Curriculum Information

Students will be challenged to consider different scenarios, how they may unfold and learn how to respond appropriately. Students will learn about speech, language, communication and needs and how to recognise and work with these. Students will learn about communicating with others and how to support families in conflict where communication has broken down. Students will learn about non-verbal communication skills, adapting to age appropriate conversations, additional learning needs, neurodiversity and cultural barriers within families. Students will be challenged to think about why people are demonstrating certain behaviours, challenge judgemental behaviours and labels used in society.

Students will upskill their own practical and emotional regulation and develop mindfulness. Students will be exposed to scenarios where they have to build trust in diverse communities by the communication and language they demonstrate.

Students will have the opportunities to learn about methods of work used in the workplace environment, for example, wishes and feelings work and emotional regulation and when working with children and families and have opportunities to try doing some of this activity in order to prepare them for when they begin their placement.

Students will be identifying and developing skills that will enable them to recognise their importance when working in a social care setting:

Communication skills: These skills include active listening, reflective listening, advanced communication, understanding core conditions such as empathy, congruence, unconditional positive regard, purposeful self-disclosure, and challenge

Counselling Skills: These skills include key micro-skills such as the skilled helper model, motivational interviewing, solution-focused interviewing affirmation, strength-based, and person-based approaches

Therapeutic Skills: To include basic therapeutic skills for using social pedagogy approaches for engaging children, young people, families, and communities in activities to include: art, painting, collaging, mosaics, working with different materials, exploring heritage and culture, values.