“My decision making is much more deliberate… I’m still energised by it”: lessons learned from the design and delivery of a module on judgement and decision making for senior social work managers

This paper describes the design, delivery and evaluation of a module on decision making for senior managers as part of a master’s programme for current and aspiring Chief Social Work Officers (CSWO). Scotland is unique in having a statutory duty that requires local authorities to appoint a CSWO to provide strategic and professional leadership in the delivery of social work services. The CSWO also has certain statutory decision-making responsibilities and as a key decision maker is responsible for decisions that affect individual rights and liberties to an extent that other services do not. This paper describes the key decisions CSWO’s are required to undertake before describing the pedagogical approach to developing and delivering the module. Rather than seeking to teach decision making the focus of the module is on raising awareness of factors that impact decision making, shifting from intuitive to active decision making and reflecting on the decision-making process. Results are presented from a thematic analysis of a post-completion survey of participants about their learning. The results highlight the isolation and vulnerability of the role, the weight of responsibility, the complexity and challenges of decision making and how the module supports managers to engage in analytical decision making.