An introduction to social work in Wales

Note: This course will be removed from OpenLearn on 1st November 2024. Please make sure you have finished studying the course by then.Respecting the individuality of each person is a central value of social work but, as the term suggests, social work is not only about individual perspectives: it also takes place in a social context. Society, demography, geography, national legislation, national policy, and language all play an important part, both in the lives of service users and carers and in the practice of social work practitioners. This free course, An introduction to social work in Wales, will introduce you to the importance of recognising that social work practice happens in context. In particular, you will learn about what this means for social work in Wales in the Welsh context.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 The social context of service users
• 1 The social context of service users
• 2 What is the ‘Welsh context’ of social work?
• 2 What is the ‘Welsh context’ of social work?
• 3 Legislation, policy and values: the social work remit
• 3 Legislation, policy and values: the social work remit
• 3.1 Legislation and policy
• 3.2 Devolution
• Values
• 4 Social work roles in practice
• 4 Social work roles in practice
• 4.1 Disadvantage and discrimination 
• 4.2 Empowering practice
• 5 Social work and the Welsh language
• 5 Social work and the Welsh language
• 5.1 The language, legislation and policy
• 5.2 Language sensitivity
• 6 The Rimmer Pyramid
• 6 The Rimmer Pyramid
• 7 Conclusion
• 7 Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements