Child Protection &
Emotional Intelligence
Pauline Green
&
Fran Fuller
1
21/03/2016
Happy Social Work Day!
 The social work profession promotes social change, problem
solving in human relationships and the empowerment and
liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories
of human behaviour and social systems, social work
intervenes at the points where people interact with their
environments. Principles of human rights and social justice
are fundamental to social work (IFSW 2010)
An historical context
 Social Services was established in 1971 in the UK
 The death of Maria Colwell in 1973 bought child abuse in
England into the public domain in a significant way
 Since then we have had several child death enquiries and
serious case reviews which have considered the role of social
workers and other professionals who work with vulnerable
children
 In 1991 we saw the enactment of the 1989 Children Act
which was to transform the way in which professional
worked together and investigated child abuse.
Legislation
 1989 Children Act- This mandated all professionals to have a
responsibility to child protection
 2003- Every Child Matters- A paper which emerged from the
death of Victoria Climbié in 2000. The paper was published
by Lord Lamming who had carried out the enquiry of
Victoria’s death.
 2003 saw the introduction of the new social work degree
which sought to professionalise and safeguard the status of
Social Work by increasing the study time and to apply 200
days of practice as a requirement to meet the learning
outcomes of the degree.
 There was also a consideration within the report regarding
the ‘emotional resilience’ of social workers
Outcomes of the enquiries.
 In 2008 another tragic death occurred and a further enquiry
was conducted by Lord Lamming. The death of Peter
Connolly prompted a social work taskforce to be set up.
 This task force reported back last year with 15 strong
recommendations.
 Some of the focus was on the training and preparation of
social work students and many questions were asked as to
whether students were ‘fit for practice’ ?
 There was also a consideration within the report regarding
the ‘emotional resilience’ of social workers
The Emerging Landscape!
 As a profession we are encouraged by the proposed
recommendations which our current government has
accepted.
 The HEI’s will be charged with considering the directives
given to them by further reports one of which is due to be
published tomorrow.
 Emotional intelligence (EI)will be a consideration alongside
emotional resilience.
 EI…… What is it? What place does it have within the social
work profession?
Definition
Emotional Intelligence is
“a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to
monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to
discriminate among them and to use this information to
guide one’s thinking and action”
(Mayer and Salovey,1990 cited in Cherniss, 2000, p4)
Emotional Intelligence Paradigm
(Morrison, 2007)
Emotional Intelligence and Social Work
The Social Worker who is emotionally intelligent is more than
halfway to being an effective Social Worker”
(Howe, 2008, p7)
Links with Social Work
 Profession deals with emotionally charged
activities/situations
 Social Work requirements and standards relating to the
new Degree indicate that Social Workers should be
emotionally intelligent
 Social Workers need to be able to interpret human
thoughts, feelings and behaviour
 Aspects of job such as interviewing, working on an inter
professional basis, assessing etc require emotional
intelligence.
Concern
“relationships between Social Workers and their clients change
from interpersonal to economics, from therapeutic to
transactional, from nurturing and supportive to contractual
and service orientated”
( Howe, 1996, p92)
The EI Test
 15 scenarios – testing different areas of emotional
intelligence
 Choose only one option from a choice of responses a, b, c or
d.
 Add up your scores using the answer sheet
 What is your score?
Research
 M.A Education – Dissertation
“ Can Social Work education and training increase a Social Work
student’s emotional intelligence?
All three year groups took part.
Tested in Oct 2007 and again in May 2008
Findings
Year 1 Oct Test Score vs May Test
Score
300
EI score
250
200
150
Oct Test
100
May Test
50
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
Findings
Year 2 Oct Test Score vs May Test
Score
300
E I Score
250
200
150
Oct Test
100
May Test
50
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Findings
Year 3 Oct Test Score vs May Test Score
300
E I Score
250
200
Oct Test
150
May Test
100
50
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Why the increase in EI?
 Experiential learning ie placement – Goleman 1998
 Taught modules – Preparation for Social Work Practice, Human
Growth and Development, Communication Skills etc
 Work experience whilst training
 Opportunity to train with a wide ranging student cohort of
differing ages, gender, culture, experience etc
 Time – development of experience, knowledge, values and skills
Future Implications/Considerations
 Testing –What is the best way to test? Who should be
involved in testing eg Personal Tutor, peers, Practice
Assessor
 Interview/ Selection/ Recruitment
 Further research regarding staff awareness of curriculum
and EI
 Personal Professional Development
 Learning, Teaching and Assessment methods
 Inclusion in curriculum
To Conclude
Goleman (1995) claimed that emotional intelligence can be
‘as powerful and at times more powerful than IQ”
Where to Get More Information
Goleman, D (1995) “Emotional Intelligence” London: Bantam
Books
Howe, D (2008) “The Emotionally Intelligent SocialWorker”
Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan
Reading
 Cherniss, C (2000) “Emotional Intelligence:What it is andWhy it Matters”
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www.eiconsortium.org
Cherniss, C and Goleman, D (2001) “The Emotionally IntelligentWorkplace” San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass
Gardner, H (1983) “ Frames of Mind:The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” New York: Basic
Goleman, D (1998) “Working with Emotional Intelligence” London: Bloomsbury Publishing
Lishman, J (2007) ”Handbook for Practice Learning in SocialWork and Social Care” London:
Jessica Kingsley Publications
Morrison, T (2007) “Emotional Intelligence, Emotion and SocialWork: Contexts, Characteristics,
Complications and Contribution” British Journal of Social Work Vol 37 pp 245-263
Parton, N (1996) “Social Theory, Social Change and SocialWork” New York: Routledge
Thompson, N (2009) “Practising SocialWork” Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan
Any Questions?
Thank you
Many thanks for your valuable contribution
GOODBYE