Hi all,
Im about to start my final year placement in children and young peoples services, duty and assessment team. I am quiet inexperienced in this field and wanted tips or advice on how i may be able to make the most out of this placement, any suggestions or experiences will be appreciated
Just be a sponge and soak up the learning experience. You're a student on placement; they'll expect you to be inexperienced so don't worry. Try and shadow a wide variety of people and if you are not sure about anything - ask.
I agree with what Selks said. If you haven't seen it already, read Effective Child Protection by Munro. An excellent book that is suitable as an introduction but also has lots of detail and advice for social workers.
Do familiarise yourself with the Assessment Framework also Children Act Threshold Criiteria. Useful also to look at the DoH Strengths and Weaknesses questionnaires.
Ask if the Area Team has a directory of local resources. If not, it may be useful to start compiling one.