Law

Social work is a dynamic profession that is undergoing a period of significant change in Scotland. Social workers have the power to make assessments and decisions that radically alter people's lives. This free course from the Open University introduces the law as it relates to social work and encourages an understanding of the context of the law in order to make sound decisions.

The course is available online, but is also available to download for your Kindle as well as in PDF format, as a Word document, and many more.

Written for Learning at Work week, this is a list of resources about the law and social work.

Writing for Learning at Work week, Jon Bolton talks about how the law engages with profound social issues that lie at the heart of professional practice. It's an exciting and stimulating journey - and, when we get it right... 'everything is awesome'!

This is an online guide that aims to simplify how the youth and criminal justice system works for under 18s in Scotland by describing the processes, practices, law, guidance, roles and responsibilities at each stage of the young person's journey.

This resource details the journey a young person can make from an offence allegedly being committed; routes to court, court processes and sentencing; stages in the journey should a young person be remanded or sentenced to secure care or custody or sentenced to a community disposal; and post-sentence support.

Links to the very wide range of resources on the Iriss (Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services) website that practice educators may find useful.

A Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre (SWAP) research report about student learning about law during work-based learning.

A learning object, produced by Iriss (The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services) that combines audio podcasts with video excerpts to enable learners to distinguish human rights and civil liberties. Includes written transcripts.

A guide for practice educators and students designed to enable the development of skills and knowledge in anti-discriminatory practice. Be aware that this resource predates some key legislation, including the Equality Act 2010.

A publication from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) that sets out key choices that those engaged in enabling students to learn about law and assessing their competence should consider.