Guidance

Applied knowledge example questions – child and family practice supervisors

Published 19 June 2019

This guidance was withdrawn on 6 February 2023

The NAAS programme closed in March 2022. Children’s social care: Stable Homes, Built on Love was published on 2 February 2023 and sets out details of a new early career framework and integrated assessment for social workers post-qualification.

Applies to England

These sample questions will not appear on the assessment. They’ve been included here to help you prepare for the assessment.

Applied knowledge example questions for child and family supervisors

Follow these instructions to help you prepare for the applied knowledge section of the assessment.

A description of the knowledge and skills statements (KSS) areas are also available.

1. Read the passage.

2. Read the question relating to the passage.

3. Select the correct answer or answers from the list of choices.

Passage

An experienced social worker wants your advice about an unborn baby. There are no extended family members who can offer care for the baby, the mother had 2 previous children removed and placed for adoption 6 years ago.

Since this time, the mother has addressed the issues in her parenting capacity, becoming substance free and leaving her violent partner. However, the social worker feels that the local authority’s plan should be for adoption without further assessment of the mother.

They believe that it’s the pressure of parenting that triggers substance misuse and prevents the mother from safeguarding her children, so it is unlikely that her parenting capacity has actually improved in this time.

Question

What is the key issue that impacts whether you support this plan?

KSS area

The KSS area is PS 4.

Question format

Single correct answer. Select 1 correct answer only.

Choices

• The paperwork from previous proceedings that provide evidence about concerns and predicted that the mother would not be able to overcome her substance addiction.
• The availability of adoptive placements as placing this baby with siblings could be a positive outcome for all of the children.
• The full analysis and consideration of evidence about the mother’s capacity to parent this baby when it is born.
• The case law that suggests that without a full assessment this mother would appeal a placement order resulting in delay and uncertainty.

Correct answer

The full analysis and consideration of evidence about the mother’s capacity to parent this baby when it is born.

Passage

Your service has received an anonymous referral that 2 children aged 3 and 5 have been left on their own.

The social worker returns from the initial visit and states that the mother was at home and said she had only left them for 5 minutes to get some milk. Both of the children were seen.

Question

How should you respond to the social worker’s observations?

KSS area

The KSS area is PS 5.

Question format

Multiple correct answers. Select 3 correct answers from the list below.

Choices

• Ask the social worker about any other background information that is known about the family.
• Suggest to the social worker that this appears to be a one-off incident and that no further action is needed.
• Ask the social worker to complete a genogram to help in your discussion about the case.
• Tell the social worker that they should go back and get more information from the neighbours.
• Advise the social worker to contact the police to arrange to remove the children under police protection.
• Ask the social worker to complete an assessment before you discuss the case.
• Discuss with the social worker the children’s appearance and behaviour.
• Ask the social worker about the way the mother responded to questions about the incident.

Correct answers

• Ask the social worker about any other background information that is known about the family.
• Discuss with the social worker the children’s appearance and behaviour.
• Ask the social worker about the way the mother responded to questions about the incident.

Passage

You work with the duty team in the local authority, receiving referrals from the public and from a variety of different agencies.

You’re responsible for understanding any changes in the patterns of referral, spotting trends and making sure that work is allocated appropriately across the staff group.

You also want to make sure that the referrals that are accepted are appropriate. Over the last month, you have seen a 20% increase in the number of referrals received by your team.

Question

What action will you take to accept appropriate referrals and allocate work across the team?

KSS area

The KSS area is PS 8.

Question format

Multiple correct answers. Select 3 correct answers from the list below.

Choices

• Allocate more work to the most experienced staff.
• Hire some agency staff immediately to pick up the extra work.
• Allocate the work equally across the team.
• Review everyone’s workload to understand where there is capacity to allocate cases.
• Allocate more work to the 2 team members who have applied for promotion.
• Ask duty to hold calls to prevent new referrals coming in temporarily.
• Speak with your line manager to understand if this trend is being seen elsewhere and can be explained so that you can plan accordingly.
• Analyse the referral data to understand if there is a change in the type of cases being referred and ensure that only appropriate referrals are accepted.

Correct answers

• Review everyone’s workload to understand where there is capacity to allocate cases.
• Speak with your line manager to understand if this trend is being seen elsewhere and can be explained so that you can plan accordingly.
• Analyse the referral data to understand if there is a change in the type of cases being referred and ensure that only appropriate referrals are accepted.

Passage

You’re conducting a supervision meeting with a social worker in your team called Niko.

He’s talking about a particular case, and it emerges that he has not spoken to the father about the concerns that he and the school have about the welfare of his child.

You start to wonder whether Niko understands the concept of parental responsibility, not least because he has passed on information to the maternal grandmother about the child.

You enquire further and discover that the child was born in 2004. Niko tells you that the father is named on the child’s birth certificate. It’s now 2017.

Question

Why would the father have parental responsibility?

KSS area

The KSS area is PS 1.

Question format

Single correct answer. Select 1 correct answer only.

Choices

• Because the father is the main carer of the child.
• The child was born after 1st December 2003 and the father is named on the birth certificate.
• Because the child is under the age of 16.
• Because he’s the father of a child born after 1 December 2003.

Correct answer

The child was born after 1st December 2003 and the father is named on the birth certificate.

KSS areas

The table below lists KSS and the practice area the KSS relates to.

KSS	Area
1	Relationships and effective direct work
2	Communication
3	Child development
4	Adult mental ill health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, physical ill health and disability
5	Abuse and neglect of children
6	Child and family assessment
7	Analysis, decision-making, planning and review
8	The law and the family and youth justice systems
9	The role of supervision
10	Organisation context