Social care degree could be introduced

A social care degree could be introduced if there is enough
support for one within the sector, community care minister Stephen
Ladyman said yesterday, writes Sally Gillen from the
Topss annual conference.

“My personal view is that if I was working in social care I
would not want to have to be a social worker to be qualified to
degree [level].” He added: “It seems instinctively to me that we
should have that.”

Speaking at the annual conference of training body Topss England
in London, Ladyman said he wanted a debate on the possible creation
of a new degree.

He said just 25 per cent of workers were NVQ qualified, arguing
that social workers made up a small proportion of the workforce,
and there should perhaps be a course that “reflected that
difference”.

Questioned later about the delay of the adult green paper, which
is now expected next month, Ladyman said it had been postponed
because prime minister Tony Blair wanted to be involved in its
launch.