Anne Llewellyn and Tracey Race

1. Anne Llewellyn and Tracey Race
15.4.15
The value of e-learning
opportunities to prepare
social work students for
child safeguarding practice

2. Aims of the session
 To explore the challenge of providing realistic learning
opportunities for social work students to develop skills
and knowledge in a safe environment
 To discuss the use of virtual learning tools to replicate
social work practice

3. Continuing challenges of
safeguarding vulnerable
children
 Munro identified the role of education in preparing
graduate social workers who have the skills and
knowledge to “make the best judgments they can to
protect a vulnerable child” (Munro Report, 2011: 6).

4. The challenge
 Providing an authentic learning environment for child
safeguarding
 Integrating theory and practice
 Providing opportunities for real time decision making
and judgements

5. The pedagogy
Kolb’s
experiential
learning
cycle
1. Experiencing –
immersing
yourself in the task
2. Reflection –
what did you
notice?
3.
Conceptualisation
– what does it
mean?
4. Planning – what
will happen next?
What will you
change?

6. A solution
 Photo-realistic immersive learning experience
(Learnscape), using actors for learner to engage with
 Assessments built into Learnscape
 Feedback and remediation loops built in
 Key documents embedded so learner can read them in
the context of the practice
 Development of skills for child and family social work
(Department for Education, 2014)

7. Development of skills for
child and family social work
 Build purposeful, effective relationships with children
and families
 Be able to communicate clearly, sensitively and
effectively using best evidence methods with children of
different ages and abilities, their families and the
professional system
 Be able to recognise the risk indicators of different
forms of harm to children
(Department for Education, 2014)

14. Advantages
 Learner can work through at own pace
 Learner can learn from mistakes in a safe environment
 Can use the learnscape on any computer at any time –
flexible
 Engages learner in construction of their own knowledge

15. Subjective and Objective
knowledge integration
 Engages with emotional context of practice
environment
 Allows emotions to be felt in a safe environment
 Models good practice for managing self
 Promotes self-awareness
 Develops learning from experience

16. Student Evaluation
So overall, I really like it as a
learning tool. It feels 'real'
and I think it is a gentle and
safe way of preparing us to
go into peoples homes and
work meaningfully with them.
This has changed
the way that I think
about doing an
assessment. It
helped me to think
more holistically