Defensible decision-making in children’s social care - CPD Guide: Practice Guide (2022)
Introduction
This open-access CPD Guide has been written for any member of staff who has a responsibility for training and development within children’s social care organisations (for example, workforce development leads or Principal Social Workers). It sits alongside two other linked publications designed to be used together to support and promote defensible decision-making within children’s social care organisations.
This guide contains all the information you need to run three CPD sessions for practice supervisors using tools provided in Defensible decision-making in children’s social care - a resource pack for practice supervisors: Strategic Briefing (2022) which links with this.
If you share the resource pack with practice supervisors in your organisation, you can then follow this up by providing three (3.5-hour) half-day CPD sessions which allow you to:
- introduce the resource pack and tools. Over the course of the three sessions, practice supervisors will work through five tools focusing on promoting defensible decision-making in supervision provided in the resource pack
- connect with practice supervisors once they have had time to try out the resources to review their learning and identify any changes to their practice in relation to defensible decision-making
- support practice supervisors to identify how they can continue to work on this area.
A third publication, Defensible decision-making in children’s social care - challenge questions for leaders: Leaders' Briefing (2022), is designed to be used alongside the CPD Guide and Resource Pack for Practice Supervisors. See Related Content below.
Professional Standards
PQS:KSS - Confident analysis and decision-making
Defensible decision-making in children’s social care - resource pack for practice supervisors: Frontline Briefing (2022)
This open-access resource pack has been developed to support practice supervisors to; facilitate reflective and analytical supervision discussions which inform defensible decision-making; ensure that each child’s social care record demonstrates evidence of defensible decision-making, and promote team-wide discussion and shared learning about defensible decision-making with practitioners.
Defensible decision-making in children’s social care - challenge questions for leaders: Leaders' Briefing (2022)
This open-access Leaders' Briefing is written for senior leaders, it provides an overview of key issues to prompt discussion and enhance organisational capability in defensible decision-making and includes challenge questions for middle managers and senior leaders to consider.
Good practice in recording and access to records: Strategic Briefing (2022)
This briefing is for managers and senior leaders in children’s social care. Its aim is to enable a better understanding of the benefits of person-centred recording and to help strategic leaders and managers think about how they might implement improvements in this area of their local practice.
Analysis and critical thinking in assessment: Resource Pack (2014)
The handbook includes key research and practice messages around analysis and critical thinking in assessment. It combines research evidence with the practice experience of agencies to explore how identified barriers to good assessment might be overcome. The focus is on ‘thinking in practice’ and, above all, on supporting practitioners to be more analytical in their assessments.
Analysis and critical thinking in assessment: Literature review (2014)
The Literature Review examines analytical, critical and reflective thinking and writing in assessment, which is vital not only in social work but across a range of disciplines that work together to achieve the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families.