Profession embraces plans to re-register social workers

Profession embraces plans to re-register social workers

“It is about accountability to the service users to ensure they
get the highest quality service and to the public who expect
services to be provided in a proper way.”

Wulff-Cochrane rejected the idea that some social workers would
be reluctant to reregister because of the possibility of failure.
“People who are concerned about re-registration should try and
consolidate all their practice,” she said. “There is a system in
place where they can have their learning from work assessed.”

Association of Directors of Social Services human resources and
training spokesperson Hilary Simon said re-registration would force
the sector to recognise that skills needed to be regularly
updated.

“It has been sad in the past when social services have had their
budget problems that it has been the soft underbelly of training
that has gone,” she said. “There won’t be a director in the country
who will be putting the training budget up as the first victim of
cuts now.”

Chairperson of the Local Government Association’s workforce task
group Kevin Wilson welcomed the professionalism implicit in the new
arrangements, and the boost it would give to public confidence in
social services.

But he warned that the re-registration functions of the GSCC
should not trip the sector up with bureaucracy and red tape.

Hutton also announced last week that, from 2003, a three-year
degree programme in social work would replace the existing two-year
diploma (News, page 2, 29 March).

Speaking at the National Institute for Social Work and Society
Guardian conference, Hutton said the proposed course would “give
greater emphasis on field experience and the practical application
of skills and knowledge and with a stronger focus on children”.

Speaking on behalf of social services directors, Simon welcomed
the idea of a more practical curriculum and called for the third
year of training to be vocationally focused.

“We would like to explore students being based in a social care
employment situation,” she said. “In a way it would be like a
probation period, where students would get paid and have a set
training programme.”

n See In Focus, page 12.

n The conference also heard that performance indicators for
social services departments should be quality not
quantity-based.

Dorset Council director of social services David Joannides said
that existing indicators were “pretty crude” and that relatively
few were about quality of service provision.

“We need standards that are increasingly evidence-based, that
owe much more to what service users need,” he said.

Calling for the organisations engaged in reviewing departments
to play a more constructive role, he added: “The people who review
our performance should be as much a part of the solution as the
questions.”

Government plans to improve the professional standards of those
working in social care through re-registration have won the
sector’s support.

Announcing the move last week, health minister John Hutton said
social workers would need to demonstrate that they were “continuing
to refresh their knowledge and skills, in line with the development
of best practice, and in accordance with the general approach taken
by comparable professionals”. The General Social Care Council will
set out the requirements of re-registration later this year.

Education and training manager of training body CCETSW Liz
Wulff-Cochrane said: “It will raise the status of, and public
confidence in, social workers.

“It is about accountability to the service users to ensure they
get the highest quality service and to the public who expect
services to be provided in a proper way.”

Wulff-Cochrane rejected the idea that some social workers would
be reluctant to reregister because of the possibility of failure.
“People who are concerned about re-registration should try and
consolidate all their practice,” she said. “There is a system in
place where they can have their learning from work assessed.”

Association of Directors of Social Services human resources and
training spokesperson Hilary Simon said re-registration would force
the sector to recognise that skills needed to be regularly
updated.

“It has been sad in the past when social services have had their
budget problems that it has been the soft underbelly of training
that has gone,” she said. “There won’t be a director in the country
who will be putting the training budget up as the first victim of
cuts now.”

Chairperson of the Local Government Association’s workforce task
group Kevin Wilson welcomed the professionalism implicit in the new
arrangements, and the boost it would give to public confidence in
social services.

But he warned that the re-registration functions of the GSCC
should not trip the sector up with bureaucracy and red tape.

Hutton also announced last week that, from 2003, a three-year
degree programme in social work would replace the existing two-year
diploma.

Speaking at the National Institute for Social Work and
Society Guardian conference, Hutton said the proposed
course would “give greater emphasis on field experience and the
practical application of skills and knowledge and with a stronger
focus on children”.

Speaking on behalf of social services directors, Simon welcomed
the idea of a more practical curriculum and called for the third
year of training to be vocationally focused.

“We would like to explore students being based in a social care
employment situation,” she said. “In a way it would be like a
probation period, where students would get paid and have a set
training programme.”

The conference also heard that performance indicators for social
services departments should be quality not quantity-based.

Dorset Council director of social services David Joannides said
that existing indicators were “pretty crude” and that relatively
few were about quality of service provision.

“We need standards that are increasingly evidence-based, that
owe much more to what service users need,” he said.

Calling for the organisations engaged in reviewing departments
to play a more constructive role, he added: “The people who review
our performance should be as much a part of the solution as the
questions.”

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