Direct work with Children Resource Bags

Enabling the Social Work Role

Background

The direct work bags were distributed to 960 social workers across the 8 WLA boroughs. They contain a range of resources for different uses, and cover a wide range of ages. The bags have been used by social workers to undertake Story Stem work, Ecogram work and lots of drawing exercises - as well as forming a relationship with a child and giving them a partial distraction and reduce the intensity of difficult situations.  It is hoped that the resource bags encourage social workers to interact more directly with children and to take more notice of how children play while they engage with the parents.

Rationale

In drawing up proposals to reduce bureaucracy it became clear that most of the suggestions were designed to minimise the reasons for staying in the office, rather than making direct work more attractive i.e. push factors rather than pull factors. The purpose of the resource bags was to help social workers develop increased skill and confidence in direct work with families, particularly children. We provided team training and materials for direct work with children, giving a number of teams across boroughs a renewed enthusiasm for direct work. In the long term we would like to build in regular workshops introducing tools and techniques.

We recognised that Social Workers need direct work resources to perform all or one of the following functions:

1) provide a focus and dilute the intensity of the interaction for the child 2) allow the child to express themselves creatively/ symbolically through play or art3) calm and focus the child to change their energy level 4) builds a relationship by being a collaborative activity for worker and child

Resource Bag Contents

Direct work with Children Resource Bags

Item Rationale Cost Supplier Details Resource Bags (with Printed WLA Logo) Enabling easy transportation of the

resources during home visits£1.69 HammerPrint

Communicating with Children: A two-way process (Resource Pack)NCBC Chamberlain & R SalzellISBN 10:1-905818-07-6

A detailed guide pulling together key research and evidence-based approaches to direct work children

79p (printing costs) Free to download from the NCB website

www.ncb.org.uk (publications)

Say it Your Own Way CD available from Barnados

1 CD per team to enable social workers to think about how children can express their feelings

£12.00 Barnados

www.barnados.org.uk (shop)

Speechmark Books: How Hattie Hated KinndessA Wibble Called Bipley Ruby and the Rubbish BinA Nifflenoo Called NevermindA Pea Called MildredTeenie Weenie in a Too Big WorldWilly and the Wobbly HouseThe Day The Sea Went Out and Never Came BackThe Frog who Longed for the Moon to Smile

Stories to help children understand their feelings

£6.50 (usual price £10.99)

Speechmark Publications

www.speechmark.net

The Anti-Colouring Book Alternative to a drawing activity - it's crammed with inspirational ideas that'll really stimulate the imagination

£1.99(usual price £6.99)

Scholastic

www.scholastic.co.uk (shop)

Activity Paper (coloured)10 sheets of paper per bag

Vital for engaging 50p(£4.00 for 200 sheets)

Early Learning Centre

www.elc.co.uk

Item Rationale Cost Supplier Details Felt tip pens Vital for engaging, settling the 47p Staples

Direct work with Children Resource Bags

(coloured pencils could also be included)child and creativity

www.staples.co.uk

Mini Multi Expression Stickers (1 sheet) To enable children to express who they are feeling using stickers instead of words

33p School Stickers

www.schoolstickers.co.uk

Playdough

1 pot per bag

Providing a tactile diluting activity into which the child can squeeze, stress relief and also a creative medium for expression

22p

(£2.05 for 10 pots)

NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.com

Finger Puppets

4 per bag

To facilitate role play activities (family dynamics)

£1.56

(10 finger puppets £3.99)

Ikea

www.ikea.com

Plastic Animal Toys

10 per bag

A couple of gentle looking animal families and a couple of fiercer animals to facilitate role play activities

50p NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.com

Sponge Ball Providing a tactile diluting activity into which the child can squeeze, stress relief and also can be used for ball games

33p NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.com

Toy Car

1 per bag

Provides a distracting activity for children while engaging with their social worker

97p NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.comItem Rationale Cost Supplier Details Mini Connect 4 Collaborative and calming 11p NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.com

Direct work with Children Resource Bags

Deck of cards As above and can double as fake money / stepping stones / house of cards etc

36p NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.com

Make Your Own Jewellery Joint activity that can be enjoyed with children and young people

75p NDA Toy Wholesale Supplier

www.nda-toys.com

Nail Varnish

(Make Up Academy)

Provides a distracting activity for young people while engaging with their social worker

£1.00 Superdrug

www.superdrug.comMagazines suitable for adolescents

(NME, Heat, Look)

Provides a distracting activity for young people while engaging with their social worker

£2.50 WHSmith / News agent

Cost per set £20.57(excluding cost of CD for teams)

Activity Idea – Island Pictures

Drawing islands is a good way to engage with children and find out who they like to have close to them and why:

Direct work with Children Resource BagsOn a page draw 3 islands; one is where the child lives, one is joined by a gated bridge (potential visitors to the child’s island live here - the child has the key to the gate and controls who visits and when) the last island is further away and not joined to the child’s island.

Get the child to put what and who they want on their island (mum, sister, pet, favourite toys), and to decide who might be able to visit sometimes (putting those people on the visitors island). When will they be allowed on to the child’s island? Finally get the child to think about whom they want to put on the island far away and what might be in the water between the islands.

During this activity children can use colour and or pictures/collage and the worker can use open ended questions to find out what the positions, colours and pictures mean to the child.