Jenni Burton - Personalisation for Social Workers: Opportunities and Challenges for Frontline Practice

Open University Press

McGraw-Hill Education

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First published 2012

Copyright Jenni Burton, Thomas Toscano, Maryam Zonouzi, 2012

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

ISBN-13: 978-0-33-524395-2 (pb)

ISBN-10: 0-33-524395-9 (pb)

eISBN: 978-0-33-524396-9

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Printed and bound in the UK by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow

Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that may be used herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to represent any real individual, company, product or event.

This informative text bases the Personalisation discussion on real life examples and perspectives, providing a balanced account of the opportunities and obstacles faced by all stakeholders engaged in this agenda . The final chapter on managing change provides the reader with an opportunity to step forward in time and consider how Personalisation might be located within the historical timeline of delivering social care and whether concepts of co-production, empowerment and citizenship can in fact become central to this agenda. A book to get you thinking and doing.

Ali Gardner, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

The authors have written a timely and highly topical book on the impact that Personalisation has and will have upon the world of Social Work. They do so in a very accessible way through highlighting the benefits of the model to all concerned, but crucially they explore some of the many concerns. In particular they address the anxieties expressed by qualified social workers upon their future role.

I shall certainly draw upon the text for my own teaching and learning and will encourage students and practitioners to do the same.

Paul Hollingdale, Course Leader, University of Huddersfield, UK

This book is for both front line social work practitioners and for social work students as a practical guide to the unfolding transformation of adult social care services and the personalisation agenda. The structure of the book has been designed to encourage an interactive way of learning about personalisation as a fluid, ever changing and very important feature of modern day social work. Social workers have a key role to play in the reform of social care support and are at the heart of helping people to meet their individual needs. The book will reinforce the social work practitioners role in the shaping of personalised support and will look broadly at the many influences on their role in order to gain a clearer understanding of contemporary issues, ethical dilemmas and tensions in practice.

Social work is essentially about helping and informing others to gain the support and resources needed to live their lives as fully as possible. The book will support students, qualifying students and front line workers to use essential skills such as communication, self reflection, creativity and empowerment to embrace the context of personalisation. This will be achieved by providing blended learning through the use of case studies, reflective exercises, linked research and reference to policies, legislation and resources to enable the reader to understand their role within the personalisation agenda.

The book will explore the topic of personalisation from many angles to consider how historical, political, financial and cultural influences have impacted upon the practical implementation of self directed support and the wide reaching impact for service users, families and both health and social care professionals. There will be an emphasis on current changes created by personalisation and also on where the initial ideas underpinning person centred approaches stemmed from. The book will also look ahead to the unfolding of personalisation and ongoing sustainability.

Finally, the book will focus on the need for the social work profession to embrace personalisation and to recognise the changes needed to ensure that social work practice can thrive and adapt to retain a central position as part of the personalisation environment.

This chapter will focus on the values underpinning personalisation such as service user self determination, dignity and choice. Ethical dilemmas in social work practice will be explored to tease out the congruence between rights, responsibilities, duty to protect and the promotion of self directed support. Case studies and reflective learning will focus on the service user and carer perspectives and examples of personal, cultural and structural discrimination will be explored to reflect on the public understanding of personalisation. The chapter will also explore the intrinsic value base of social work and the changes needed to ensure that learning is gained through existing practice and developments.

This chapter will look at legislation and policy changes in social care implicit within personalisation spanning key legislation such as the Community Care, Mental Capacity and Human Rights Acts. The complex layering of social, political and ideological influences will be explored recognising the impact that personalisation has on our ideas of vulnerability, risk and citizenship. The emergence of policy with practice and the evolution of self directed support will be explored to gain a clearer view of where personalisation came from and what future shape may be to come.

The emphasis for this chapter will be on new ways of working with people who need social care support. There will be reflection on the dramatic changes for individuals and the impact on social work and social care. Good examples of practice will be highlighted and balanced with the challenges and the evolving role of the social work practitioner.

This chapter will consider the risks attached to people living more independent lives as a result of self directed support and the role of social workers in safeguarding people who may be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse from others. The promotion of choice and control while reducing risk of harm will be explored through detailed analysis of case studies, reflective exercises and ideological debate. The impact of personalisation and safeguarding issues will be looked at from the perspectives of service users, families and professionals. Different theories, models and policies will be reflected on to capture emerging ideas and research on this diverse and complex aspect of the personalisation agenda.