Family Assessment and Support Unit

Students at FASU

The Family Assessment and Support Unit (FASU) was established within the University of Hull some 17 years ago, and has established itself as integral part of both Social Work education at the University, and as an important source of potential help for children and families in the locality experiencing periods of difficulty.

The Aims and Ethos of FASU:

The core aims of FASU are to:

Provide student practice learning experiences for both BA and MA students.
Meet the needs of social work education as specified by the General Social Care Council, Health Professions Council, Department of Health and those outlined within the National Occupational Standards.
Ensure the best possible standard of service delivery to service users / carers.
Forge collaborative working and teaching relationships with colleagues from other disciplines.

In terms of our direct work with children and families, FASU is underpinned by the Every Child Matters Agenda; we work alongside both universal and specialist services to aim to ensure that children and young people are afforded the opportunity to:

Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy life
Achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economical well being

We offer a range of services to children and families, details of which can be accessed at this link.

Referral Sources:

FASU is open 50 weeks of the year, meaning that we can provide a continuous service to service users / carers. Referrals to FASU come from a variety of sources, including:

Self referrals
Children’s Services
Primary Mental Health Team
Schools

All direct work with children and families is underpinned by a clear assessment of need, whether this has been undertaken pre-referral by another agency or as part of our intervention here at FASU.

Services Offered, and Theoretical Models Used:

FASU is able to offer a range of different relevant interventions, some on site in its’ well equipped offices, and also in service users’ homes, or, where relevant, in schools or local community facilities.

The Student Experience:

Currently, students from both Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses may have the opportunity to undertake a 20 week placement at FASU. The aim of FASU is to provide social workers in training with the opportunity to gain and develop the basic social work skills required by the profession. To this end, social workers in training will case manage a small number of interventions to children and families, under the close supervision of a Registered Social Worker/ Practice Educator. In most cases social workers in training will be able to gain experience of the full life cycle of a case, from initial referral to assessment, planning, intervention, review and case closure.

Partnership Placements:

Students may have the opportunity to work regularly within another team, either a local Childrens Services team, or a specialist service, an example of which would be the local Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service.

Student Feedback:

Students invariably enjoy their time with FASU, and some, who initially did not want to work with children and their families, discover both their talent to do so, and an interest in continuing with this type of work.

Profile of Staff Team:

FASU is managed by Jane McLocklan, assisted by her deputy, Lisa Revell.

Research Activity:

Staff have a range of differing research interests, reflecting their backgrounds and experience.

Contact Details:

To discuss a possible referral, or to find out whether FASU may be able to help, please call the duty desk on (01482)464304 or by Fax on (01482)463726.

For email enquiries please contact Susan.Wright@hull.ac.uk