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So how does our teaching help social workers to develop?
Firstly, we regard all our students as social workers in training and we require them to
sign up to a professional and academic code of conduct and practice. As a staff group
we are committed to social justice and relationship based practice and this commitment informs
all of our teaching and learning. Students are given the opportunity to take part in
a range of simulated practice situations, designed to give the student the opportunity
to demonstrate and develop effective communication skills in the different situations they are
likely to encounter in their day to day practice. This communication skills teaching complements
the extensive practice learning that occurs throughout our programme. These placements
provide our students with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and apply their
knowledge in situations that are often very stressful and very demanding. Students are
educated to understand the wider social and political context in which they have to practice,
hence they have to develop their knowledge base of relevant social policies and understand
the impact that poverty and inequality can have on the lives of people that they come
into contact with as social workers. Students are taught about different legal and policy
frameworks, theories of human development and different methods of intervention. Students
are assessed, not only on their understanding, but also on their ability to apply this knowledge
base to different practice situations which they might encounter. This application of
knowledge to practice has recently been highly commended by the external examiners of our
BA programme.