Personalisation in Social Work
Personalisation in Social Work
- Ali Gardner
- Jonathan Parker
- Greta Bradley
Learning Matters
An imprint of SAGE Publications Ltd
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2014 Ali Gardner (Introduction, Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7, Conclusion); David Gaylard (Chapters 3 and 6); Natalie Robinson (Chapter 8)
First published in 2011 by Learning Matters. Second edition published in 2014 by SAGE/Learning Matters.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954556
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4462-6879-7 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4462-6878-0
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank three people who shared their time, stories and kindness to make this book possible. These three people demonstrate the possibilities of personalisation and their determination is something to be admired. I would like to thank the two other contributors to this edition, David Gaylard, for his willingness to share and discuss the contents of this book at length, and Natalie Robinson, for being the kind of student that makes teaching so easy by nodding so enthusiastically from the back of a classroom and for her honest engagement in this process. I would also like to thank all my colleagues in the social work department at Manchester Metropolitan University for their support and encouragement.
Thank you to Ken Stapleton, Karen Saville and Gavin Croft for sharing their abundance of knowledge and infectious enthusiasm and positivity towards personalisation even at times when the cards are stacked against them.
Finally I would like to thank my family, Des, Dad and Sue, for their patience and proofreading, and last, but not least, my two special stars Grace and Hope for allowing me to use the computer from time to time, making me cups of tea and keeping me topped up with cuddles.
David Gaylard would like to thank Paul Tavender, senior social work practitioner, Hampshire County Council, and Viv Killner, senior social work practitioner, West Sussex County Council.
About the Author and Contributors
Ali Gardneris a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Manchester Metropolitan University where she teaches on a number of modules including law and social work, working with disabled people and personalisation. Ali has worked as a social worker and policy officer in the field of adult social care. She has been involved in the national development of policy and practice relating to personalisation, working alongside Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE), Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) and Skills for Care (SfC) and has written the personalisation curriculum guide for the College of Social Work.David Gaylardhas been Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Chichester since 2006. Prior to his current post he was a team manager in one of the personalisation pilot sites and has worked in a range of statutory adult social work departments in Hertfordshire, the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea, in West Sussex and in Portsmouth. During this period he also qualified as an Approved Social Worker and Practice Teacher. David has trained and worked in the NHS as a registered general nurse at St George's Hospital, London. His research interests include mental ill health, adult safeguarding and diversity in practice. David is currently undertaking a doctorate in social work at the University of Sussex, examining personalisation under austerity.Natalie Robinsonis a newly qualified social worker who studied her undergraduate degree at Manchester Metropolitan University. Natalie's interest in personalisation came from years of working in various different support worker roles supporting children, young people and adults with learning disabilities. Natalie's passion for personalisation was ignited when she undertook the elective in her final year of study. It also came from her keen interest of the historical context of how people with disabilities have been treated by society over the decades. Since qualifying Natalie has kept herself updated with the personalisation agenda. Natalie has worked as an onsite supervisor mentoring new social work students and in the future she hopes to undertake the practice educator training. Natalie's dream is to one day set up her own social enterprise that is purely based upon personalisation principles.
Introduction
This book is written primarily for social work students to improve their understanding of the personalisation agenda. It will support students in developing their practice in a way that embeds the ideologies, values, principles, theories, policies and processes informing this agenda. A central focus to this book is a belief that personalisation is about thinking and doing. The reader will be continually encouraged to consider their own underlying assumptions and values in relation to notions of social care and welfare. In addition to highlighting several success stories through service user narrative, the book will explore some of the challenges and dilemmas social workers are likely to encounter in supporting service users to direct their own support. This fundamental understanding and critical reflection will enable the reader to develop congruence between values and social work practice at all times.
It is fundamentally important that practitioners understand why and how this working context has emerged. The book provides a brief historical sweep of welfare in Britain leading up to the government's commitment to this agenda in the form of the
