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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

Professional Development in Health and Social Care

After doing the quiz “What Is my learning style? “

It tells me that my style is “Tactile” a "hands-on" learner who prefers to

touch, move, build, or draw what you learn, and I tend to learn better when
there is some type of physical activity involved, which I partly agree with. I
would have always said that I was a visual learner because if I can see it I can
normally do it.

I have done other quizzes and it says that “I like to lead other people and are
good at taking control of situations. That I like dealing with complicated
problems or working with numbers and that I am a creative person and enjoy
coming up with new ways of doing things”

What is meant by Professional Development?

Professional development refers to a person’s continuing education and

career training after a person has entered the workforce.

Professional Development helps people to develop new skills. It means

staying up to date with current trends, and it will help them advance their
career.
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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

Many industries require professionals to continue their education and

ongoing learning, sometimes as a prerequisite for keeping their job.

i.e.: Ofsted saying that Residential Care Workers need a Level 3 or 4 in Social
Health Care Management to work with children.

In these cases, the field has specific continuing education (CE) or continuing
professional education (CPE) requirements which must be completed
through an approved continuing education provider.

Even when not required, many professionals who want to get on in their
chosen field will voluntarily seek out professional development and learning
opportunities.

So, any management development whether formal or informal helps

enhance managers’ skills and competence which benefits the manager their
superiors and the organization.

Evaluate your knowledge against standards and Benchmarks.

My knowledge of my current position is adequate and sufficient for the level

I am at now.

I am working with children and young people with E B D (Emotional

Behaviour Disorder) and I use the P A C E system. Playfulness, Acceptance,
Curiosity and Empathy. This is a system which attempts to make the child or
young person feel safe. Children must connect with the emotional part of
their brain before they can engage in the problem-solving area.
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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

The P A C E system. Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, is the system that

Ofsted like you to use within their children’s homes.

Also, you must have a Level 3 or 4 in Social Care and Management to be a

Residential Care Worker or a Residential Care worker Senior. For a manager
you must have a Level 5 in Social Care and Management. I am working my
way up to these qualifications.

Learning opportunities

Classroom-based learning would be the best way for me to learn as I still

believe I’m a visual learner and, in a class based environment I can see and
ask questions and get the answers straight away.

So, the local college of further education would be good.

Also, Zoom or Teams might work

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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

Explain ways of overcoming barriers to professional Developments

Lack of a business plan.

Barrier 1: A business plan is essential because writing something down gives
you focus, and direction and you can see your own growth.
Written down something in black and white makes it become real.
Also, more experienced people can help you put the essential information
into it to help you develop.

How to overcome this barrier: 

Put a business development plan down on paper. Either make your own or
source a template online. Just find one that suits your style and needs, take
your time over it, and make sure you put down everything you feel you need.
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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

Barrier 2: Poor time management. If you don’t manage your time, it will
make your working day twice as hard because you cannot focus on what you
are trying to achieve also when you haven’t got a strategy in place you may
not complete things in the allotted time. If you are always finishing projects
late, you need to work smart.

How to overcome this barrier: 

Find a time-management app, there are plenty on the internet or look for an
online course.
Examples of a daily schedule and weekly schedule are below.

Daily Schedule

HIGH PRIORTY

1 4
2 5
3 6

MEDIUM PRIORTY

1 4
2 5
3 6

LOW PRIORTY

1 4
2 5
3 6

A weekly schedule is the same as above

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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

Barrier 3: Sometimes you want to grow and advance in your career but aren’t
sure whom to go to or where to go to.

How to overcome this barrier: 

First, start with the organisation you work for and see whether they have any
training programs which you can take you in the direction you wish to go in.
When you speak to your manager give them as much information as possible
so they can make an informed decision. If you aren’t comfortable talking to
your manager, you could always try H R (Human Resources) Department
The internet is also a good place to look for job descriptions which will
normally give you the qualification and skills you will need.

Determine the different sources available for Professional Developments

There are many sources you can find information regarding professional
development.

The first and easiest source is your work colleague who may have done a
course to develop their career then go to your manager who may have a list
of courses he has sent people on over the time they have been with the
company.

HR (Human resources) may be a good place to ask as they will know your
company policy on training. Also, there may be a budget which they can go
up to support any training of staff.

Seminars are a good source of information and also, and they are a great
place to network, which is another source.
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Clarence Taylor: Student Id: 1746/299624

In trade journals, you will find adverts for jobs, and they will give you the
current trends in the field you may be interested in, they will give you trade
associates and trade organizations.

For example, if you are a business and are trying to develop your business
you may find a buying group like NMBS (National Merchant Buying Society)
which will give you better buying power and discounts and guarantee any
bad debts.

The internet is always a good source of information covering every subject

and qualification you may need for your chosen profession and how to
upgrade it.

Compare Models of reflective practice

There are 4 reflective practice models, and these are based on the theory
about how people learn, and the models are centred on the concept of
developing understanding through actual experiences.
Reflective practice is when you have an opportunity to reflect on
decisions that you have made during the month, quarter or whenever
your company deems it.
As a Residential Care Worker, you get this opportunity when you have
supervision with your Senior or manager.
If there has been any form of incident or situation which you had to
report, you are asked if you feel you could have done anything
differently which makes you reflect and if that situation comes up again
you. may still do the same thing or you may choose to do something
differently.
Having the ability to reflect on one's actions makes you a better employee
because examining what you have done reflectively leads to developmental
insight.
Reflective practice can also be an important tool in settings where people
learn from their own professional experiences, rather than from courses or
academic qualifications.
It is the easiest source of professional development. It is also an important
way to bring together theory and practice, through reflection.
This way a person can see and label their thoughts and theories within the
context of their own work and if a person reflects this way they just aren’t
just looking back on past actions or reactions. They are looking at past
events, taking a conscious look at emotions, experiences, actions, and
responses and that information it helps them for the future and adds to their
knowledge of the job they are doing.

Models of reflection - Reflective Practice Toolkit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject

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