An evaluation of a service user/carer Symposium: what do I want from my social worker?

This evaluation focuses on responses and feedback from a Service/User Carer Symposium held as part of teaching final year social work students undertaking a module called-'Contexts and Applications.' The social work programme at Middlesex University is also a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) for Mental Health and Social Work and has as one of its themes the involvement of service users and carers at all stages in our programmes. The symposium event therefore also links to our CETL projects.
Feedback data in the form of self-completion questionnaires, about participants' experiences of the event were collected from fifty pre-qualifying social work students and nine service users from adult disability services and leaving care services.
The feedback from the questionnaires will be analysed and key themes identified in order to consider whether, and in what way this impacted on students' learning about how to work in partnership with service users. The evaluation will also discuss and explore the complexities and challenges of organising and supporting such events with a range of services users with different needs and with students with a broad range of experiences and skills.
The evaluation is at present work in progress, however, one of the central questions will be reviewing how effective the group work discussion approach we used actually was and whether it stimulated discussion about what servcie users really want from their social worker.

Event held at Homerton College, Cambridge University.