Bec Buss

Tutor in Social Work for psychology and principles & practice of social work
01865 759658

I joined the staff at Ruskin in 2008 working part time as a tutor mainly on the social work degree. In addition, I work as a social worker for Oxfordshire County Council in a Children and Families Team. Continuing (by choice!) to have these two roles brings benefits for both jobs even if it means that life can be hectic.

Over the last 25 years I have worked in a number of social care, social work and youth and community settings including children and families, mental health and research. These have been in statutory and voluntary settings and in varied locations (Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, the East End, Liverpool and further afield in South America and in East Asia). I have also been a practice tutor for students on placement and continue to do this for social work students at OCC.

Having a Children and Families social work posts gives me an interest in subjects such as how domestic violence, alcohol abuse and substance misuse of adults impacts upon their children. I am also interested in how children construct their world and how services users and carers are treated by social work. Previous roles have involved looking at children’s rights in an international context and this remains an interest for me especially in regard to children who are involved in prostitution.

Volunteering has always been a part of my life and this has included being involved in the management of an after school club in central Liverpool, running youth groups, funding and recruiting staff for specific projects and so on.

At Ruskin, I am currently module co-ordinator for psychology but am also involved in teaching on the Principles and Practice modules and, in common with other tutors, am a Link Tutor for students on placement and a dissertation tutor. Finally, along with a Brookes colleague, I co-chair the wonderful ‘Voices of Experience’ group.