Guidelines for social work services in high risk schools in the Gauteng Province

Abstract

This research seeks to address the social challenges children experience and the shortage of school social workers, by placing social workers from the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) in high risk (poorly performing) schools around Gauteng. The collaboration between the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Department of Education (DoE) where social workers render services to communities through the education spaces high risk is a new phenomenon in South Africa. Social workers employed by the DSD are tasked to provide a broad spectrum of social, emotional, behavioural, school and family interventions using methods of practice of school social work. DSD endeavors to provide psychosocial services and appropriate intervention at different levels to ensure the learning and the development of learners takes place. They do this by identifying psychosocial barriers and providing preventative and developmental care and support of the teaching and learning project. As this was a new initiative and no guidelines were available, challenges were experienced. The study formulated guidelines to assist DSD social workers to render effective social work services in high risk schools in the Gauteng Province. A qualitative descriptive design was employed in this study to achieve the intended outcomes. Data was collected through the use of e-mail semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to select eleven (11) social workers, 4 social work supervisors from the DSD in Gauteng Province and 2 school social work rendering services in high risk schools from DoE in Gauteng Province. The data was analysed using thematic data analysis. Notwithstanding the serious challenges social workers experience, the study showed the positive role social workers play in high risk schools. The development of comprehensive intervention programmes is an effective support mechanism to render social work services which need to be integrated in the mainstream education system.