ScOPT Annual Conference and AGM
‘Outside the Box’ | Thursday 12 November, 200 SVS, Glasgow
Provisional Programme
09.15 / Registration – teas and coffees available09.45 / Welcome from Chair
Rona Gray, Workforce and Carer Development Officer, East Lothian Council
· AGM Chair report
· ScOPT membership
· Web team
10.00 / ScOPTbox: Practice learning library and online resource for practice teaching in Scotland and beyond
Jean Gordon, Independent Research Consultant
10.20 / Keynote | Outside the Box: how can we use our social work skills and the relationships we build to ‘humanise’ managerialism?
Dr Pamela Trevithick, Visiting Professor in Social Work, Buckinghamshire New University
11.20 / Tea & coffee break
11.40 / Workshop session 1
1. How can we use our knowledge and skills to weaken the stronghold on practice held by managerialism? Dr Pamela Trevithick, Buckinghamshire New University
2. Ethical assessment of social work students – Linda Grierson, Fife Council & Julie Hippman, Social Work Student
3. Please don’t ask me about theory! Sara Hitchin, University of Stirling
4. A tool for student social workers and educators to support dementia learning and assessment – Audrey Thomson, SSSC
5. Mindfulness in social work education – Moira Harris, Dumfries and Galloway Council
12.45 / Lunch – including Mindfulness Session (20 mins)
13.45 / AGM
· Constitution
· Treasurer
· Committee elections
14.15 / Workshop session 2
1. How can we use our knowledge and skills to weaken the stronghold on practice held by managerialism? Dr Pamela Trevithick, Buckinghamshire New University
2. Out of the box, in the circle – West of Scotland Learning Network
3. Camphill: learning from extreme situations – Neil Henery, Camphill Scotland
4. The best of both worlds. Creating a practical curriculum: the combined model of individual and group supervision – Bob Leeson, Pat MacCowan & Gillian Muir
5. Exploring innovative models for practice learning and striving for best practice in the 21st century – Jane McLenachan, University of Stirling; Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Open University and Harmeny Education Trust
15.20 / Comfort break
15.30 / Plenary session
15.55 / Summary and closing comments
Rona Gray, East Lothian Council
16.00 / Conference close
Workshop Session 1 | 11.40 - choose one option from the selection below
1. Follow on from Keynote speaker | Main conference room
Dr Pamela Trevithick
Pamela will facilitate discussion on emerging ideas around ‘how we can use our knowledge and skills to weaken the stronghold on practice held by managerialism?’.
2. Ethical assessment of social work students | Heriot Watt room
Linda Grierson, Workforce Development Officer, Fife Council
Julie Hippman, Social Work Student
Using a practical ‘Ethical Assessment Pathway’ tool to prompt discussion, this interactive workshop will explore: the practice teacher and student’s responsibilities; how we evidence ethical assessment at each stage of the student’s practice learning, given the range of courses and learners we work with; what activities, tasks or supports are in our own ethical assessment ‘toolboxes’, and what we might develop?
3. Please don’t ask me about theory! – Robert Gordon room
Sarah Hitchin, University of Stirling
Asking social work students about how they are using theory to inform their practice can fill them with dread and one of the most frequently identified areas for development is the integration of theory into practice. This workshop proposes that a solid grounding in theoretical knowledge can encourage practitioners to be creative and to work outside the box. It will focus on tips and techniques for spotting difficulties and supporting students with this important area of social work practice.
4. A tool for student social workers and educators to support dementia learning and assessment – Level 3
Audrey Thomson, Workforce Development and Planning Adviser, SSSC
The workshop will explore how the Promoting Excellence Framework, and the resources which have been developed to support dementia learning, can be used by practice educators and students. Following some work with HEIs in 2014, a tool has been developed which maps the learning outcomes from the Dementia Skills – Improving Practice resource to the SiSWE standards. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to look at SSSC resources and find out how the mapping tool could support student learning about dementia.
5. Mindfulness in social work education – Dundee room
Moira Harris, Dumfries and Galloway Council
Mindfulness is a bit of a buzzword at the moment… but far from being a fad, it has a lot to offer the social work profession. Moira has been practising mindfulness for over 14 years and now teaches mindfulness and compassion to groups, individuals and organisations. She has a particular interest in how mindfulness can contribute to social work education, helping to facilitate emotional resilience, greater reflexivity and emotional containment. In this workshop, Moira will give an overview of the growing research in this field as well as sharing her own research on how mindfulness was experienced by a group of social work students in Dumfries and Galloway. The session will also include the opportunity to try some short mindfulness and compassion practices.
Workshop Session 2 | 14.15 - choose one option from the selection below
1. Follow on from Keynote speaker | Main conference room
Dr Pamela Trevithick
Pamela will facilitate discussion on emerging ideas around ‘how we can use our knowledge and skills to weaken the stronghold on practice held by managerialism?’.
2. Out of the box, in the circle | Heriot Watt room
West of Scotland Learning Network
This workshop aims to support delegates to explore creative ways of utilising / adapting the traditional learning cycle to support learners’ reflection upon a variety of practice issues. Loosely based upon Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, delegates will travel / walk around a life-sized circle attending to each stage – experience, feeling, thoughts and action – in turn. Representing the diversity of learning styles, delegates will use a variety of mediums / media to reflect and communicate along the way. In attending to feelings, delegates will also have the opportunity to consider the role and importance of emotional intelligence for the reflective process and when supporting learners.
3. Camphill: learning from extreme situations | Dundee room
Neil Henery, Camphill Scotland
This workshop will explore how practice innovation can arise from extreme situations. Camphill is now a worldwide network of communities for people with learning disabilities, but was created through the displacement of people across Europe in the 1940’s. The refugee experience forged the unique character of Camphill and offers a case example of thinking ‘outside the box’.
4. The best of both worlds. Creating a practice curriculum: the combined model of individual and group supervision | Level 3
Bob Leeson, Pat MacCowan and Gillian Muir
The strength of the combined model is that it enhances students’ abilities to understand problems, experiences and solutions from multiple perspectives. It has enabled students to make the transition from a ‘fix-it’ approach to a more holistic and systematic engagement with practice. The workshop will provide participants with information about the rationale, process, content and evaluation of the model and consider transferability to a range of contexts.
5. Exploring innovative models for practice learning and striving for best practice in the 21st century | Robert Gordon room
Jane McLenachan, Practice Learning Director, University of Stirling
Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Staff Tutor, Open University and Practice Learning Coordinator, Harmeny Education Trust
This workshop will explore a range of innovative approaches to practice learning across Scotland. They will consider the challenges posed by integration, restricted access to local authority placements and the role of the voluntary sector. They will consider how to develop best practice models utilising the experience and knowledge of participants that will inform the SSSC review of social work.