AU4D022 - Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues in Safeguarding Practice 01 Sep 2024 - 31 Aug 2030 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: AU4D022
Module Title: Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues in Safeguarding Practice
Faculty: Faculty of Life Sciences and Education
Faculty Group: Community and Professional Practice Nursing
Faculty Sub Group: Professional Nursing Practice
Module Leader: Hayley Lewis
Module Team:
First Intended Intake: SEP 2024 Final Year of Intake: 2029
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 40 Credit Level: 7
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module: N/A
HECOS codes: 100290 - nursing
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2024
Valid To 31 Aug 2030

Module Aims

·       To critically examine the legislation relating to the vulnerable person and the rights of society to protection

·       Using ethical theories and principles to critically explore dilemmas relating to vulnerable persons in practice

·       To compare and contrast ethical and professional codes of practice used by statutory and voluntary agencies involved in the protection of vulnerable persons

Content Summary

This module will provide an introduction to the English and European legal systems; exploration of ethical theories and principles; Introduction to accessing legal materials; The Human Rights Act 1998 and the rights of individuals in society; exploring statutory provision to protect both children and adults from harm. This module will also explore concepts such as who is vulnerable and what is abuse; legal procedural rules and enforcement; professional codes of practice and policy; and ethical dilemmas faced in practice. The module will also explore confidentiality and the sharing of information – common and statutory law; developing interpersonal skills when breaking difficult news, and deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 24
Tutorials 30
Project Supervision 20
Independent Study 170
Directed Study (including online independent learning) 120
Formative assessment - scheduled 4
Formative assessment - independent 4
Groupwork 18
Problem/Challenge based learning 10
Total Hours Selected 400

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Critically appraise safeguarding legislation and policy relating to the vulnerable person.
LO2 Use ethical theories and principles to critically challenge and explore safeguarding dilemmas when working with vulnerable people

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Synchronous Onsite Oral Assessment Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) 1 A presentation based on a legal/ethical & professional issue relating to safeguarding 20 N/A 40 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Essay 1 A critical analysis assignment based upon legal, ethical and professional issues relating to safeguarding. The topic of the assignment is negotiated with their supervising lecturer. The topic does not need to be the same as the presentation. 0 3000 60 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) 1
Essay 1

Reading List

Chadwick R & Tadd Win (1992) Ethics & Nursing Practice, MacMillan, Basingstoke.Davies M (1998) Textbook on Medical Law (2nd Edition) Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Davies H (2007) Human Rights Law Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Dowie I (2017) Legal, ethical and professional aspects of duty of care for nurses Nursing Standard 32 (11) 47-52

Griffiths R & Dowie I (2019) Dimond’s Legal Aspects of Nursing (8th Edition), Pearson, Harlow, Essex.

Dowie I (2020) Understanding the standard of care required by nurses Nursing Standard 35 (4) 29-34

Hendrick J (2010) Law & Ethics in Children’s Nursing Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester.

Herring J (2018) Medical Law and Ethics (7th Edition), Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Jackson E (2016) Medical Law (4th Edition), Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Jones M & Morris A (2017) Statutes on Medical Law (9th Edition) Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Melia K (1989) Everyday Nursing Ethics, MacMillan, London.

Pattinson S D (2017) Medical Law and Ethics, (Fifth Edition) London

Pritchard J (ed) (2009) Good Practice in the Law and Safeguarding Adults, London: Jessica Kingsley