Anne Switalski and Tracey Race Leeds Beckett University

1. Experiential Learning around Court Skills in
Child Protection Cases
A Key Part of Skills Development for Trainee
Social Workers

2. Objectives
• To discuss the importance of experiential
learning in order to prepare social work
students for the challenges of practice in child
protection.
• To recognise the value of role play in a
simulated court room to provide an
opportunity for social work students to
practice giving evidence in a care proceedings
case.

3. College of Social Work
• Increased emphasis on the development of
professional skills in order to demonstrate readiness
for practice
– Social work courses include 30 skills development days
• The Curriculum Guide re: Law recognises that:
– Giving priority to a range of delivery methods that
accommodate different ways in which students acquire
and consolidate their law learning is a challenge in a
crowded academic curriculum.
– It also emphasises the importance of students developing
communication skills including giving an account of
decision making in court room settings.

4. Children and Families Act 2014
• In the light of the new legislation social
workers are under pressure to conform to
demanding time scales with an expectation of
court proceedings concluding within 26 weeks.
• The courts are looking to social workers to
provide high quality assessments and evidence
and are reluctant to instruct expert witnesses
in all but the most complex cases.

5. Value of Experiential Learning
“Imagine asking someone who had never even
been to the theatre to step straight onto the stage
and perform in a play. Surely that would be a
ridiculous idea, leading inevitably to
embarrassment and disaster. Yet social workers
routinely seem to be expected to give evidence the
first time they ever set foot in a courtroom. Being
thrown in the deep end is not usually the best way
to learn to swim.”
Davis, L. (2015) See You in Court: A social workers guide to giving evidence in
care proceedings. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

6. Challenges
• The Courtroom is an unfamiliar environment.
• Students are concerned about the power of the statutory
role and the formal and adversarial nature of the court
process.
• They may experience some dissonance between their
opinion and the requirements of representing their
employing authority.
• Values in respect of anti-oppressive practice may be
confused in the minds of some students.
• They may be wary of robustly arguing the case for life-
changing decisions.
• Those whose chosen career will be in Adult Services may
question the relevance of the exercise.

7. Experiential Learning
• The exercise takes place in a mock courtroom,
presided over by a local District Judge. The
Solicitor for the Local Authority applicant and
parent respondent is played by either a pupil
Barrister or local Solicitor.
• We have previously run the exercise in
conjunction with the Legal Practice course at our
University involving law students.
• Feedback is given on the day by tutors , the Judge
and legal practitioners.

8. Experiential Learning
• The exercise involves the Local Authority making an
application for Interim Care Orders in respect of two
children on the grounds that one has suffered a non-
accidental injury and that, in the light of this and other
complex family issues, both are likely to suffer
significant harm.
• Students are playing the role of a local authority social
worker; they are provided with a Statement. Each
student is “in role” for 10 minutes either giving
evidence in chief or being cross examined.
• Students draft a care plan and chronology in
preparation for the exercise.

9. Benefits
• The experience has been positively evaluated by participating
students.
• Students state that they have grown in confidence despite feeling
some initial anxiety.
• They report an increased sense of their professional identity
through the opportunity to state and defend a professional opinion.
• They learn first-hand the importance of the demeanour of the
witness through self-evaluation and observation of their peers.
• They recognise the importance of accountability – being able to
analyse different options and defend their decisions
• There is learning around how to argue the case robustly in the best
interests of the child whilst remaining compassionate and balanced
in presenting the evidence.

10. Student Reflection
I was so nervous about getting it right to the point
where I stopped considering all the facts in the case
and started to look for examples to support my
opinion. I looked for evidence for what I wanted and
stopped thinking about risk….I found myself lying in
the court exercise to cover my back. This is not
something I will ever repeat. Serious lesson learnt, a
split second, under pressure decision which I have
reflected on.

11. Student feedback
• The court skills exercise provided a very useful insight
into the court process, the procedure and
terminology and the kind of questions you might be
asked
• Although it was nerve-wracking it was an excellent
learning tool
• I understood more about the law underpinning
practice and what is expected of a social worker in
court

12. • HHJ Robin Bedford commented that:
• “The students were given the opportunity to
be cross examined, forced to think quickly and
exercise sound judgment whilst under
pressure. The feedback sessions were useful in
dealing with those who had found the exercise
difficult and also those who had over
estimated their own ability or underestimated
the difficulty of the task"