Phil Hope unveils £4m to support newly qualified adult care staff

Care services minister Phil Hope has announced a £4m package to support newly qualified social workers in council adult services at today’s World Social Work Day conference in London.

Under the scheme, councils are being invited to apply for £1000 to support each graduate they employ in adult services during their first year, plus £1000 for their supervisor for that year.

Hope said: “We think this is an important step in improving the quality of training newly qualified social workers receive.”

A toolkit of resources has been produced to help smooth the transition for newly qualified practitioners moving into the adult social care workforce. The pack includes a personal development planning tool, outcome statements, a toolkit to support induction and tools to record and evaluate continuous professional development and post-registration training.

Applications by end of March

Adult social work departments are invited to apply to Skills for Care by completing a statement of intent by 31 March 2009.

The programme follows the establishment last autumn of a three-year pilot scheme to enhance support for children’s social workers in their first year of practice, which is being tested by 85 employers.

Last week, children’s secretary Ed Balls accepted a recommendation from Lord Laming, in his review of child protection, for all children’s practitioners to receive enhanced supervision and support in their first year.

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