprentices will be able to demonstrate:

  • A developed understanding of the processes of reflection and its relationship to supervision.

  • The ability to use critical reflective thinking in order to describe and analyse their personal and professional development, using creativity and imagination.

  • The ability to use critical reflective thinking in relation to case studies.

  • A developed understanding of a range of models for assessment and intervention in social work practice, including risk assessment and management, and the ability to apply some appropriately to case studies.

  • An understanding of inter-professional, multidisciplinary working.

  • Identify and reflect upon both personal and professional learning.

  • Apply and adapt theory for lived, real situations.

Module content

The module will be taught via weekly 2-hour seminars through Semester 2. Each week the apprentices will be challenged to reflect on specific issues via a range of different material, including research, academic arguments, media representation of social work and social media representations of issues of relevance to social work practice such as poverty. We will also explore the challenges of working with religious and spiritual beliefs and discussing the relative merits of a range of reflective models.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

Non-compensatable

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

In accordance with School policy

Indicative reading

  • Banks, S. (2006) Ethics and Values in Social Work, 3rd Edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

  • Bolton, G. (2005) Reflective Practice: Writing & Professional Development, 2nd Edition, London: Sage Publications

  • Cree, V. & Davies, A. (2007) Inside Social Work, London: Routledge

  • Doel, M. & Best, L. (2008) Experiencing Social Work: Learning from Service Users, London: Sage Publications

  • Fook, J. (2002) Social Work: Critical Theory and Practice, London: Sage Publications

  • Fook, J. & Gardner, F. (2007) Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook, Maidenhead: McGraw Hill

  • Howe, D. (2008) The emotionally intelligent social worker, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

  • Jones, S. (2009) Critical Learning for Social Work Students, Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.

  • Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Leap: Experience as a Source of Learning. Prentice Hall, Eaglewood Cliffs.

  • Moon, J.A. (2006) Learning Journals: A handbook for reflective and professional development, 2nd Edition, Abingdon: Routledge Falmer Moon, J.A. (2008) Critical thinking - an exploration of theory and practice, Abingdon: Routledge Falmer

  • Munro, E. (2011) The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report - A child-centred system, Cm 8062, The Stationary Office, Norwich. Available at: www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/8875_DfE_Munro_Report_TAGGED.pdf

  • Schon, D. (1991) The Reflective Practitioner, London: Arena Ashgate

  • Thompson, S. & Thompson, N. (2008) The Critically Reflective Practitioner, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

  • Trevithick, P (2012) Social Work Skills and Knowledge: a practice handbook (3rd edition). Maidenhead: Open University Press.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.