Launch of Free Online Training Course for Social Work in Disasters

BASW England is excited to announce the launch of a free online training course for social work in disasters.

This training was developed alongside key partners within the BASW Social Work in Disasters Working Group, including social workers with experience of working in disasters, and those they have supported. The training is informed by these experiences, and the impetus for starting this project arose from those social workers who had previously responded to disasters and described the lack of training available.

The development of the training course was also informed by a systematic literature review completed by the University of Stirling, available here, and the course materials were designed in collaboration with The Open University. The training builds upon previous work of the BASW working group, including the development of guidance and learning outcomes for social work in disasters continuous professional development (CPD), available here.

The training course consists of four modules:

Introduction to Social Work in Disasters
Law, policy and best practice
Person centred and research informed practice within a multi-agency approach
Responding, using theory and self-care

The modules are designed to be worked through by social workers either independently or collaboratively, and each module involves a combination of text, audio and video content, alongside preparation reading and follow up tasks to complete. The training is supplemented by a workbook where participants record notes, reflections and responses to individual tasks throughout the training. Each module is designed to take about four hours total to complete, meaning the training totals about 16 hours (or 2 days).

A pilot study of the training, involving a collaboration between BASW, The Open University, University of Stirling, Durham University and University of Greenwich, found that it was overwhelmingly positively received by social workers working in a range of contexts. This included positive reporting in relation to enhanced knowledge and self-confidence in working in disasters. Some selected quotes from participants include:

"It was really refreshing to do the training and kind of be reminded these are what our ethics and values are and this is how we can respond."

"The CPD course really made me think about attachment and strength-based working and resilience and systems."

"I think as well there is a real culture around training where we are either sort of passive listeners and then we’re asked to complete a sort of satisfaction questionnaire at the end… This one requires me to reflect a bit more and it’s a bit more research."

The full pilot report can be found here.

The training course is open to anyone to access and work through for free, and can be utilised by individual social workers with an interest in this area, or employers/managers in supporting their teams in disaster preparedness. More information will be provided at a free to attend official launch event to be held remotely on the 8th September 2023 from 12:00-13:30. More details and registration can be found here.

Separate engagement events will also be held for both pracitioners and employers/managers on the 3rd October 2023. More details and registration can be found here (practitioners) and here (employers).

The full training course can be accessed, including the workbook and details on how to start, here.

The training course is focused on the England context. However, it is anticipated that those outside of England, and even those outside the profession, will find value in the content.

For more information please contact Joe Hanley, Lecturer in Social Work, The Open University: joe.hanley@open.ac.uk