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Reflective Practice
This assignment is reflection on my first practice placement of work undertaken which provides evidence of my progress in meeting the domains of the Professional Capabilities Framework. I will attempt to include the majority of the domains. I will reference the domains as PCF followed by the numbers incorporated surrounded by brackets. Example (PCF 1.4, 2.5, 5.2)
Names have been changed to protect identities and respect privacy in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
My placement was within a non-statutory agency which supported homeless and potentially homeless people of the specific age range sixteen to nineteen. My role was as a support worker in which I had several clients. My involvement as a support worker led me to work with a female client, nineteen years of age and living at home with her family. Beth is 30 weeks pregnant and has been living without an income. In my practice I will work within the guidance of legislation such as the Human Rights Act 1998, Data Protection Act 1998, Children Act 1989, Housing Act 1985, Equality Act 2010 and Welfare Reform Act 2012 It will aid me in being anti-discriminative and anti-oppressive by ensuring that Beth, regardless of her background or circumstances, can have the support and enable access to services. (PCF 3.2, 4.2, 5.2).
In my induction training, I learnt that the agency empowers clients to attain their ambitions and goals in life. They do this by ensuring that the client receive quality and individualised support that best fulfils their needs. The person centred approach is aimed at promoting independence, choice and control. I will also need to be aware of organisational and statutory duties as there are substantial policies, guidance and frameworks to inform my practice. Examples such as equality and diversity policy, Professional Boundaries Guidelines, code of conduct and scheme client group aims and objectives. (PCF 1.5, 1.8, 8.4, 8.5).
Beth was a new client who had been allocated to me so I could begin work with her, supporting any issues and problems she may have and identify needs that will inform my practice. My preparation to meet Beth consisted of reading previous notes from the referral and the assessment. This would give me a useful picture of what the issues were and what has led her to being in contact and involved with our services and also help me to understand them well when working with them. By doing the preparation I was able to avoid repetitive questions that Beth may have been asked on many occasions, although I would still need to ask questions as this is the way to build the relationship. I also need to keep in mind that the person who had met Beth to do the assessment, may have a different view, possibly negative, of the Beth. This could be depending on any events that may have occurred prior to the meeting for example, an unpleasant incident for Beth prior to the meeting for the assessment. I will be open-minded about the information already formed and prepare to make my own views. (PCF 7.1, 7.2, 7.3).
As the meeting approached I was conscious of my first impression that I made on Beth. It is important to think of any feelings the Beth has towards professional people and roles. In the support role I frequently encountered negative outlook of professionals such as Social workers and police. I felt that this was because they are viewed as having more of an authoritative role and thus able to enforce regulations. I had to be sure that I was clear to Beth about the purpose of my role and that I was aiming to work in the best interests of the client and to do this I need to show understanding and respect. I am working alongside standards of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards of proficiency section 3.1 understand the need to maintain high standards of personal and professional conduct. (PCF 1.4, 3.3, 6.2, 6.3).
Although all of the above is true there is the challenge of professional boundaries and retaining them with Beth. For example whilst building the relationship, Beth could possibly begin to have concepts that I am ‘on their side’. It is important that I do demonstrate some level of personal understanding but at the same time make clear my role and my involvement with Beth. In doing this I am incorporating PCF domain 2 by identifying and, with guidance, managing and ethical dilemma. (PCF 1.7, 2.1).

Beth had been referred by a service that has a parenting scheme. Beth’s family nurse from this scheme identified that Beth was living in overcrowded accommodation and was in need of support to find her own accommodation, to secure it and to help maintain it. There were also additional support needed as Beth was without an income, she would need help in money matters such as applying for benefits, setting up utility services, budgeting, paying bills, food shopping and having nutritional meals to benefit her physical health. She had trouble understanding letters from professional bodies due to them being written academically. Beth felt isolated and wanted to have more involvement with the community after addressing her mental health problems of depression and anxiety. (PCF 8.5., 8.7).
In my role of the provision of services I noticed that the agency support plans were person-centred. Beth’s social, economical, mental and physical needs were well defined and this has helped me in easily adapting to the agency’s schedules. The support work was task-centred and my aim was to clearly define tasks with Beth and help her to be reassured to build capacity and confidence in retaining agreed goals. The Human Rights Act (1998) informed my decision to involve Beth as it requires people to be equally treated and also allows for freedom of expression where people have the freedom to express their opinion without fear of interference or interrogation. (PCF 2.4, 8.6). Beth lived with her parents and two siblings, and older brother and a younger sister who was still at primary school. Beth shared a double bed with her sister. Her older brother had his own room, her mother slept in the main bedroom. Beth’s father slept on the settee downstairs and I found out this was due to a couple of reasons being that he had a bad back and that he and Beth’s mother were not actually together as a couple. He also had a girlfriend who he was openly seeing. Beth opened up more whilst supporting her and she told me more about her family. Her father forbid her mother to go out on her own and always had to have someone else with her. Out of frustration and anger Beth’s mum would have ‘a go’ at Beth when her father was not around, this could have possibly been out of jealousy from the father and daughter relationship, although the relationship between Beth’s father and Beth was quite fragile at times. He could be hostile and unapproachable, when going to talk to him she could never be sure of what response she would get. (PCF 3.1).
I recognise male dominance within the family and from Marxist feminist view, as per Cunningham and Cunningham (2011) women’s oppression is a consequence of capitalism. The ‘nuclear family’ produces future workers and as society developed women became the home maker and child bearer and became confined to the home and in some cases feeling like imprisonment for those who experienced domestic abuse within the family. Men were largely responsible for this, due to the strain of the characteristic feature of having to make ends meet. Women also felt hugely dependent on the man due low paid and low status jobs, unaffordable childcare and therefore find in particularly hard to escape from an abusive relationship. (PCF 5.1).
Beth explained that her father did not allow her to claim benefits and did not respect anyone who was in receipt of benefits as he was working and saw himself paying his taxes for that service. I can understand that Beth’s father could possibly gain support from society, by having this conventional and justified attitude which in turn could create the image of a hardworking husband and father. This may possibly influence and inforce beliefs to which Beth and her mother conform to thus enabling them to be controlled. Due to this Beth had not had an income for approximately nine to ten months. (PCF 3.1).
I recognised the impact of poverty on Beth. As a result of her not having any money, she began to feel low and depressed which led to self-harming. She relied on friends to pay for her if wanting to go out which made her feel like a burden and resulted in her going out less and less frequently. This then resulted in isolation and social exclusion. (PCF 4.4).
I enquired from Beth about the previous, most recent claim. The benefit was Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and was claimed six months ago. The payments stopped when the Beth didn’t supply a medical certificate from the doctor. Beth had recently received a letter stating that the visiting team would be visiting her home address at a given date and time, which they did but Beth was out. They asked Beth’s mother some questions and she stated that Beth was now working. Beth’s mother had said this so they would leave because her father was in the house at the time and she didn’t want to upset him.
Working in partnership with the Beth, the highest priority highlighted on the support plan was money matters such as having an income and therefore claiming benefits, so I supported Beth to make a claim for Income Support and to prevent her family finding out we used the office address as a ‘care of’ address, so that correspondence came to the office instead of the family home. (PCF 2.4, 2.6).
At this stage I contacted the necessary department in respect of the previous ESA claim and ask why Beth hadn’t been contacted in the six months that there had been no payment and I asked if it was procedure to then have a visit from the department in regards to the claim. The response from the department was that the claim is still open and they didn’t know why Beth hadn’t been contacted in 6 months. The person from the department needed to look further in to it and speak to a person in higher authority. During the timeframe of approximately a week I was informed by the ESA department that the Beth’s ESA claim had been closed due to information that the visiting team had obtained from the Beth’s mother.
I felt that the Beth had not been fairly treated and referred to the Equality Act 2010 as I felt there had been indirect discrimination. The organisation’s procedures had had a disadvantaging effect on Beth and I could not see that there was a lawful justification for it happening, in that it was achieving a legitimate aim. The department for ESA had not been in contact with the Beth for six months and then the claim has been closed from the proviso of information from another source. I knew that in respect of the Equality Act 2010, Welfare Reform Act 2012 and Data protection Act 1998 the handling of the ESA claim had been in more than one way breached and felt, I had to challenge the Council in respect of the Beth’s rights. (PCF 1.11, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.3)
They treated my initial enquiry as an appeal against the decision of the claim closing and therefore had to go to a decision maker and after a few days the outcome was that the Beth was entitled to ESA from when it was last claimed and all they needed was a back dated medical note. This was obtained and a four figure sum was awarded to the Beth. The claim for income support was then cancelled by the same department and money was transferred to Beth’s account with five working days. (PCF 4.2).
The impact of the award of money had a distinct effect on Beth. She couldn’t thank me enough, she seemed to be uplifted in herself from the realisation that she could just pop to town on the bus or treat her partner to a meal to say thank you for supporting her with finances. I also had a call from Beth’s family nurse noticing a big difference in Beth’s appearance and attitude, she stated that Beth seemed more optimistic and happy. The family nurse also thanked me for helping Beth, my colleagues also commended me. (PCF 2.5, 4.4, 9.2).
In reflection on the support of helping Beth with her income, I felt a little frustrated in the fact that the agency that I had been dealing with in regards to Beth’s income claim, had not followed procedures and had breached policy in so many ways. I was questioning why it had happened and was it because of who she was in terms of being poverty stricken, having mental health issues or difficulty in understanding professional and academically written letters. (PCF 4.4). I used reflective practice to make sense of how I was feeling in relation to the work I had done with Beth. I like to use Gibbs model of reflection as it gives me a methodical way of going through, different stages, such as ‘what happened’, ‘how did I feel’ , ‘what do I think I should have done’ and an action plan. By reflecting I learn from the experience and I am able to use the insights gained to inform future practice.
In my supervision I also examined my experience of Beth’s support. A discussion of Thompson’s personal, cultural and structural model took place and how oppression and discrimination arise from prejudice and stereotyping which in turn leads to limited access to full participation within society. Also the mistreatment of a group of people by society or another group and the mistreatment being enforced by society in culture. The reiteration of how I should always question my own values and beliefs to re-enforce that I could become accustomed to them and the possibility and danger of not recognising how they could be influencing my practice. (PCF 1.9, 2.2, 4.5, 5.1, 5.7, 6.4).

During my role of supporting Beth, I was required to develop the ability to work effectively within the agency. I made time to read through all the policies and guidance and also to find out the procedures to follow when taking on a client from the point of referral through to ending support. In the beginning I shadowed a colleague and went on some visits. I actively involved myself from the start by writing support plans and updating support records on the visits I was shadowing. I also observed some assessments before attempting my first one. I took referrals both face to face and over the phone. (PCF 8.4, 8.5, 8.6). When visiting Beth for the first time I ran through the support handbook with her, this explains the service being provided by the agency, what to expect and how the client can become involved. I also explained the client support agreement, which I asked Beth to sign and I also signed it. The handbook also had the office telephone number and my work mobile number and other information such as confidentiality and permission of which services Beth is happy for me to contact and share information with. There is also the right to fair treatment, the agency give a list of rights which the agency agrees to protect such as the right to be treated fairly, the right to make a complaint or the right not to be harassed or discriminated against. (PCF 4.1, 4.2, 4.3).
The agency worked to set standards and good practice guidelines, the main one being the Quality Assessment Framework. This sets out the standards expected in the delivery of supporting people and evidencing it. It is also used for making sure there is continuous improvement of services that provide housing related support. As Sitra (2010) stated there are five core objectives which are Assessment and Support Planning, Security, Health and Safety, Safeguarding and Protection from Abuse, Fair Access, Diversity and Inclusion, Client Involvement and Empowerment. (PCF 5.2, 8.3, 8.4).
To conform to the framework I actively sought to work to the objectives. I always made sure I updated Beth’s support records and involved her by letting her read what I had written and then she could sign it to show acceptance of what I had written. I invited Beth to our weekly art group and I also tried to encourage Beth to come to a parent and toddler group which also welcomed impending parents. I did respect Beth’s wishes when she declined as I did not want to be pushy especially when her confidence was still quite low. I recapped that she was able to access the drop-in anytime she liked, either for advice, a chat, to access computer or just for a coffee and a chat with any of the staff that are there. (PCF 2.4, 7.5, 7.7, 7.8).
My time at the agency and whilst supporting Beth and other clients gave me lots of opportunity to involve myself with multi-agency work. I liaised with the family nurses, housing officers of different housing associations, different council departments, youth offending team, college, police, careers advice agency and many more. I also attended meetings such as child protection meeting and child sexual exploitation meeting, where I encountered family intervention workers and social workers. I acknowledge that there can be obstacles to effective inter-professional working such as inequalities of status and power, professional identity and territory such as the responsibilities between groups and if a group establishes power over other types of groups. When I and Beth was meeting a housing officer I felt the officer didn’t listen to what I was saying nor tried to establish a good working relationship. Beth answered a few questions from her and I felt that the officer was quite sharp in her communication. I did not feel it was appropriate to say anything in front of a client and so I made sure my behaviour stayed professional and discussions continued. Although I was quite annoyed at the housing officer’s conduct it was tempting to remark about them to the client, but I kept my disposition and didn’t mention anything. (PCF 7.12).
When appropriate I spoke to a colleague about the situation, my colleague stated that the officer in question is quite strict and doesn’t want anyone taking a house in the area that she manages, who is going to cause trouble for example not paying rent or having loud parties. I thought that the officer was very judgemental and behaviour oppressive and discriminatory. I felt that this scenario gave me experience of how a client must feel when encountering such disrespect and therefore have more of an understanding of their composition in life. (PCF 3.1, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7).
I did speak to the officer since that meeting and she was very polite and respectable of me, which then put me in two minds whether to complain about her behaviour. I spoke to my practice agency and with her guidance I decided to give feedback in regards to the housing officer’s behaviour, but I wanted to make sure it didn’t go forward as a complaint as it may have been that the housing officer was having a bad day. This will enable the agency to supply their services, so that they comply with the guidance of the law and allow for the housing officer to complete refresher training if needed. (PCF 1.11, 3.2)

When I first arrived at my practice placement I informed my clients about my role as a student and explained to them that I would only be supporting them for a few months. I felt that it was important to clarify this at the beginning to avoid minimal distress towards the end when I leave. Social workers build relationships based on empathy and respect. (PCF 1.4, 3.3).
With guidance in my supervision I recognised that many of the clients may have broken attachments and if I was to end my relationship insensitively this could bring back feelings of loss and abandonment. I also acknowledged that maintaining contact with clients that I will be no longer be working with could lead to a blurring of professional boundaries. Also remaining in contact with a client could lead the client forming a dependency and lead to breaches of the code of practice for social workers. The relevant parts of the code of practice that should be upheld are respecting service users’ needs and dignity, supporting their rights to control their lives, and establishing and maintaining the trust and confidence of service users. (PCF 3.1, 5.7, 5.8, 6.6).
In order to have a more positive ending it is best that the ending is acknowledge from the outset and if closure is dealt with throughout it can become a more natural process and the ending should be based on a mutual sense of closure.
Towards the end of my practice I decided to give the client chance to express their feelings to me if they so wanted. Some of them were accepting of my leaving and just said goodbye over the phone and a couple wanted to have chance to talk, so I asked if they wanted to go for a coffee at a local café and this gave us chance to just chat about feelings both mine and the clients and to tell them how much I’ve enjoyed supporting them.
In respect of Beth we didn’t get this time because she developed pre-eclampsia and was rushed in to hospital. Beth wanted me to come and see her at the hospital and I knew that it would be the last time. I went to visit and stayed for an hour, I found out she had had a caesarean section and her baby was in the special care unit but only as a precaution as he was actually doing very well. Beth was quite upset and scared, I tried to advise her that she is in the best place possible and that she has people around her such as friends and family who will support her. I mentioned that her new support worker will be in touch with her to come and see her. Beth seemed to understand as we had talked about me leaving for some weeks now. I advised her that I’d contact other services to let them know of her circumstances and I’d have a chat with her new support worker in regards to the work we had accomplished. I wished her all the best and I felt it appropriate to give her a hug and smile. (PCF 1.7, 2.6, 7.2, 7.7, 7.9).

References
Cunningham and Cunningham. (2011). Sociology and social work. Exeter. Learning Matters
HCPC. (2012). Social workers in England. Retrieved from http://www.hpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10003B08Standardsofproficiency-SocialworkersinEngland.pdf
The college of Social work . (2015). The College of Social work. Retrieved from http://www.tcsw.org.uk/uploadedFiles/TheCollege/_CollegeLibrary/Reform_resources/PCF5FullTableStudentLevels.pdf.
Sitra (2010). Using the Quality Assessment Framework. London: Sitra. Retrieved from http://www3.hants.gov.uk/qaf_guidance_november2010.pdf
The Children Act 1989. London: HMSO
The Data Protection Act 1998. London: HMSO
The Human Rights Act 1998. London: HMSO
The Housing Act 1985. London: HMSO
The Equality Act 2010. London: HMSO
The Welfare Reform Act 2012. London: HMSO

Bibliography
Wilson, K. Ruch, G. Lymbery, M. & Cooper, A. (2011). Social Work. (2nd ed). Essex: Pearson Education.
Yuill, C and Gibson, A. (2012). Sociology for social work and introducation. London: Sage.
Thompson, N. (2009). Understanding social work. (3rd ed). London: Palgrave Macmillan