Course overview
This course is suitable if you are an experienced social worker, psychologist, probation officer or health worker, skilled in the management and assessment of complex child protection or risk assessment cases.
You develop the knowledge, theory, research and skills required to carry out robust capacity to protect assessments with non-abusing carers. You learn how to carry out educational work with non-abusing carers around how sexual abusers operate.
Course details
What you study
This module aims to:
- develop your ability to assess a non-abusing parent/carer’s capacity to protect from sexual abuse
- equip you with the skills to complete a capacity to protect assessment
- develop your understanding of how sexual abusers operate and the ability to teach this to non-abusing carers
- provide you with the opportunity to develop robust family safety plans
- reflect on current practice and the potential issues that can occur when working in this specialism.
- preconceptions and attitudes towards partners of sexual abusers
- thoughts and feelings of family members affected by sexual abuse
- the function of denial for the non-abusing carer, following discovery of sexual abuse
- the impact of grooming on non-abusing carers and strategies to counter this
- the effect of grooming and sexual abuse on the child’s relationship with the non-abusing carer
- practical skills in interviewing and carrying out educational work with non-abusing carers
- factors known to influence capacity to protect using assessment models
- how to conduct capacity to protect assessments
- producing robust and protective family safety plans.
How you learn
Delivered in a block of four days through a variety of teaching methods, including interactive lectures, practical exercises, role play and group discussion.
You must take responsibility for your own learning by keeping up to date with the reading. The virtual learning environment provides you with online support throughout. You are expected to show that you have used the range of learning resources and links to relevant research as part of your learning experience.
How you are assessed
Feedback is provided throughout teaching by tutors and fellow students in individual and group tutorials.
Following the four days of face-to-face teaching, you complete an assessed capacity to protect assessment report based on a case study used in the course. The report should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words long and suitable for presentation in family court.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Suitable for experienced social workers, psychologists, probation officers and health staff working in the child protection/risk assessment sector and experienced in the management and assessment of complex cases.
Employability
Career opportunities
The completion of this short course allows you to carry out specialist capacity to protect from sexual abuse assessments and reports suitable for use in family court.
