Law B- Assignment Guidance

Law B- Assignment Guidance

Drawing on a case from your own practice, in which you were involved in the intervention, this assignment requires you to critically analyse how the law was utilised in relation to your case.

Remember this is a module about the law and how it was applied and how you should critically reflect on how the law was applied in this case.

Part A and Part B should be equally weighted (approx 1250 words each section, depending on the length of the introduction and conclusion).

Introduction (200-250 words)

Briefly set the scene. Give some details anonymously of the case you were/are working on, the legislation used, and what role you had as a worker under the law. Use a pseudonym and do not include any identifying information, e.g. location.

Briefly explain the work undertaken and the outcome of the intervention- you do not need to give a whole case history.

Give some details of the sections and particular aspects of the legislation you will be focusing on- e.g. Section 20 Children Act, evidencing the views and wishes of the child in a statutory assessment, Best Interests etc.

Part A- What aspects of the law that were utilised were helpful in addressing the needs of the child, adult, carer or family you were working with:

How did the application of the law in this case align with the principles of the legislation (e.g. welfare or wellbeing principles). How did the law help protect and promote those principles?

Apply relevant sections of the law and consider how assessments were undertaken and recommendations made. It is important to stress why you think recommendations and outcomes were positively made through statutory legislation.

How was the law applied in an anti-discriminatory/anti-oppressive way?

How did the application of the law promote human rights and social justice?

Remember to support your discussion with academic sources and references. What is research, policy and guidance telling you about best practice in the application of law?

Approx. 1250 words

Part B- What areas of law that were potentially relevant were not utilised in the interests of that child, adult, carer or family and more generally in the area of practice.

Critically reflect on the application of the law in the case you have selected.

Examine where rights may have been restricted or overridden by the law applied. For example, how were priorities around risk and safeguarding balanced with the upholding of rights?

How well were the principles of legislation demonstrated in this case? For example, were decisions influenced by funding and resource availability?

What other challenges in practice affected the application of the law in this case?

Could the law have been applied in a way which may have resulted in better outcomes for the child/family/adult?

Was the application of primary statutory law in conflict with provision under the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act?

Remember to support your discussion with academic sources and references. What is research, policy and guidance telling you about best practice/challenges in the application of law in this area of social work?

Approx. 1250 words

Conclusion

Briefly summarise the assignment.

Highlight the positives of the intervention based on the law and the outcomes achieved. Then focus on what could have been done better in terms of AOP/ADP and values and ethics.

On balance, how do you feel the principles of law were applied in this case?

200-250 words.

Remember:

Use a variety of academic sources to support your discussion, including relevant case law.

Throughout: Reference should be made to factors such as anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice and how the application of the law may have promoted or hindered practice in this area

Some common pitfalls to avoid:

Overly descriptive sections, e.g. copying sections directly from the legislation. Keep it relevant to the case and social work.

Failure to paraphrase and/or reference someone elses work, even if its not a direct quote.

Avoid the use of the 1st person after the introduction. Instead of I completed an assessment, say an assessment was completed under section.. (Its ok to say case in this context)

Make sure your sections are distinct. Subheadings arent essential (although they are useful!) as long as its clear where one section ends and the other begins.

The purpose of this assignment is to communicate not only your knowledge of the law relevant to social work, but to demonstrate a critical awareness of how legislation is applied in practice. You must draw on the learning from this module, and explore the relevant legislation, statutory guidance, and case law.

The assignment will focus on how the law is applied and the powers, duties and responsibilities for social workers when undertaking interventions based on the legal framework in that area of practice. The practice elements will also include reference to Human rights and Equality legislation from a Social work values and ethics perspective.

Drawing on a case from your own practice, in which you were involved in the intervention, this assignment requires you to critically analyse how the law was utilised in relation to your case.

There are 2 parts to this assignment.

Part A - What aspects of the law, that were utilised in this case, were helpful in addressing the needs of the child/adult/carer?

Part B - What aspects of the law, that were potentially relevant in this case, were not utilised in the best interests of the child/adult/carer?

You should include:

Principles of the legislation, for example welfare/wellbeing principles.

Relevant sections of the law and the purpose of the intervention

Discuss values and ethics in relation to the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act where relevant.

Students should refer to the Assessment and Examination section of the handbook for guidance on the submission and assessment of all summative assessments. Further guidance is also available on Moodle.

READING LIST

You can view an electronic reading list on Talis or the Word version on Moodle. Where books are listed as essential there is no expectation to read it from cover to cover, but it will be essential for you to read relevant chapters. These are specified for you in the Word version of the reading list on Moodle. Please also check the resources listed for each week on Moodle as there will be copies of relevant articles, links to key legislation, statutory guidance, and case law provided for each session.

All the texts below are available in an E-Format from the Library.

General Law Texts (essential reading)

Goosey, H. and Carr, D (2021) Law for Social Workers (16th ed.) Oxford University Press

(There is an e-version available from the library but you may need to scroll down in the search list to get the most recent edition)

Johns, R (2020) Using the Law in Social Work. London: Learning Matters

General Law Texts (recommended reading)

Brammer, A. (2020) Social Work Law (5th ed.). Harlow: Pearson.

Preston-Shoot, M (2014) Making Good Decisions: Law for Social Work Practice. New York: Palgrave MacMillan

Adults Social Work Law (recommended)

Cooper, A. and White, E (Eds.) (2017). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Manthorpe. J. (2020) The Impact of the Care Act 2014: a summary of research evidence commissioned by the NIHR Policy Research Programme. [online] available from < https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/the-impact-of-the-care-act-2014-a-summary-of-the-research-evidenc>

Marczak, Joanna (01/09/2022). "How have the Care Act 2014 ambitions to support carers translated into local practice? Findings from a process evaluation study of local stakeholders' perceptions of Care Act implementation".Health & social care in the community(0966-0410), 30 (5), p. e1711.

ORourke, G., Lloyd, L., Bezzina, A., Cameron, A., Jessiman, T. & Smith, R. 2021, "Supporting Older Co-Resident Carers of Older People The Impact of Care Act Implementation in Four Local Authorities in England", Social policy and society : a journal of the Social Policy Association, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 371- 384.

Mental Health and Mental Capacity (recommended)

Jade Daniels, The Often-unheard Perspective of a Carer Navigating Neoliberalism under the Provisions of the 2014 Care Act,The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 53, Issue 3, April 2023, Pages 17841792,https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad033Dimond, B. 2016, Legal aspects of mental capacity: a practical guide for health and social care professionals, Second edn, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, Hoboken, NJ;Chichester, West Sussex;.

Godefroy, S. 2015, Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law for Social Workers: An Introduction, (First edn), SAGE/Learning Matters, Los Angeles

Golightley, M. 2020, Social Work and Mental Health, 7th edn, SAGE Publishing.1.

Human Rights and Ethics

Donald T. Dickson(2009)When Law and Ethics Collide: Social Control in Child Protective Services,Ethics and Social Welfare,3:3,264-283,DOI:10.1080/17496530903209485Johns, R. (2016) Ethics and Law for Social Workers. London: Sage

Wronka, J (2020) Human Rights and Social Justice: Social Action and Service for the Helping and Health Professions, (2nd edn) London: SAGE Publications

Children and Family Law

Barnett, H. (2021) Childrens Rights and the Law: an introduction. Abingdon: Routledge

Gilmore, S (2017) Parental Rights and Responsibilities. London: Routledge

OLoughlin, M. and OLoughlin, S. (2016) Social Work with Children and Families. London: Sage

HARVARD REFERENCING GUIDANCE

It is assumed that you will be accessing the legislation via the internet links given as part of the teaching.

Acts of Parliament e.g., Children Act 1989

Within the body of your assignment, you must refer to relevant sections (e.g. s17, CA 1989).

Within the text:

Title of the Act and year e.g. (Children Act 1989). After the first mention of the Act in full (e.g., Children Act 1989) am abbreviation may be used (CA 1989).

Within your list of references:

Title of the Act and year. [online]. Place of publication: Publisher. [Date accessed]. Available from: web address.

e.g. Children Act 1989. [online]. London: The Stationery Office. [Accessed 15 February 2021]. Available from:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents

Statutory Guidance i.e. Care and Support Statutory Guidance

Within the text:

Title of the statutory guidance and year e.g. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)

Within your list of references:

Title of the statutory guidance and year. [online]. Place of publication: Publisher. [Date accessed]. Available from: web address

e.g. Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014. [online]. London: The Stationery Office. [Accessed 15 February 2021]. Available from:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315993/Care-Act-Guidance.pdf

Case Law i.e., Re B

Within the text:

Parties in the case, year e.g. (Re B, 2013)

Within your list of references:

Parties in the case [year] court citation, [year] abbreviation of the law report. [Date accessed]. Available from: web address

e.g., Re B (Care Proceedings: Appeal) [2013] UKSC 33, [2013] 2 FLR 1075 [Date accessed: 15 February 2021]. Available from:

https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2013-0022-judgment.pdf