Placement Preparation 2 Continuous Assessment 2026 | Technological University of the Shannon

Part 1: Placement Preparation 2  CA -Worth 20%

20% Continuous assessment 

Due date:  11/02/2026

Calibre

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Instructions:

Read the case study and answer the questions in essay style format in class.

Practice Case Scenario 1

Residential Child Care Jane is a social care graduate who began working in forest view children’s residential childcare home two months ago. It is situated in the same village where she lives and is near to the shop where she sometimes does some extra work. She recognises some of the children who live in forest view from the shop. Jane has settled in and works closely with her colleagues and the care team, although she has yet to contribute at staff team meetings. She recognises the importance of working cooperatively with her colleagues and is quietly learning the value of teamwork and cooperation. Although still lacking experience and professional confidence, Jane gets on very well with the children who live in forest view and is building a particularly good relationship with Michael, a 12-year-old boy who arrived a week after Jane started. Michael was placed in residential care as a result of repeated breakdowns of foster care arrangements. He has had very little contact with his biological parents. He does see his maternal grandmother occasionally and looks forward to her visits. During most visits, he and his grandmother have little to talk about, but she always takes him shopping for a new jacket, a pair of runners or tracksuit, even though he’s well looked after. Moving from residential home to residential home, Michael has very little that he considers his own, as his belongings were often left behind in various moves across care placements. While Michael normally hates brushing the yard and doing other chores, he doesn’t find it so hard when Jane is there with him as they talk a lot about the soccer team; they both follow. Michael has had difficulty trusting adults in the past but sees Jane as someone to whom he can talk to. She seems different to other Social Care Workers or foster parents, and Michael thinks that Jane favors him over the other children in the home, perhaps because the other children have regular contact with their families, and he is often without a visit for weeks at a time. Recently a music CD went missing in forest view. Allegations and suspicions were flying around everywhere. Jane spotted the missing CD in Michael’s room. When she approached him, he denied all knowledge of it or how it got there. Then he said he would tell her if she promised not to tell anyone else. Jane didn’t know what to say. Michael became upset, saying that he would run away if she told anyone about the conversation. Michael explained the CD reminds him of his younger brother who died two years earlier. He and his younger brother had been in foster care for as long as he could remember and had always stuck together. Since losing his brother, none of the foster placements Michael had worked out. Jane thinks that her colleagues are not fully aware of the extent of Michael’s grief.

(adapted from McCann James, McHugh and DeRoiste, 2009)

You are required to write a reflective essay based on the case scenario above.  In your essay you need to demonstrate an understanding of the following concepts as they pertain to residential care and social care work:

a) Professional duty of care(who has a professional duty of care to whom in this agency?) (200 words)

b) Professional decision making where there is competing demands(where can you see decisions being made?, why are they making these decisions? What are the competing demands?) (200 words)

c) Relationship building(with Michael  -who is building relationships with whom and what are the issues that impact on those relationships for the social care worker?) (200 words)

d) The concept of team work(any concerns about team work in this case?) (200 words)

Total word count -no more than 1000 words.

No need for introduction or conclusion. You must use headings.  The writing element of this assignment demonstrates your ability to produce professional work should you find yourself writing a report on placement.

Learning outcomes linked to Assignment 

• Demonstrate a knowledge of building and sustaining professional relationships as an independent practitionerand collaboratively as a member of an interdisciplinary team (D2:13, D2:14)
• Develop ability in professional decision-making, care planning, report writingand manage complexity as relevant to social care practice (D1:19, D1: 6, D2:.6).
• Demonstrate a knowledge and awareness of the legal requirements, policies, procedures and documentation relating to social care practice placement (D1: 7; D3:11) .

Standards of Proficiency linked to assignment

• (D2:13, D2:14)
• (D1:19, D1: 6, D2:.6).
• (D1: 7; D3:11)

Marking Scheme

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