Case Study: Fiona McKinnon, Seaspace Consultancy

Fiona McKinnon

Seaspace consultancy

How do you use the Clip Library?

• To teach / train newly qualified social workers; social work practitioners, social work students; foster carers and social care workers child development 0 to 18 years and skills in child observation.

Where do you use it and who with?

• Mainly in university on social work qualifying courses e.g. Step Up to Social Work and local authority social care departments.

What difference has it made?

• It has helped participants focus on the lived experience of the child; focus on and develop the skills in child observation to assist assessment of children’s needs and risk. The films provide vignettes both with and without commentary of infants and children with parents and carers. For example, being able to observe young children playing in different contexts has helped participants look at the different ages and stages of child development and parent and child attachment etc.

What’s your favourite thing about the clip library?

• I like identifying films that link with the training and put these into a playlist; being able to sample the films and choose ones which most closely fit the training topics and can be used in experiential learning.
• The responsiveness of Siren Films in assisting with queries.

Is there anything you would change?

• To have more current videos which more closely show the diversity of young children in the community.