GSCC will perform spot checks

Spot checks will be carried out to make sure registered social
workers are keeping up with learning and development, the chief
executive of the General Social Care Council told delegates at
Community Care  Live today, writes Josephine
Hocking.

To keep up quality control and make sure learning is recorded,
the GSCC will ask selected social workers – not everyone –
for evidence, she said.

However, Berry stressed that the learning needed to stay
registered with the council was “not demanding” but was
“about a change in culture”.

She said 57,000 social workers are now on the register although
67,000 have applied and applications are still being processed.
Many applied late after the closing date of 1 April.

All social workers in England need to keep their skills up to
date with post-registration training and learning. The requirement
is for 90 hours learning and development over three years.

Former MP and registered social worker Hilton Dawson told the
same session that social workers now have the “best
opportunity in a lifetime to improve services” at a time of
“profound and far-reaching change”.