Help

Professional Standards

The Social Work Toolkit provides links to nationally recognised standards for 'best practice' in the profession. These vary depending on where you are accessing the site from. For users in the UK, the standards used are:

  • Professional Capabilities Framework

  • Knowledge and Skills Statements

  • Standards of Proficiency

  • National Occupational Standards

  • The Northern Ireland Social Care Council

  • Social Care Wales Code of Professional Practice for Social Care

  • The Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice.

 

If you are accessing the site from Australia or New Zealand, the standards used are:

 

  • The Australian Association of Social Workers Practice Standards

  • The Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics

  • The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers Practice Standards

  • The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers Code of Ethic.

 

The different frameworks can be accessed from the drop down list under 'Professional Standards' in the top menu.

Selecting a framework will take you directly to each framework's own page where you can find out more about each.

 

Law and Policy

Information about important laws and policies that could relate particularly to social workers has been gathered together on The Social Work Toolkit. You can use the drop down menu in the navigation bar to access information relevant to your country.

 

Search options

You can search for keywords using the Search function - just click on the magnifying glass.

You can filter your search by Module, resource Type (e.g. Case studies) or by Format (e.g. Video).

 

Bookmarks

To Bookmark a page, you must first be logged in. Next, click on the bookmark icon that appears in the right hand corner a resource page.

You can view all journal entries via the Bookmark page and filter them by Module.

 

Journal

To add a journal entry, you must first be logged in. Next, click on the journal icon that appears in the right hand corner of every Module and resource page. This will open a pop up window. Enter a title and your notes in the relevant field and save.

You can view all journal entries via the Journal page and filter them by Module.

You might like to use information from resources on The Social Work Toolkit in your academic work at university. Here's a quick guide on how to reference the resources: 

  • Original content commissioned specifically for The Social Work Toolkit 

This content was specially commissioned for The Social Work Toolkit and does not exist in any other form elsewhere. You will not see a reference to another source on the material, so your reference should just include the title of the page, the publisher, URL and the date. For example:

'Do you agree with the centre manager's decision?', The Social Work Toolkit, Red Globe Press, London, Available at:
http://www.socialworktoolkit.com/diversity_ethics_and_values/ethics_and_values/do_you_agree_with_the_centre_managers_decision, (Accessed: 18th February 2019).

 

  • Content from other sources (including audio transcripts, quick guides, expert opinion pieces and book chapters*)

The original source for the different resources is referenced at the bottom of each PDF page. All you need to do is copy the reference and then show that you found the resource on The Social Work Toolkit's website by adding the title of the site, URL and the date that you accessed it. For example:

K. Healy (2011),  Social Work Methods and Skills, Red Globe Press, London, pp.55 - 64, The Social Work Toolkit. Available at:
http://www.socialworktoolkit.com/lifecourse-perspectives/working-adults/working-statutory-contexts, (Accessed: 18th February 2019).


 

 

How do I register for a free trial?

You can request a free trial here. Free trial access is available to prospective subscribers. We regret that trial access is not available to individual students - only to universities/colleges who are considering a subscription. To set up a trial we will need to know the name of the institution and a contact name and email address for whoever will administer your trial.

What is the payment model?

Access to the Social Work Toolkit is available on a subscription basis. Subscriptions are available for a department license (i.e. all students within your social work department).

How much does it cost?

We quote prices individually for each institution. Pricing is tiered depending on the number of students within your department. We are happy to send you a quote tailored to the situation in your institution. Asking for a quote is free and does not commit you in any way. Please contact us at socialworktoolkit@bloomsbury.com for more information.

How accessible is the resource?

The Social Work Toolkit comes with several options for alternative modes of learning and navigation and has been developed in line with W3C guidelines. Students can proceed through the learning content using a screen reader and keyboard navigation only if required, or read through a text only description of the activities if preferred. There are also transcripts to support professionally recorded audio files.

If there are accessibility tools that you use that would help you use this resource, but are currently not compatible please do contact us. We have striven to make the resource as accessible as possible, but there may be occasions when we can further improve our accessibility.

Does the resource allow me to change my browser settings?

The resource has also been designed to allow personalisation of font sizes, colours and background colour changes via your browser preferences.

How can I increase or decrease the font size on the resource?

The resource allows you to customise the font size to suit your personal preferences. Most browsers will allow you to change the font size. For example, in Internet Explorer, you will find this in the 'View' and 'Text size' menu options. You may also need to select the 'Ignore font sizes specified on webpages' option in 'Accessibility', within 'Tools' and 'Internet Options' to give you full control. Most browsers have a similar font size change feature, usually somewhere in the 'View' menu. Please see the help section in your browser for more details on customisation.

You will not be able to increase the font indefinitely as some larger font sizes will cause overlapping in some of the page elements. If you need a larger font size than is available you could try using the zoom controls within your browser.

How can I change the font or background colour of the resource?

The resource allows you to customise the font colour or background colour to suit your personal preferences. Most browsers will allow you to change these colours. For example, in Internet Explorer, go to 'Tools' and 'Internet Options'; select the 'Colours' button under appearance. Uncheck the 'Use Windows colours' box to work through and change colours to suit your preference. You may also need to select the 'Ignore colours specified on webpages' option in 'Accessibility', within 'Tools' and 'Internet Options' to give you full control.

Most browsers have a similar colour change feature, usually in the 'Tools', 'Options' or 'Preferences' menus. Please see the help section in your browser for more details on customisation.

Can I use a screen reader with the resource?

Yes, content is accessible using a screen reader. Jump links have been included on the resource so you can skip common navigation elements of pages, and access the main content on each page.

Can I use a keyboard to navigate through the resource?

Yes, the resource has been designed to allow navigation with a keyboard as well as with a mouse.

Is alternative text for images provided?

Yes, alternative text for images is included to aid your understanding.

Recommended browsers

We have aimed to produce a standards compliant site with backwards compatibility. For full functionality and display we recommend you use FireFox v10 (or later), Internet Explorer v7 (or later), Chrome v19 (or later) or Safari v5(or later) as your browser. Earlier versions of these browsers may have some limitations in visual appearance and you may see some errors. We would therefore recommend you upgrade to the latest stable release of your browser.

This site can also be accessed via a browser across a range of mobile devices, notably iPad, iPhone and Android.

What is the time limit on a session before time out?

If a user does not log out at the end of a session, the session will time out automatically after 20 minutes of inactivity.

Cookies

This site uses cookies for the access control. Please ensure that you have cookies enabled in your browser.

Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your computer and returned to this website by your browsers.

The cookies we set on this site:

  • will only be returned to this site, not third parties
  • will not contain your personal information.

Cookies set by this site are session identifiers for access control purposes.

Access to content on the Social Work Toolkit is only available if your institution has a subscription. If your institution has a subscription, access to the majority of the site's content may be automatic or will be automatic once you have logged into your institution's network or portal. Therefore, if you are on campus, for example, you may not need to login specifically to access the Social Work Toolkit

If your institution does not have a subscription, you can find out about next steps here.