We’ll give you a basic foundation for observing, reflecting on and understanding social work in a variety of settings. We'll introduce you to core theories models and concepts including those relating to human development, which will provide essential theoretical underpinnings for various social work interventions. Building on the concept of the reflective practitioner, we’ll provide you with an opportunity to develop your observational skills and apply relevant theories, so that you can better interpret diverse behaviours, experiences and practices. You’ll consider critical social work, which departs from individualised explanations of social issues, exploring various forms of oppression and injustice in society. A critical perspective generates debate and discourse around the themes and issues pertinent to social work practice. Critical theorists demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice and social change, such as radical, anti-racist and feminist approaches.
Social work has a deep-rooted history with poverty and continues to work with the most marginalised and disadvantaged communities. Social work is committed to social justice and addressing inequalities, yet there are increasingly punitive and harsh attitudes towards poverty. Poverty is often explained in terms of individual failings, yet Social Workers come face to face with the lived experience of hardship and survival. You’ll be introduced to the impact of stress, the concept of wellbeing, outcomes and the relationship to deep-rooted inequality across the lifecourse. Critical Social Workers are in a position to challenge dominant narratives and draw attention to the structural inequalities faced by communities. To be able to uphold professional values such as social justice and equity it is important that Social Workers have a keen awareness of individual and social explanations for the growing divide between rich and poor. We’ll emphasise the importance of where you live matters, encouraging you to pay attention to local factors: neighbourhoods and social networks will also be examined.
View the full module definitionDevelop and enhance your understanding of the legislative frameworks and government guidance documents that underpin the principles of safeguarding adults and children. We’ll equip you with comprehensive knowledge supported by evidence-based research of the key principles and approaches to safeguarding, encompassing both children and adults in the remit of social work practice. Safeguarding is the fundamental activity that underpins social work practice, and effective practice in this area requires a competent level of knowledge and understanding of the principles. You’ll explore the signs and categories of harm and abuse, how they may present in different contexts, and particular reference will be made to contemporary safeguarding issues and contextual safeguarding. The concepts of vulnerability and resilience will be examined, emphasising the individual impact of harm and abuse and the importance of a person-centred approach to assessments. Additionally, you’ll gain insights into the potential effects of harm and abuse, emphasising the need for timely and appropriate actions. This module will also cover referral pathways, assessment principles and processes, and the legislative context that underpin thresholds for various stages of safeguarding interventions. Holistically, this module provides a comprehensive understanding of safeguarding principles and practices in social work, equipping you with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively identify, address, and intervene in cases of harm and abuse across diverse contexts
View the full module definitionAlong with its academic component, our Social Work degree includes 200 practice-based learning days, to prepare you to practice safely and effectively in social work settings, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities inherent to social work practice. We'll ensure you are ready for your first placement, by giving you the tools you need to succeed. You'll understand the role and responsibilities of a Social Worker in a professional context, work on your communication skills and develop the ability to engage with various services users, and importantly, reflect on your capacity for learning from feedback and working in a team and under supervision. You'll develop your skills in establishing and maintaining trust and confidence with the people you work with in a safe and respectful manner. You'll begin to embody the values of a social worker, through promotion and advocacy of people's rights. Successful completion of both elements of this module (see assessment tasks further down) will provide students with 30 academic credits and 10 practice-based learning days. Attendance at these skills days are mandatory as they make up the 30 skills days mandated by Social Work England. Therefore, if you miss any of the skills days you’ll be supported to ensure you recover the days you have missed . A minimum of 8 out of the 10 taught days must be attended, recorded by register in order to be eligible for assessment, with the further clause that the remaining 2 days be completed before eligibility for placement.
Entering higher education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all our students to make the most of the opportunities higher education provides, reach your potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You'll be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you'll explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where you collect knowledge and complete mini tasks. You'll proceed at your own pace, though we you to have completed your Into ARU exploration by week 6. If for any reason you're unable to complete by that date, we'll signpost to existing services so that we can be confident that you are supported.
Child and family social work is a complex area of practice that requires a high level of skills and capabilities to promote good enough parenting and positive lived experiences. As a Social Worker you’ll learn to collaborate in complex multidimensional systems that exist to protect and safeguard children and support families. You’ll work with complexity in uncertain ambiguous and unpredictable circumstances. So, you’ll need to understand how to work within guidance and the professional boundaries of your role, in a way which ensures the wellbeing and best interests of children at the centre of decision-making throughout assessments, planning intervention and reviews. You’ll be introduced to current practice models including family focused safeguarding models, FMGs, strengths perspective/signs of safety, systems theory, Family Safeguarding Model and use of evidence from research and Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews. You’ll be supported to recognise signs, symptoms and consequences of child abuse. You’ll understand how to gather, record and share information using analysis and synthesis and report effectively within set procedures and guidelines. Further, Social Workers should critically reflect on their practice to consider the potential impacts on and influences of self where issues of judgement and complex decision making require highly professionalised and responsible approaches.
Along with its academic component, this Social Work course includes 200 practice-based learning days, aimed to prepare students to practice safely and effectively in social work settings, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities inherent to social work practice in England. You’ll undertake 70 practice-based learning days in a social work placement and attend 10 skills and reflection-based days, delivered on campus. You’ll have many opportunities to practice your acquired social work skills, knowledge and values in a safe learning environment, continuously guided by practice assessors (practice educators and onsite supervisors), the module tutor and SUCI representatives (Service Users and Carers Involvement ARU group). You’ll not be able to progress onto your final placement without successfully completing this module, and attendance on all sessions, and placement, is mandatory.
The term Adult has broad meaning and is applied to a spectrum of service user groups. We’ll critique the legislative frameworks (Capacity Act, 2005; Care Act, 2014; Human Rights Act, 1998; Mental Health Act, 1983) with professional standards (Social Work England, 2019) in preparing for statutory social work roles with mental health, disability, addiction, and older persons. Specifically promoting knowledge of legislative expectations for safeguarding, alongside promoting awareness of the legislative principles for mental capacity. Key features include demonstrating a socio-political understanding of the legislative framework, a theoretical rationale for working with both groups and individuals; and a case study approach to interprofessional working, safeguarding, mental capacity and inclusion. This is underpinned with critical theory to promote engagement and accountability with anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practices; in the promotion of freedom from social work services, through the application of language and actions that focus on inclusion. Designed to encourage creativity and innovative practice whilst exploring the underpinnings and implications of theory, research, and practice. You’ll hear from people’s lived experience of mental health services, addiction and rehabilitation services, physical disabilities, as well as being older and being carers.
We’ll introduce you to the relevance of research in social work and developing your research vocabulary. You’ll examine how knowledge is created and applied in the activity of social work. We’ll prepare you for evaluating the quality of knowledge in various forms of presentation, including as evidence or in the interpretation of professional practice. Research, which encompasses the means of collecting and interpreting knowledge is explored through an introduction to research evidence and sources of knowledge including, primary and secondary research, organisations, service users (experience) and legislation. In interpreting, applying, recording and disseminating social work knowledge, we’ll introduce ‘plain English’ standards of report-writing and case description together with balanced and evidence-informed writing techniques. Academic referencing is clarified and applied as an essential skill promoting criticality and accountability in arguing from knowledge. This module will be delivered online.
Collaboration and working together are hugely important at all levels and across all settings when considering how to keep people safe, as they underpin excellent professional practice. This Inter-Professional module is centred around exploring the inter-relation between different factors that make individuals and families vulnerable. It uses the areas of substance misuse, mental health and domestic abuse as the medium through which to explore this and to consider the increased risks of harm to families that result. The rationale for the module is to build your understanding of these subjects, how they interplay in the context of both society and the workplace and in discipline and to understand the complexity and importance of a collaborative response in supporting and meeting the needs of families and safeguarding vulnerable individuals affected. The concept of safeguarding as a cultural construct will also be explored, looking at the factors that impact on wellbeing from different cultural perspectives. Several disciplines are involved in the module and it offers the opportunity for you to come together with other students, facilitating opportunities for sharing both your subject knowledge and life/practice experience in order to generate interesting avenues of approach not available within the silo of a single discipline. Links between your disciplines will be proactively pursued to explore the complex phenomenon of safeguarding, and you will need to integrate information and methodologies from your respective disciplines as you approach the problem, understanding that there is no single right answer.
This module aims to develop an inter-disciplinary approach to personal, theoretical and practice-based understanding of AntiRacist Practice and Critical Race Theory. An understanding of the British perspective on race and racism will be highlighted to set the scene and then global perspectives will be discussed. Students will then critically reflect on the limitations of a single approach to solve wider societal concerns regarding racism by applying knowledge created through the connections across different disciplines. This module has been designed and will be delivered with a range of academics from departments across different fields of study and specialism (Social Work, Social and Cultural History, Business and Law, Library Services, Social Research, Diversity and Cultural Change Officer and Race Equality Advocates). The resources (teaching material, exercises) used for teaching and learning are inter-disciplinary taking into account differing personal perspectives, alternative epistemologies on race and different ways to achieve race equality. The module learning outcomes will be current and relevant to those in higher education and based upon empirical research and modern socio-political understandings of anti-racist practice and critical race theory. This will be an on-line inter-disciplinary level 5, 15 Credit Ruskin Module open to all students and teaching will follow these three strands: 1. The module will enable students to reflect on their personal experiences of race and racism with the aim of questioning, understanding and evaluating their self-concept with clarity and to nurture their community cultural wealth. 2. The module will equip students with knowledge and understanding from an inter-disciplinary perspective on the historical context, influential thinkers, creatives, anti-racist activists, models and methods that underpin race and racism in the UK and from broader global theoretical understandings. 3. The practice-based element will enable students to engage with students from other disciplines to understand different antiracist practices through acquiring the creativity, skills, attitudes and behaviours to reduce personal & structural discrimination and inequalities. The teaching, learning and assessment will be facilitated carefully to ensure safe spaces are established for students. This module will take students on a journey of self-development as they learn and understand more about race and racism. This selfdevelopment can invoke a range of emotions and positions therefore the module delivery will be carefully facilitated to ensure all students feel safe, positively regarded and supported. It is essential for HEIs to value, recognise and support students to access a range of inter-disciplinary knowledge, skills and abilities to adapt and thrive in HEIs. Students can use these multiple strengths to gain greater certainty, confidence and clarity in themselves and with their interactions with other individuals, communities and organisations. The multiple strengths possessed by students need nurturing so they can be empowered to adapt and resist racial inequalities and thus enable a more successful progression. The outcome of this module will lead to the active provision of community cultural wealth which in turn is likely to contribute to developing high self-concept clarity and tackling inequalities. In turn students will develop a robust inter-disciplinary theoretical and personal understanding of race and racism which will enable them to build meaningful allyships, challenge inequalities and enable a more successful progression through the course. Students will be split into teams across disciplines. These inter-disciplinary discussions will be facilitated, and students will be provided with prompts, learning tools and exemplars so they can: reflect on their thoughts, feelings and behaviours in relation to the topics discussed, be encouraged to consider underpinning knowledge and theories, and be provided with exemplars, suggestions and guided to explore actions they can take to develop an Anti-Racist Action Plan to reduce personal or structural discrimination and inequalities. This module relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity: - Decent work and economic growth - This module will increase awareness of socio-political inequalities that oppress people of colour in terms of employment and economic positions and how to engage with anti-racist practices to reduce personal & structural discrimination. - Reduced inequalities – This module will explain how the widening disparities in society require sound policies to empower communities, and promote economic inclusion of all regardless of sex, race or ethnicity. - Peace, justice and strong institutions – this module will explain the importance of promoting the rule of law to ensure equal access to justice for all, ensure the protection of freedoms, and promote and explain relevance of non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.
In this module you will explore the theories and practices of feminism in the 21st century. Structured in four key blocks – History, Digital Cultures, Intersectionality and Activism – the module will introduce you to important debates, movements and developments within fourth wave feminism and ask you to critically reflect upon the value of these movements, both for yourself and for different types of women in different sections of society. These include the role of the internet and social media, the shift towards an intersectional approach to gender equality, and the nature of feminist activism at significant cultural moments such as Donald Trump’s presidency and the investigation and exposure of Harvey Weinstein. This Ruskin module will offer an interdisciplinary approach to the study of 21st century feminism, incorporating academic disciplines including Media and Cultural Studies, Film, Gender Studies, History and Fashion. In your study of feminism, you will gain skills in analysing a range of texts and media, including academic scholarship, news media, social media, celebrity case studies and fashion items. In terms of methodology, you will develop knowledge of feminist theory by engaging with academic criticism but will also have opportunities to identify how these feminist ideas work in different cultural contexts through weekly case studies, including celebrity culture, social media trends, Hollywood film and the fashion industry. You will reflect upon your own values, responsibilities and contributions. You will be able to share what you’ve learnt from each week’s topic with other students, as well as in your assessments. Throughout the module, there will be opportunities for collaborative work and peer interaction and informal group presentations. You will develop and practice skills in critical thinking by reflecting on the value and limitations of different developments in 21st century feminism. You’ll gain the ability to construct coherent arguments to support your critical reflections and be able to gather supporting evidence from a range of interdisciplinary contexts. You will also develop skills in cultural literacy and emotional intelligence by listening to the views of your peers and learning from the lived experiences of people from different sections of society. The module contributes to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including: (4) Quality Education; (5) Gender Equality; (10) Reduced Inequalities.
ARU Peterborough is a new institution within the city of Peterborough and this module provides an exciting opportunity for students to integrate and network with members of the community. Whether you live, study, or work in Peterborough, or do more than one of these things in tandem, you are a member of local civic life. As part of this module, you will have the opportunity to develop and enhance this relationship, by promoting active citizenship and empowering you to seek positive social change within the community. Underpinned by the tenets of community organising, this module has been co-developed with Peterborough Citizens, the local chapter of Citizens UK. Within this module you will be introduced to the core principles of community organising - power analysis, working relationally, negotiation, the 5-step method to social change - with sessions delivered by professional organisers from Peterborough Citizens. Following the introduction of the core knowledge and understanding of organising and an exploration of social justice and the idea of community, you will be invited to evaluate the responses of a listening campaign to identify areas for change. Based upon this, you will work in interdisciplinary groups to develop, and implement, a plan of action to seek to contribute towards positive social change within the local community.
A comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the diverse factors influencing individuals' physical, mental, and social wellbeing across the lifespan is foundational to person-centred social work practice. It enhances the effectiveness of interventions, promotes empathy, and contributes to the overall goal of supporting individuals in achieving and maintaining optimal wellbeing. We’ll equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to work with individuals across the lifespan, and to understand the impact of the individual’s life course on their present wellbeing and potential future trajectory. You’ll have the opportunity to interrogate the social and ecological determinants of wellbeing, with particular emphasis on the impact of social inequalities on health and wellbeing outcomes including mental health. This will include exploring discrimination and stigma and promoting antidiscriminatory and anti-oppressive approaches within your own future practice. Emphasising a holistic approach, we’ll explore the notion of social wellbeing and the importance of relationships and support networks on wellbeing across the life course, including eco-social work, sustainability, and social justice. We’ll also focus on mental health and wellbeing across the life course and consider the impact of trauma, crisis impact on adverse life experiences. Throughout the module, you’ll engage with case studies and reflective exercises to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios, preparing you to navigate the complexities of social work across the entire lifespan. We’ll encourage you to relate theoretical issues to practice by considering how social workers can work with individuals to counter the effects of social inequalities and injustice in practice, including those from diverse cultures, ethnicities, and marginalised groups. We’ll discuss different methods and approaches including empowerment and resilience, strength-based practice, and recovery-based approaches. We’ll support you to engage critically with these approaches to consider how you can promote and employ social work interventions that are sensitive to diverse backgrounds and respect the autonomy of individuals. Overall. the concepts of this module, transformative and relational social work, are critical underpinnings of effective social work assessments and interventions and so this module provides a timely and cumulative addition to your social work knowledge and skills as you prepare to transition to professional qualified social work practice.
Develop your critical understanding needed to undertake effective assessments and interventions, whilst balancing rights and risks, and how knowledge of decision-making and evidence informed practice underpins effective professional social work practice. Explore the concept of assessment and intervention from the perspectives of different stakeholders with an emphasis on participation from service user and carer perspectives. You’ll develop an evidence-informed approach to practice, underpinned by skills, knowledge and understanding in relation to research and evaluation. You’ll learn how to use evidence from research and other sources to inform and systematically evaluate your practice. You’ll be encouraged to develop analytical skills and research appreciation that is relevant to the profession. We’ll critically evaluate the notions of judgement and decision-making in professional social work practice. We’ll explain the importance of using an evidence-informed approach to make impartial decisions and how this is an integral part of social work practice. Understand the notion of risk in professional practice. Social Workers have a responsibility to stay alert to and investigate suspected harm, neglect or abuse and, where risk has been identified, agree plans to address it urgently. You’ll recognise the risk indicators of different forms of abuse and neglect and their impact on people, their families and their support networks.
The Undergraduate Major Project gives you the opportunity to engage in a substantial piece of individual research and/or practice development work, focussed on a topic that is of interest to you. It can either take the form of a service improvement project or a theoretical literature review. Your chosen topic will require you to identify/formulate problems and issues, conduct literature reviews, evaluate information, investigate and adopt suitable development methodologies, draw conclusions and make recommendations, process data, critically appraise and present your findings.
In your second placement, you’ll undertake 100 practice-based learning days in a social work placement and attend 10 skills and reflection-based days, delivered on campus. You’ll have many opportunities to practice your acquired social work skills, knowledge and values in a safe learning environment, continuously guided by practice assessors (practice educators and onsite supervisors), module tutor and SUCI representatives (Service Users and Carers Involvement ARU group). By the end of the placement, you’ll demonstrate readiness to practice autonomously as a Social Worker, professional and as a social scientist, taking full responsibility for your own professional development. You’ll critically apply social work knowledge, skills and values pertinent to contemporary practice requirements, effectively work in a statutory setting and skilfully apply a critically reflective stance to all work undertaken in practice.