Critical Analysis of Practice
Guidance
The aim is for the student to engage in critical thinking about social
work practice, social work process, their knowledge, values, skills and
professional development.
These templates are to be shared with the practice educator in every
supervision session.
The template is not to be completed at the end of the placement
retrospectively. The relevant sections are to be completed to inform
intervention as you go along.
There is no maximum number of templates that can be completed
and a student may wish to use one for every ‘case’ they work with.
However first placement students are to submit 3 templates (70 day
placement) and final placement students are to submit 4 templates
(100 day placement) with the final report.
The intention is for the student to engage in critical thinking
therefore it is the quality of the inclusion that is important rather
than the amount of writing. To avoid lengthy description we would
suggest a maximum word count of 1500 words as a guide.
Pseudonym(s) of
service user(s) /
carer(s) used
A brief outline of the scenario/case/family situation at the point you
receive the case / asked to work with the service user
ASSESSMENT
A brief outline of the assessment process including your role in the
assessment
1
April 2013
PLANNING
What are the aims of the intervention? (bullet points are acceptable)
What is your role / area of responsibility in the intervention? (bullet
points are acceptable)
What are your strategies for intervention (how will you work towards
achieving the aims of the intervention)?
(Consider legislation, policy, social work methods and theory)
(bullet points are acceptable)
Skills for intervention. What social work skills are relevant for the
intervention? If there are skills you need to develop how are you
going to develop these? (bullet points are acceptable)
Self-awareness: What are your own feelings about this situation?
Tuning in: What might the service user’s possible feelings be about:
the agency, you, the situation?
INTERVENTION: this section may be built upon during the course of
the work carried out.
In terms of intervention were the aims achieved – if so how and if
2
April 2013
not provide a brief outline. What theory/ skills/ methods did you
draw on?
What ethical considerations did you encounter?
A brief update of the scenario/case/family situation.
REVIEW AND EVALUATION
How did you review the work that you did? (bullet points are acceptable)
What is the impact of the intervention on the service user?
Critically appraise your intervention with reference to theory,
knowledge, research, skills and methods
Reflecting on your experience identify three things you did well. (bullet
points are acceptable)
Reflecting on your experience identify areas for development in
3
April 2013
terms of your professional practice (bullet points are acceptable)
How do you plan to address these developmental areas? (bullet points are
acceptable)
YES
NO
I confirm that the student has shared this
document with me as the case has developed. We
have discussed in supervision and the document
is an accurate representation.
Was the student observed engaging and
interacting with this service user for one of the
observed practices?
Please make comment about the students practice, critical thinking
and ability to undertake social work tasks.
How did the service user respond to the intervention by the student?
It is expected that you will include feedback from the service user
(this may be written, verbal or non-verbal feedback).
Practice Educator Name
4
April 2013
Signature
Date
5
April 2013