Reflective Journal: Social Work in Child Protection Case

This assignment presents a reflective journal entry from a social worker detailing their experiences in a child protection case involving a 6-week-old infant with multiple injuries. The reflection utilizes Gibbs' reflective model to analyze the social worker's skills, including patience and calmness, and their application within a multi-agency team. The paper discusses the challenges of the case, the importance of adapting to the child's needs, and the positive outcomes achieved. The social worker also applies the Belbin model to understand their role as an implementer within the team and the Tuckman model to describe the stages of team development. The reflection emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, adopting positive practices, and adhering to legislation and policies, such as the Childcare Act 2006, to ensure effective child protection. The assignment highlights the development of new skills and the importance of applying existing knowledge to achieve desired results in child care.

Reflection of a Social Worker

Contents
Reflective Topic: Working as Social Worker in a Child Protection Case within a Multi-Agency
Team................................................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

Reflective Topic: Working as Social Worker in a Child Protection Case within
a Multi-Agency Team
There are many aspects which are learned by me regarding own skills and attributes while
performing the work as social worker within a multi-agency team for the protection of child.
These are presented below with the aid of Gibbs reflective model as this covers the experience in
different stages;
During the care lots of instances were happened because of the age of child. The child is only 6
weeks old and have multiple injuries. The child has issues related to perfect settling on a place
and crying due to the pain of fractures. To handle this situation, I always present near to the baby
and take care to provide all comfort so can be recovered from the situation as early as possible.
The result of this situation is able to attain positive results over the health of child (Li and et al.,
2020).
Before the handling of child, I have doubt over my own competencies like patience,
calmness and working multiple functionalities at time. While, I am handing the child, I noticed
that all the different situations were handled properly where proper care is provided with positive
nature or behaviour. I felt after the completion of work that having quite good qualities such as
patience, calmness and multiple functioning within my personality.
The two aspects gone positive within the performance of overall exercise of protecting a
child such as help in early recovering of child and another is about ascertainment of
competencies exist in my character. While performing the work, the aspect which was going well
include calmness in behaviour help to took right decisions that aid in better care of child.
This will must provide a positive lesson to all that while taking care of child first think about
application of calmness in behaviour. In future, if I am facing the same situation then must focus
over gathering knowledge about different techniques of better care. In this regard, the skills
which are needed to develop by me within own personality includes passion and learning.
I suggest to my team members that while handling such sensitive case in future always focus
over learning of new techniques with passionate and calm behaviour. To made the overall
process more efficient, better for all that taking part in different training programmes in advance
so information can be gained regarding better care of child belong from the different ages.
During the performance of functions in integration with multi-agency team, I gained lots of
knowledge regarding legislation, policy and guiding practice that applied over working agency. I
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understood that must for an agency to comply the provisions of Childcare Act 2006. The policies
followed are antidiscriminative where equal chance is provided to everyone for sharing their own
views and ideas. Also, having the policy about the equal care to all who approach the agency at
the time of need. The guiding practices exist includes supportive behaviour of everyone towards
each other where they transfer knowledge and skills for improving working abilities. Also,
always adopt the positive practices that resultant into the creation of positive culture where not
only employees feel comfortable but also who approached for care felt safe and protected.
The role which was played by me within an agency is explained with the aid of Belbin model.
According to the model, there are three main type roles include action oriented, people oriented
and thought oriented (Lynch, Lynch and Clemens, 2018). These all have effective contribution
towards the formulation of effective team. In all the three different types, roles are bifurcated on
the basis of functioning. Action oriented roles include shaper, implementer and compete finisher.
This is the main functional team that work in the direction of attaining desired results. People
oriented roles include coordinator, team worker and resource investigator. They have the role
regarding the formulation of team by assessing the different requirements and available
resources. Though oriented roles include plant, monitor-evaluator and specialist. They have the
main role regarding the development of ideas and practices on the basis of which structuring will
be done regarding team formation for accomplishing overall objectives. Here, I have the work
related to implementer within multi-team agency. I perform the work regarding application of
ideas into actual functioning for ascertaining better results in child care. It is totally action
oriented where the aim is to only achieve the desired results through usage of every single option
exist in mind.
The overall experience of mine is good and positive at the time of working within multi-
team agency. To provide the detailed description, I am using the model of Tuckman. Here, I
defined the experience belonging from the different stage;
Forming is the first stage of team development where everyone is new to each other. This
was felt by me while I joined the multi-team agency. The second stage is storming where
information is provided regarding the work. Here, I get the information about the case of 6-week
child with multiple injuries who wants better care for recovery. Norming is the third stage where
all get familiar with other and ascertain information strengths. Here, I start understand about the
care needs and practices which are needed to apply with use of appropriate behaviour and
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character. Performing is the fourth stage that includes the application of approaches for
providence of better care to child (Kiweewa and et al., 2018). Here, I applied the skills and
knowledge i.e. calmness and patience in delivering of the best care to the child for early recovery
of child from injuries and pain. Adjourning is the fifth stage that includes the creation of feeling
that experience is now over. Here, I also have the same feeling because attached too much with
the workings.
It has been concluded from the experience of working with a multi-team agency that lots
of new skills are developed in me related to passion and learning of new aspects. Also, I gained
the knowledge that effective application of existing is must for the purpose of ascertaining
desired results as gained in the case of child care.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Kiweewa, J.M. and et al., 2018. Tracking growth factors in experiential training groups through
Tuckman’s conceptual model. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work. 43(3). pp.274-
296.
Li, Y. and et al., 2020. Nurses’ Psychological Feelings About the Application of Gibbs
Reflective Cycle of Adverse Events. American Journal of Nursing. 9(2). pp.74-78.
Lynch, D. S., Lynch, M. J. and Clemens, C. M., 2018. Belbin Team Roles. The Handbook of
Communication Training: A Best Practices Framework for Assessing and Developing
Competence.
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