This module brings together safeguarding leaders from a wide range of sectors – for example, health, education, sport, the charitable sector, police – to consider how organisations can remain compliant with safeguarding regulation yet also continuously improve and create learning cultures.
This module is part of the University’s Leading Culture Change in Safeguarding PGCert. You will study alongside other students on this course. The module is also part of the Professional Development MA/MSc course - a flexible course that you help design to take your career to the next level.
Overview
Effective safeguarding work by human welfare organisations is characterised by cultures of organisational learning. Organisations must integrate knowledge, experience and current relevant information in order to reflect on practice and learn how to adapt it. Compliance with safeguarding procedure is necessary but not always sufficient.
This module supports students to engage critically with theories of learning in order to reflect and adapt safeguarding practice in order to critique compliance cultures. Students engage with key practice and inspection frameworks, critical issues in multi-disciplinary situations and current practice priorities, including serious case reviews.
The development of a personal, original online portfolio enables students to integrate their own reflections in order to initiate ways forward for safeguarding practice.
It is expected that all advertised modules will run, but there may be situations where there are insufficient students to make a particular module viable.
Career benefits
You will work in a unique multi-agency learning environment, with others who take an active interest in how organisations learn to improve safeguarding practice and in the leadership of culture change.
By considering relevant academic literature and research and reflecting on its significance for improving the safeguarding system, you will gain a deeper understanding of safeguarding cultures and the complex dilemmas and quandaries that safeguarding leaders frequently face.
You will learn to present your own insights and breakthroughs in five concise reflections on safeguarding culture and improvement and record these in an online portfolio over the course of the year. You might consult this portfolio as you develop your own career in safeguarding.
Module delivery
The module is delivered using a blended learning approach, integrating flexible and distributed learning (FDL) and twilight face-to-face teaching sessions. Attendance at the twilight sessions can include the virtual classroom where physical attendance is not possible (for example, to provide international students with equal student experience).
The module requires students to engage with two virtual learning environments. All course material that is common to all students is accessed through a virtual learning environment. Students’ individual knowledge, research and understanding of the module is presented in their individual online portfolio.
The module’s blended learning approach comprises ten online learning activities (plus two online induction activities), six twilight face-to-face sessions and five personal reflections on learning.
There will be six Learning Focuses, running from January 2025 to January 2026. Each Learning Focus includes a Twilight Teaching session, run on a Wednesday evening. 2025 dates are: 5 Feb, 12 Mar, 30 Apr, 11 Jun, Oct and Nov dates tbc.
Entry Requirements
The course seeks to recruit practitioners, professionals, volunteers or those with significant interest in current safeguarding protection practices and challenges, reflecting the needs of a diverse student group. There is no requirement to have an undergraduate BA (hons) degree to apply successfully for this postgraduate certificate. Instead, applications will be assessed based on their application form.
Take care in the application form’s Personal Statement to comment on the reasons for your application (including past experience and future aspirations), your understanding of the safeguarding system and reflection on current challenges it faces (either in your own situation and/or locally and/or nationally).
Contact
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Postgraduate Professional Development Team
PG.ProfessionalDevelopment@worc.ac.uk
Stuart Gallagher
Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in Children and Families & Education & Inclusion
s.gallagher@worc.ac.ukAdmissions Office
admissions@worc.ac.uk01905 855111
