social work

For Scotland's children: better integrated children's services (Part 1)

This is the first part of the report of an action team of experts from local government, the NHS and the voluntary sector to look at how better to integrate children’s services.

Their action plan contains a range of ways in which local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary sector can work together to create a single children’s services system, backed up by a number of good practice examples.

Preventing offending by young people: a framework for action

Scottish Government publication aimed at preventing offending by young people. It outlines a shared ambition of what the government and its partners want to do to as national and local agencies to prevent, divert, manage and change offending behaviour by children and young people - and how they want to do it.

The framework is broad in its scope, spanning prevention, diversion, intervention and risk management, with reference to the individual, the family and the wider community. It reaches from pre-birth and early years to the transition to adult services.

Forming and maintaining relationships with service users, carers, professionals and others

This resource looks at the benefits that are gained from the relationships that are built within social work. Using the voices of service users, carers and workers will be possible to understand how the relationships that were created helped them to deal with the difficulties they faced. This resource will allow the understanding of the importance of relationships in social work and the personal attributes needed to form and maintain positive working relationships.

SCIE Research briefing 31: Co-production: an emerging evidence base for adult social care transformation

The term ‘co-production’ is increasingly being applied to new types of public service delivery in the UK, including new approaches to adult social care. This briefing explains how staff should be encouraged to access co-productive initiatives, recognising and supporting diversity among the people who use services. And the importance of creating new structures, regulatory and commissioning practices and financial streams is necessary to embed co-production as a long-term rather than ad hoc solution.

'Work in progress': an audit of criminal justice social work provision in Scotland 2001-2002 (Towards effective practice, paper 2)

Report presenting the results of an audit of criminal justice social work provision in Scotland carried out to gain a national picture of the main areas of structured activity in community based programme and service development in Scotland.

SCIE knowledge review 06: teaching and learning communication skills in social work education

Good communication, both oral and written, is at the heart of best practice in social work. Communication skills are essential for establishing effective and respectful relationships with service users, and are also essential for assessments, decision making and joint working with colleagues and other professionals.

Guide to strategic commissioning: taking a closer look at strategic commissioning in social work services

Guide intended to assist councils, working with key strategic partners, to evaluate their performance on the strategic commissioning of care and wider supports for adults, children and young people.

It should also assist councils to evaluate joint commissioning with partner agencies. Its use is not mandatory.

The guide is designed for use in all sectors of social work. It is not prescriptive, and it is for councils to decide how to use the material. However, it contains key questions to ask when evaluating performance on strategic commissioning.

SCIE Report 5: Users at the heart - User participation in the governance and operations of social care regulatory bodies

There is a growing realisation that service uses and carers should be involved in developing the services they receive. Their expertise as users of services and what they want from services should be heard. It is particularly important that service users are involved in the national organisations that regulate services, the workforce, education and training n social care.

Particular communication needs

This resource starts with a quiz and a short case study to help the user understand the complexities of defining and identifying impairment as well as the difficulties faced by people who have these impairments. Then it will be able to explore four different scenarios which present tips on working with particular communication needs of service users.