Papers drafted by our Committees

Mapping an inclusive curriculum for CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT for family justice professionals

Background

In 2001 a special education and training sub-committee of the President of the Family Division's Interdisciplinary Family Law Committee was set up to advise the President on a range of educational matters, particularly concerning continuing professional development and the expansion of the inter-disciplinary knowledge base with which a wide range of practitioners need to be familiar. This 'inclusive curriculum' results from a project undertaken between 2001 and 2004 by a working group of the education and training sub-committee . It is published as a web-based resource under the auspices of the President's Interdisciplinary Committee and of the newly appointed Family Justice Council. The work was undertaken under the general guidance of The Right Honourable Lord Justice Thorpe, Chairman of the Committee. The working group included representatives from the judiciary, family law barristers and solicitors, child psychiatry, paediatrics, counselling, social work, the magistracy and law and social work academics. The draft curriculum was circulated widely and detailed responses were received from government departments, training and professional regulatory bodies, professional associations of those involved in the administration and conduct of cases in the family courts and voluntary bodies providing services to children and families. (Members of the working group and bodies consulted and providing detailed comments are listed in the Appendix.) The redrafted curriculum was debated at a national workshop of invited representatives hosted by the Nuffield Foundation in March 2004. Responses to the curriculum were made by Steve Trevillian, Head of Education and Training at the GSCC (from the perspective of social work post-qualifying studies); the Honourable Mr Justice Hedley and his Honour Judge Victor Hall (from the perspectives of the legal professions and the Judicial Studies Board), Professor Judith Trowell and Dr Neela Shabde from the perspective of post-graduate medical education). The workshop members welcomed the curriculum as a valuable resource for those whose role it is to enhance the effectiveness of joint-learning and of inter-disciplinary training for all professionals working within the family justice system.

Introduction: The aims of this curriculum project

The aim of this project was to map out the parameters of a post-qualifying curriculum for those who work with vulnerable children and families within the court system. In so doing it seeks to assist those responsible for the continuing professional development of the different professional groups who work together within the family justice systems. It is neither a 'course outline nor a curriculum either for a single profession or for a multi-disciplinary academic qualification. Rather, it lists the broad areas of the curriculum which should be considered for inclusion by anyone designing either single or multi-disciplinary continuing education for 'family justice professionals' or those who provide a more 'intermittent' service to the courts. Those who work in the field of family justice are in effect, in any given case, participating in a crucial time-bounded interaction between a child and a family on the one hand and the machinery of family justice on the other. The curriculum which follows is designed to give a broad conceptual framework to illuminate and enhance in various ways a practitioner's understanding of this interaction. Such a curriculum should not be regarded as an attempt to impose an orthodoxy: Just as family law is periodically reviewed and reformed in the light of changing social values and knowledge, so also does behavioural and social science understanding of children and families develop, sometimes giving rise to conflicting schools of thought. While some theories stand the test of time, others get challenged and overtaken by new theoretical perspectives and altered in the light of empirical research. So continuing professional education for family justice studies is a dynamically evolving process of which individual practitioners and their respective professional organisations need to be constantly aware.

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The group has considered the importance, emphasised again by Lord Laming's report on the death of Victoria Climbie and the Green Paper Every Child Matters, of professionals deepening their knowledge about how each other works, and also enhancing their skills in working across professional and agency boundaries. This was emphasised by those responding to the consultation. It will be for those designing programmes of continuing professional development for the different professionals to consider which areas are best taught within single-disciplinary groups and which are best taught in groups including members of one or more of the professions working within the courts. Awareness of curricula at qualifying level is essential to inform these decisions. The University of Salford has been commissioned by the Department of Health via the General Social Care Council to map those aspects of the curriculum for each profession involved in providing child protection services that are relevant to multi-disciplinary working, though the legal profession is not included in this work. For each profession the subject areas we list will be covered at greater or lesser depth in their qualifying education and training. At the post-professional level, the child psychiatrist and the lawyer, for example will have different needs in terms of a child development or a legal issues curriculum. When these issues are covered in multi-disciplinary education, pitching curriculum content at a mid-level will leave one group under-stimulated and the other still with large gaps in their knowledge. To use multi-disciplinary training to provide up-dates of recent research or new legislation is valuable but it has to be built on sound foundations of profession-specific training. Broadly:

It will be apparent, therefore, that a programme for the continuing professional development of those who work within the family justice systems will contain sequences when the different professionals learn together, and others when they learn with others in their own specialism.

Some multi-disciplinary training will be for those who are 'full-timers' such as the joint workshops which have proved very successful for judges, lawyers, children's guardians, court welfare officers, on new research findings or new legislation. An example of multi-disciplinary training for family justice 'part-timers' is first-stage child protection training, which might also include discussions of new legislation but would concentrate on the principles and main provision rather than the details. Programmes of study that are modular in design are therefore best fitted to facilitate the appropriate combination of learning about and learning with other professionals as well as deepening the knowledge and skills learned in qualifying training. A further advantage of modular programmes is that they make it possible for service users and those engaged as lay advocates or in facilitating self-help groups to take part in some sequences, thus enhancing the principles of participatory working.

What follows is a list of the broad areas that should be considered for inclusion in a modular programme - to be covered at different depths and from different starting points. It is not a syllabus, though suggestions are made for course content for some parts of the curriculum. Some of the areas covered will mainly involve the learning of knowledge, but most are more complex and have values and skills components as well as knowledge components. Different teaching approaches may be needed to cover a single area. For example, when it comes to learning about the law on domestic violence, a solicitor and a teacher will have different needs in terms of the detail and would be better taught in separate groups so that earlier training can be built on. However, when considering the impact on children of witnessing domestic violence, or the principles and values underlying intervention, there will be much to be gained by them learning together alongside other professionals. Their needs in respect of learning skills, however, will be different- most solicitors are starting much further back than teachers when it comes to talking with children in an age appropriate way.

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Some thoughts on process follow each of the three main sections, but it is only when a professional body, agency or trainer starts to design a programme with a particular objective or professional group/s in mind that the learning process issues can be tackled.

Module 1 Frameworks for understanding children and families

Since we embarked on this work, the Department of Health has published the Framework for the Assessment of Children and their Families and work is continuing to develop this as a common framework for joint assessment across professional disciplines. Several text books and Readers have been or are shortly to be published to accompany it and these are available to put flesh on the bones of the suggested topics for inclusion in this module. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) are working together to collate and make accessible the knowledge base for practice.

1. Child and Adolescent Development

Illustrative syllabus

 

Frameworks and theories for understanding child development
Normal Development Pathways
Development to include physical, cognitive/intellectual, emotional, psychological and moral/spiritual development at the different stages and in taking account of the different cultural contexts which influence aspects of development:

Child's basic needs and the concept of resilience and protective factors

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2. Family relationships and dynamics, parenting patterns

Illustrative syllabus

3. Disability and its consequences

Illustrative syllabus

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4. Children's psychological development and emotional and behavioural difficulties
Illustrative syllabus

Some process issues relevant to Module 1

Approaches to teaching and learning

This is more of a 'knowledge' than a 'skills' module but should be permeated by an awareness of ethics and values. A didactic approach will work best for some parts, and these aspects of the curriculum could be delivered via distance learning and electronic methods. There is scope for the audio and video-recording of child development experts both describing new research findings at the advanced/specialist level and for bringing more basic child development knowledge to those whose initial training has not covered these issues in any depth. It is also important to allow for experiential and group learning as child development is not 'value free' and some of the 'knowledge' is contested. Some of this debate could be achieved via electronic discussion groups or 'chat rooms' and learning sets to ensure that learning continues for those nearing the top of their professions who find it difficult to make time to meet up with their experts from their own and other professions in different parts of the country or internationally.

Learning together or learning in single professional groups

Much of this material will have been very fully covered by some medical, nursing, teaching and social work practitioners and therapists in their qualifying and immediate post-qualifying training. There is much value in these professionals learning together about new and more specialist knowledge and research findings. Within local professional communities they are likely to be providing teaching input (in single and interdisciplinary groups) to those for whom child development knowledge is barely touched on in initial training such as solicitors and the police. For more experienced practitioners there is value in a case study format for multi-professional groups, especially when new knowledge becomes available. There is much to be gained from short courses or workshops for all involved with the family justice system in a particular locality that focus on a particular local issue. This could be around child development issues for different cultural groups resident in the area or around the impact on family life and parenting of particular forms of deprivation, discrimination and disadvantage in an area.

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Module 2 Children, family and human rights legislation; legal and administrative processes

1. The development of the international and UK legal framework to safeguard children's health and well-being

Illustrative syllabus

2. The family law system: the role, structure and jurisdiction of the different courts

Illustrative syllabus

3. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Illustrative syllabus

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4. The Children Act 1989 - public law provisions and its interaction with the Adoption and Children Act 2002 as it concerns children looked after

Illustrative syllabus

5. Legal provisions, and the roles and duties of councils with social services responsibilities in respect of children who may be suffering significant harm or who are accommodated, in care or placed for adoption. This will include knowledge about the range of regulations, guidance, performance indicators, standards documents and inspection systems.

Illustrative syllabus

6. The Children Act 1989 (parts I and II) - private law provisions

Illustrative syllabus


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7. The Adoption and Children Act 2002

Illustrative syllabus

8 Other ways in which the legislation and the family court might be involved

Illustrative syllabus

9. The different family court professionals and the settings in which they work including the voluntary sector and self-help groups - their roles; their training; their expertise and what each party or colleague might expect of them

Illustrative syllabus

10. Practice and procedure in preparation and at court:
Illustrative syllabus

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Some process issues relevant to Module 2

With this module the 'full-timer/ part-timer/ occasional' involvement of the different groups in the work of the family justice system will be relevant in considering breadth and depth of the teaching input.

Approaches to teaching and learning

The different components of this module combine knowledge, values and skills components and will require the full range of approaches to teaching and learning. As with Module 1, a didactic approach will work best for some parts, and these aspects of the curriculum could be delivered via distance learning and electronic methods. It is also important to allow for experiential and group learning in which case studies and role play can be particularly fruitful approaches. Inviting young people and parents to talk about their experiences of court processes and to provide feedback on role-plays can be instructive. There is scope for learning about other professionals and developing advanced skills by 'mentoring' and 'shadowing' schemes. Distance learning, for example about new legislation can be useful, but cannot entirely replace face-to-face teaching and learning in groups where the more local or more controversial issues can be teased out.

Learning together or learning in single professional groups

As with Unit 1, different groups will gain from learning together mainly according to the amount of time they spend within the courts. Solicitors, barristers and CAFCASS officers will start from a different understanding, for example, of adoption legislation when it comes to learning about the detail of new adoption court rules than will be the case for mainstream child and family workers or community paediatricians. The professionals who work daily with each other in the court arena need to take part in joint learning in order to avoid any tendency to stereotyping and scape-goating. Some 'full-timers' will gain from learning alongside some 'part-timers'. For example, joint learning using role-play that includes barristers and medical experts will provide benefits to both.

Module 3 Support and therapy for vulnerable children, their parents and carers

1. Professionals involved in providing support, advocacy and therapy: their role, training, expertise and what other professionals and family members might expect of them


Illustrative syllabus

2. Communicating with children
Illustrative syllabus

3. Communicating with parents in difficult circumstances

4. Assessment - when and how?
Illustrative syllabus

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5. Interventions - where, when and by which professional/s
Illustrative syllabus


6. Out-of-home placement as family support or long-term care

Illustrative syllabus

Some process issues relevant to Module 3


Approaches to teaching and learning

The balance between knowledge, values and skills will be different for each professional group and the setting in which they practice. Whilst for some not involved in providing support or therapy, the emphasis will be on 'knowing about' the services available and the methods used by the different professionals, for those whose main role is the provision of support, care and therapy, the emphasis will be on advanced knowledge and skills. Again, there is room for distance and e-learning for the 'learning about' aspects, but there is no substitute for the opportunity to pose direct questions to a member of another professional group or to share concerns about ethical issues in the course of small group learning. Inviting parents and young people to talk about their views about different approaches to helping can be useful both to the therapist and to the solicitor or judge who will consider the value of making a referral/ recommendation for a particular therapy or service. Exchange visits and shadowing can also be helpful.

Learning together or learning in single professional groups

The 'learning within professional groups/ learning with other professionals' list will be different for each profession. Learning will best take place in single disciplinary groups and in different combinations in the light of the particular part of the curriculum, the content of initial training and the amount of time spent within the family courts- eg field social workers, CAFCASS staff, court clerks, lawyers and judges might attend a workshop on helping children to be more comfortable when they attend court; community paediatricians, child psychiatrists, psychotherapists, counselors, residential and family centre workers on ways of assessing children who are exposed to parental violence.

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Appendix

Members of the working group

Co-conveners: Professor Douglas Hooper, Warren House Group
Professor Mervyn Murch, Cardiff Law School
Professor June Thoburn, U of East Anglia School of Social Work

The following attended meetings or were corresponding members of the working group or the workshop planning group:
Robin Ap Cynan, Solicitor
His Honour Judge Richard Bond, Judicial Studies Board
Dr Julia Brophy, Centre for Family Law and Policy, University of Oxford
Dr Christopher Clulow, Tavistock Marital Studies Bureau
Martha Cover, Family Law Bar Association
Carol Edwards, National Association of Guardians ad Litem and Reporting Officers
Dr Jean Harris-Hendricks, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Grant Howell, Solicitors Family Law Association
Peter Jeffries, CAFCASS
Charles Prest, Director of Legal Services CAFCASS
Malcolm Richardson JP, The Magistrates Association
Dr Neela Shabde, Consultant Paediatrician
Julie Swan, Head of Education and Training, The Law Society
Professor Judith Trowell, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Maxine Warr, The Law Society
Caroline Willbourne, Barrister

Clive Buckley of the Courts Service was Secretary to the working group

The following organisations provided detailed written or oral comments on the draft, were represented on the committee or participated in the national workshop:

Association of Directors of Social Services
Association of Lawyers for Children
British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering
British Psychological Society
CAFCASS
Court Service
Department for Education and Skills
Department of Health
Essex Social Services Department
General Social Care Council
Judicial Studies Board
Justices' Clerks' Society
Family Law Bar Association
Kings College University of London
Law Society
Legal Services Commission
Lord Chancellors' Dept/ Dept. for Constitutional Affairs
Magistrates' Association
Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate
Merseyside Family Panel
Metropolitan Police Service
National Association of Guardians ad Litem and Reporting Officers
National Family Mediation
NSPCC
Nuffield Foundation
Official Solicitor
One Plus One
ParentlinePlus
Relate
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Sieff Foundation
Society of Local Authority Lawyers
Social Care Institute for Excellence
Solicitors Family Law Association
Royal College of Nursing
Representatives of Family Mediators
Tavistock Marital Studies Institute

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