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Social Work Skills: Creative Approaches to Working with Individuals and Groups - SPY00041I

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  • Department: Social Policy and Social Work
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2024-25

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

This module will provide you with an opportunity to learn and practice some core social work skills, such as communication, collaboration and negotiation with others. It will prepare you for working within an organisation and introduce key aspects of organisational skills that you will draw on in the workplace. Although the module has a focus on skills required for social work, the module will be of value to anyone interested in learning more about positive working within teams and organisations, and the material is applicable to a wide range of professional situations.

The classes will include taught material but there will also be an emphasis on practising the skills in the classroom and discussing their relevance to practice. There will be input from People with Lived Experience (PLE), who will be leading one of the classes; the presentation task will also focus on various interventions to support PLE.

The module will help you to demonstrate that you have developed your understanding of the following Professional Capabilities Framework domains:

Knowledge

Values and Ethics

Contexts and Organisations

Professionalism

Skills and Interventions

Critical Reflection and Analysis

Module learning outcomes

Having completed the module, students will be able to:

1: Demonstrate an ability to communicate, negotiate and collaborate effectively with others

2: Practice evaluation skills such as information management and critical reflection and understand how these can be applied to working with different social groups.

3: Demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of approaches and ideas that inform professional practice

4: Demonstrate an ability to work constructively with other students to create presentations and research and present information clearly

5: Articulate an understanding of service user knowledge and experience of receiving services

6: Identify areas of personal strength and areas requiring further development in respect to future employment

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 50
Groupwork 50

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 50
Essay/coursework 50

Module feedback

Feedback will be given in accordance with the University Policy on feedback in the Guide to Assessment as well as in line with the School policy.

Indicative reading

Brandler, S (2015) Group Work: Skills and Strategies for Effective Interventions (3rd ed) Routledge

Koprowska, J. (2014) Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Social Work, (4th ed) Learning Matters

Rogers, M. et al. (2016) Developing Skills for Social Work Practice, London: SAGE

Thompson, N and Thompson, S (2018) The Critically Reflective Practitioner, (2nd ed) Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke

Thompson, N (2021) People Skills (5th ed) Red Globe Press


Trevithick, P (2021) Social Work Skills and Knowledge: A Practice Handbook (3rd ed) McGraw-Hill/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.