ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a loose framework within which the concept of learning and education might be encouraged, developed and embedded in everyday care practice with older people. It considers the implications for social work and social care of older people within these frameworks. The chapter demonstrates the potential of social prescribing' by integrating informal learning into the care pathway, such as in the early stages of dementia, for primary care practices or social work teams. One of the challenges for social work and social care has been in identifying and supporting lifelong learning in a way that engages with practice at an operational level. Research by Simmons examines the influence of choice' and voice' when trying to understand the different ways in which service users might engage with public services. The increasing use of Family Group Conferences (FGC) in safeguarding practice is one which builds on both an informal learning process and the building of social capital.
