Effective supervision helps to nurture confident social workers who are able to look after service users in the best possible way. Social work supervisors and managers need mastery of the relevant knowledge and skills in order to ensure successful social work practice. This book is an accessible guide to the essential skills of social work supervision. It covers the development of the supervisor-supervisee relationship, the assessment and management of risk, understanding and managing poor performance, and support for the supervisors themselves. The book follows a model which recognises the far reaching impact of supervision and provides a sound foundation for critical thinking and reflective practice. Practice vignettes and exercises for the reader are included throughout the book. This book is essential reading for social work students, social work supervisors and managers, practice teachers and assessors, and trainers, as well as those in allied professions.

The high profile reporting of child sexual abuse carried out by Jimmy Savile over decades has had far reaching-consequences, raising public awareness and concern, yet we continue to uncover new cases of institutional abuse which have been taking place under the radar for years. This book distils the learning from 80+ public inquiries relating to Savile as well as related cases of institutional abuse and analyses the key findings. It examines what we now know about offending within organisations and institutions, and how organisational failures can enable abusers. Each chapter also outlines solutions, offering perspectives for individuals and organisations on what practical action they can take to minimise risk in the settings in which they work. The book includes chapters specifically dedicated to the NHS, sports organisations and schools, and is necessary reading for professionals with responsibility for safeguarding in any setting.

How do you keep the whole family in mind when carrying out social work assessment? How do you balance the needs of adults and children? How do you ensure that children's welfare and safety are everyone's priority when families face complex difficulties? Mastering Whole Family Assessment in Social Work brings together what social workers in adult and children services need to know about assessment across both services. With tools and frameworks that make sense of the interface between adult life difficulties, family problems, parenting capacity and children's needs, this practical guide will help social workers to think across professional and administrative divides. Case studies, practice vignettes, exercises and suggestions for further reading are included throughout the book to help the reader consider the well-being of the whole family when conducting and interpreting assessments. This guide will help social workers to think holistically and work collaboratively both with each other and with families.

Communication skills are fundamental to effective social work practice. Accessible and easy-to-read, Mastering Communication in Social Work is designed to help you develop these essential skills. It explores the basics of how communication works, the factors that influence how effectively you attend to and convey information, and how you can improve your communication. Particular attention is given to the challenges posed by difficult clients and the cultural dimensions of communication. Gast and Bailey put forward a reflective model for practice designed help you break bad habits and develop a wider repertoire of communication behaviours. Practice vignettes and exercises for the reader are included throughout. This book is essential reading for social work students, practitioners, managers, practice teachers and assessors, and trainers, as well as those in allied professions.