Skills for Care prepares to guide employers through children’s ASYE

Skills for Care will support employers of children’s social workers to deliver the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) as part of a government drive to raise standards.

Under a deal with the Department for Education (DfE), the workforce development body will provide information, guidance, case studies and examples of best practice on its website, and run local workshops.

Raising standards

The contract will also see ASYE programmes that reach certain criteria awarded a validation of quality by The College of Social Work. However, ASYE programmes do not need this validation to run.

Skills for Care has been supporting the ASYE for employers of adults’ social workers since it began in 2012.

Monitoring consistency

In the wake of introducing this support, Skills for Care is now monitoring the adult ASYE programme for quality and consistency.

British Association of Social Work professional officer Sue Kent said it is hoped once the children’s ASYE programme is established, the focus will shift to monitoring for consistency and pushing for excellent practice.

The contract won by Skills for Care is one of three put out to tender by the DfE as part of its social work reform programme.

It was announced alongside a contract to develop a pass or fail test for children’s social workers that has been won by KPMG and Morning Lane Associates.

The third contract on offer is to evaluate the testing, but this has yet to be awarded.