News

The General Social Care Council has proposed three new social work post-qualifying awards.

Professor Steve Trevillion, head of social work education at the GSCC, told delegates at a session on training and education that the awards were the result of its consultation on the structure of post-qualifying awards, which finished last week.

The proposed awards are a graduate diploma in specialist work, a post-graduate diploma in advanced social work, and a masters degree. All awards would include a significant element of practice learning.

The existing post-qualifying awards were set up in 1990. But Trevillion said the structure needed to be reformed "because of the advent of the social work degree, workforce regulation and changing social work roles".

Patrick Ayre, senior social work lecturer at Luton University, said that students who completed post-qualifying awards found that their "confidence, skills and prospects were enhanced".