Studying at York
Law and Policy for Social Work Apprentices - SPY00048I
- Department: Social Policy and Social Work
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
In this module you will be introduced to the legal and policy frameworks for statutory social work practice. The module will enable you to understand how policy and law inform statutory social work practice, and in turn how social workers can shape law and policy as ‘street-level’ actors.
This module provides apprentices with a foundational understanding of the policy and legal frameworks for social work and the application of these frameworks to complex social work situations. Apprentices will understand how social workers apply legal and policy frameworks as well and appreciate the role of social workers in influencing how policy and law are enacted. The module will therefore prepare students for practice in relation to the following Professional Capability Framework domains:
Values and ethics – make connections between professional ethical principles, personal values, and working within policy and legal frameworks.
Rights, justice and economic well-being – understand what is meant by rights and justice in social work, and recognise how policy and legal frameworks can both strengthen and constrain rights-based practice.
Knowledge – develop an initial understanding of the policy and legal frameworks and guidance, which inform and sometimes mandate social work practice.
Contexts and organisations – understand how socio-political context shapes the field of social work, and the role that social workers can play in shaping and challenging this context.
Module learning outcomes
At the end of the module students will be able to:
LO1: Apply knowledge of the policy and legal frameworks statutory social workers operate within.
LO2: Understand the key concepts, trends and contemporary challenges in social work law and policy.
LO3: Demonstrate awareness of the complexities in applying social work law in practice.
LO4: Understand the effects of relevant policy implementation on social work practice and service users.
LO5: Develop an appreciation of the various forms of action social workers can take to shape both policy agendas and their ‘street-level’ application.
Module content
The module will include a mix of interactive workshops, bespoke seminars and complementary online learning. The workshops will include a mix of law and policy oriented content across multiple domains of social work practice.
The law content will give apprentices insight into how law is applied within different domains of social work, including: understanding contextual challenges; working with thresholds; balancing risk, rights and best interests in decision-making; and making defensible and evidence-based judgements. It will draw on materials from case law, practitioner accounts of legal decision-making in complex and contentious cases, and service user experiences of statutory intervention in their lives.
The policy content will introduce apprentices to the current and relevant policy landscape and familiarise them with critical debates and concepts in social work policy.
Online learning and private study will supplement the workshops and seminars, and is designed to deepen apprentices’ foundational knowledge of the legal frameworks for social work. It will involve students working through a series of exercises from a textbook on social work law (see key texts section for details), which will align with the law content of in-person teaching.
Indicative content - all workshop based and 3 hours in length:
Week 1 - Introduction to law and policy: The roles and responsibilities of social workers, human rights law, and the relationship between policy and practice.
Week 2 - Child & Family law and policy: The key principles and functions of the Children Act 1989 and a critical analysis of contemporary legal and policy developments.
Week 3 - Child & Family law and policy: The key principles and functions of the Children Act 1989 and a critical analysis of contemporary legal and policy developments.
Week 4 - Risk, rights and needs: A critical analysis of the interplay between risk, rights and needs as key concepts within social work policy and practice.
Week 5 - Adult Social Care law & policy: The key principles and functions of the Care Act 2014 and a critical analysis of contemporary legal and policy developments.
Week 6 - Adult Social Care law & policy: The key principles and functions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and a critical analysis of contemporary legal and policy developments.
Week 7 - Poverty aware practice: How poverty is defined and measured, the proposed causes of and solutions for poverty, how poverty is experienced.
Week 8 - Mental health law & policy: The key principles and functions of the Mental Health Act 1983 and a critical analysis of contemporary legal and policy developments.
Week 9 - Mental health law & policy: The key principles and functions of the Mental Health Act 1983 and a critical analysis of contemporary legal and policy developments.
Week 10 - Enacting change and operating with discretion in social work law and policy: The role of discretion for social workers operating within statutory frameworks and the possibilities for policy practice in social work, including collaborative approaches with service user groups.
Week 11 - The legal contexts for social work practice + assessment clinic: A broad overview of the areas of law that influence social work practice, including housing, immigration and youth justice.
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
Carr, H. and Goosey, D. (2021) Law for Social Workers (16th ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cunningham, J. and Cunningham, S. (2017) Social policy and social work: An introduction. Exeter: Learning Matters.
Dickens, J. (2016) Social work and social policy: An introduction. London: Routledge.
Klammer, U., Leiber, S., & Leitner, S. (Eds.). (2019) Social Work and the Making of Social Policy. Bristol: Bristol University Press.