Social Work England has rejected an 11th hour call from directors and union leaders to extend its 30 November deadline for practitioners to renew their registration, as latest figures show a quarter had not done so with less than five days to go.
Figures released by the regulator show that, as of 9am today, 72,937 social workers had completed their renewal, 74.2% of those who are required to renew if they want to stay on the register.
That left 25,000 social workers are at risk of being unable to practice – at a time of significant pressures on services due to Covid-19 – prompting the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and Social Workers’ Union to call for an extension to the deadline.
However, Social Work England has confirmed that Monday 30 November – at 11.59pm – remains the deadline.
Risk of removal
Those yet to renew fall into two camps. About 15,000 were, as of this morning, yet to complete their renewal application and pay their £90 fee, while 9,664 had done so but not fulfilled their requirement to upload one piece of continuing professional development to their Social Work England accounts.
The regulator said that those in the first group – some of whom will want to leave practice – will be removed on 1 December if they do not complete their application, unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.
Those in the second group will be written to and given a further 21 days to upload a piece of CPD; if they do not, they will be removed from the register, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Those removed will be unable to practise as social workers and, if they want to return to practice, must apply to be restored to the register, at a cost of £135 over and above the £90 registration fee.
While there is currently a temporary register of former social workers who have left practice since March 2018 but are able to return to the profession to bolster capacity to fight Covid-19, the regulator said this would not be open to those removed because they failed to upload CPD.
No temporary registration for those who fail to upload CPD
“While we have powers under the Coronavirus Act to grant temporary registration, we will not be adding anyone to the temporary register until at least January 2021, said Philip Hallam, executive director of registration, quality assurance, and legal at Social Work England. “This means there will be a period where social workers who failed to renew will be unable to practise unless they apply to restore their registration.
“Social workers who have failed to upload any CPD, and are removed from the register for this reason, will not be considered for temporary registration. It is also important to remember that temporary registration will only remain in place until we are advised that the emergency is over. Once this happens, all temporary registration ends 14 days after the date we are notified.”
Responding to the situation, Association of Directors of Children’s Services workforce development policy committee chair Rachael Wardell said that, while ADCS had issued reminders to social workers to renew their registration and upload CPD, some will have been unable to do so, in the context of the added pressures wrought by Covid, beyond the existing strain on the workforce.
Call for deadline extension
She added: “We anticipate that our peak in referrals to children’s services is yet to come, and when it does this will put added pressure on the workforce. We must avoid a situation where a significant number of social workers become de-registered, particularly during this unprecedented time. We would welcome an extension to the 30 November deadline to allow all social workers to complete the registration process and therefore continue to deliver the essential work that many children and families rely on.”
Her call was echoed by Social Workers Union general secretary John McGowan, who said: “SWU strongly advocates for an extension to the Social Work England registration deadline. Quite simply, social workers have been exceedingly busy over the recent period; with excessive workloads and additional pressures due to Covid, and have had to drastically change working patterns.
“An extension makes sense and can only benefit the profession by reducing the pressures on social workers.”
However, Social Work England chief executive Colum Conway said: “We will not be extending the deadline for registration renewal. We have worked closely with social workers, employers, unions and others across the year to engage professionals in the process of renewing registration and completing at least one piece of CPD.
“Everyone agrees on the need to deliver safe and effective social work practice. It is a real testament to the profession that the vast majority of social workers in England have completed renewal applications and uploaded at least one piece of CPD, despite the very challenging circumstances of the pandemic.”
‘An individual and professional responsibility’
He added: “We know from our research and engagement with the sector that social workers take great pride in their roles and want us to help raise their professional status. Registration and CPD is an individual and professional responsibility to demonstrate to the public and to employers that a social worker remains fit to practise and committed to continuously developing their practice.
“Those with particular circumstances that may prevent them from renewing on time are encouraged to contact us as soon as possible, and can still do so ahead of the deadline, to help us consider and respond to these circumstances.”
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More information on the renewal process is available on Social Work England’s website. The regulator is asking practitioners to check the website first for any queries they have before calling or emailing Social Work England.
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SWE still don’t get it. A good number of us have not uploaded because we don’t beleive this is about improving practice and safeguarding the public. Let’s see how employers react when they lose 20% of their workers overnight. It’s not because we are busy, we regard the process a meaningless bureaucratic exercise at pretence. Do tell us why you are only able to scrutinise 2.5% of CPD?
Interested to hear why BASW have put up their ‘Union’ to comment rather than express a view directly. Do I detect a conflict of interest dilemma given their junior partner role within SWE?
Way to go SWE. Get rid of practitioners when there is a pandemic. Not only do we have one of the most stresful, risky jobs in Society but now we are at risk of being decimatd by a stuborn newly formed bully organisation. Thanks because your dogged determination to hold your nerve is helping in these difficult times!!
Aside from trying to cement your own power, have you thought about the impact upon vulnerable members of society if you effectively axe lots of Social Workers?
Just exend the deadline please because being so draconian relfects you in a bad light and infact questions your values as an organisation which dont seem to be supporting people during times of need.
I owe the poor girl I spoke at Swe an apology. Asked why the requirements were embarrassingly low and thought she was being patronising when she said they were easing us in. Turns out 25% couldn’t even manage that! This is ridiculous.
Oh, come on CommunityCare. We’re talking about uploading like one piece of documentation that’s been around for 20 years. It’s hardly quantum physics!
You even said right there in your article that there’s a 21 day extension for those who want to stay on the register but haven’t uploaded CPD yet.
I’m sure we can all agree that we want qualified practitioners, not just any old guy off the street. Upload your qualification, get it verified, done. Easy.
These are trying times, CommunityCare. Stop stirring
Is the you will do as we say, know your places Colum Conway the same person who gushed his pride im appreciation of the hard work of “dedicated” social workers in the ‘celebration’ event yesterday? I fear the cast of Emmerdale have a better understanding of our reality than our Chief Executive.
As for embarrassment, how about an organisation that purports to represent a membership that has next to no credibility with 1 in 5 of us? Thats what’s ridiculous. What some of us can’t manage is the lie that this miserable quango exists to improve practice and protect the public. As embarresments go, I will take whatever the reasons those collagues like me , who have not partaken in this shambles may have over the duplicity of an organisation that can’t even evaluate the CPD of its whole membership. Our value is determined by our pride in each other and the positive experiences of the people we try to support. Stop colluding with charlatans.
Sick of hearing that CPD is an individual and professional responsibility from a ‘Regulator’ that can’t even be bothered to set basic standards for scrutiny and appraisal of said CPD. Sick of also being told every time I have asked a question “this is the first year of the process and we are all learning as we go along”. Why doesn’t SWE lead us rather than reliying on us to show them the way? Not much to ask is it? As for BASW, their silence is a measure of their impotance. It must be so galling to be let down by people you thought were chums.
As an aside I asked to be removed from the register voluntarily in April, cancelled my direct debit and still remain on the register. Somehow don’t think they have the wherewithal to de-register 25,000 more in the next two months. Bluster and bullying, threats and despair does not make for a competent and future proofed regulator does it SWE?
But Anon, SWE admits it will not verify 80% of CPD so your Polyanna trust in SWE is misplaced. Actually Community Care is not stirring unless you share the common paranoia of social workers that the more secrets we keep from the public, the more secure we will feel. Mithran carry on holding a light because we have no other way of knowing what is being done to us and on our behalf.
Share the frustration and have also withdrawn from the register. The way SW are treated is horrendous. No recognition of the work, no support with PPE for home visits, and the governing bodies change so quick that it is hard to find out what they actually achieve for us.
But the biggest bug bear is the concentration of tick boxes and at the end no one cares about the people we work with /for.
CPD is not a regulatory requirement- it is good practice for any social work professional to help them reflect and ensure they are developing and practicing safely, it needs to be regularly completed, and in social work where the ability to reflect, apply research, legislation and theory to work in complex situations it is vital. We are late to the table with this as a requirement and it mirrors the requirements of other professionals who we fight hard to be given the same professional standing as. I am saddened that people see this as bullying and a chore to add the detail onto SWE page- COVID- 19 is not an excuse, I am working fulltime hours + in the covid response and managed to renew and upload 3 pieces as a registered professional who needs to keep that registration to practice in the role I have chosen. I have been a social worker for 22 years, yet I still found learning from my CPD activities supporting me in my role currently. This is the way!
I agree full time job and feel that CPD very important. I uploaded 3 pieces. I am queen of procrastination so make myself record CPD as I go along been hard to get into habit but I have
You are deluded I feel. Your value was zero in the spending review unless you buy that rubbish that we are better off than the private sector. Anyone for a race to the bottom let me know? This Government plan to make the life of Social Workers hell on earth, why can’t you see that? This has nothing to do with good practice and everything to do with authoritarian control from the Tories. They tell you what you should think and even what you should feel. Face the truth that this government hates social workers. Wake up and smell the coffee.
I think Social Work England could help us by providing online training instead of completing a CPD every year.
It will be interesting to see who gets that contract, if it goes ahead. Already big players using alias names, all so corrupt.
‘Sick of also being told every time I have asked a question “this is the first year of the process and we are all learning as we go along”.’ SWs have had a registration body for years (GSCC, then HCPC) so why on earth is SWE learning as they go along? Why not simply learn from the previous experience of these quangos, use their good practice and discard the bits that didn’t work so well (like having limited understanding of SWs and their needs and issues)?
Renewing my registration took under 30 minutes; updating CPD with evidence of practice learning took 20 minutes….Its got to be worth an hour out of anyone’s day to stay in your chosen profession……Get it done…..continue your role as a practising social worker; assist and safeguard those that need your support and expertise…..and constructively challenge the SWE criteria after 30/11/2020 and going forward….I don’t mind this evidencing of CPD too much….It’s the 90 quid a year thats worth a debate !
I agree reflective practice is a positive- paying the £90.00 per year to practice is questionable?
I couldn’t agree more with Ruth’s final comment – where once the foundation of social work was the case work relationship (remember Felix Biestek?) this has long since been forgotten. I’m a dinosaur, (having been around since pre-Seebohm) and was once proud to be a social worker. However, the increasing bureaucracy, inflexibility and disregard for autonomy has all but eroded any sense of job satisfaction – might be selfish, but that’s why ‘I’m out’
As a social worker working within a hospice that serves Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Croydon and Bromley I found the registration process an unwelcome distraction and an hour of my working life that I will never get back and one that could have been better served supporting the Covid hit community.
However your response and reference to the casework relationship and Felix Biestek made my sad day! I actually uploaded the Biestek principles onto my CPD submission as a means of evidence of how I use supervision in keeping my social workers off the London Gin.
Purposeful use of emotions and Controlled emotional involvement have never been more relevant in palliative social work.
We are not dinosaurs – keep your registration and consider work in a palliative setting Anna.
I view myself as an ageing radical rather than clinical dinosaur!
Annie there is an inherent contradiction in your post. Surely the way you see CPD is best evidenced through good supervision. Why no direct requirement from SWE that our employers provide us with thoughtful and reflective supervision. If years of service mean anything, I am just completing my 29th year of post qualification practice and the most telling thing I have experienced is the poverty of management advice and how they regard supervision as an add on. Let’s tackle those issues rather than pretend that your 3 CPD upload and my colleague’s 8 CPD uploads actually mean anything more than your personal satisfaction.
Good Post but they don’t care about your 29 years service do they? All they care about is making you dance to their music. Don’t dance and your out.
But CPD is a regulatory requirement and this bureaucratic version is a smokescreen for SWE not insisting that continuous learning provided by recognised quality trainers supplemented by regular supervision should be a must. My partner is a Junior Doctor and beleive me this will not give us parity with any one. How can a process where 80% of social workers are not scrutinised be taken seriously by others? In my opinion any organisation that shuts off discussion and refuses to engage with its members is a bullying one. I recommend a quick perusal of SWE twitter page to see how far removed they are from our practice and how distant from meaningfully addressing issues that concern us. By all means upload any number of CPD, but let us not fool ourselves that it will makes more reflective and more knowledgable. A square peg is a square peg as my grandma used to say.
Well, I am shocked at some of the messages above and the lack of knowledge what actually constitutes the regulation that governs our profession. CPD IS a regulatory requirement.
Whilst I agree at first this new approach seems slightly baffling, once you have recorded one piece of CPD it’s actually quite easy and takes as much time to complete as having a rant on here.
All we have to do to meet minimum requirements is put in one piece of CPD – I just filled in the structured section few sentences in each box – Done. Under 45 mins whole thing. Not a problem. Why is it such a big deal? Just don’t upload more than one.
It is astonishing that the regulator is taking this stance they seem ready to add to the chaos in our public services by effectively suspending thousands of workers. They refuse to listen to both employer and unions who represent the vast majority of those on the register. Did I miss something or does SWE take advice from Priti Patel in how to manage staff relations!
We got there eventually folks. The quality of the upload is irrelevant and the incentive is that it’s not a time consuming process.
The new apparently well regulated social work where questioning and criticising, reflecting and bothering to engage, is reframed as a “rant”. High standards indeed.
As my previous post on this subject predicted Social Work England are the new bully on the block. They want to say to Social Workers you belong to us now and we will have our boot on your neck from now on, get over it. This refusal to extend the registration date will create real fear in Social Workers and many are effectively out of a job on Tuesday next week. Do not be suprised as this week the Government told you all you are having more Austerity and pay freezes for all you have given over the last year. I say this to all social workers who voted Conservative enjoy what you voted for.
I, as I am sure many of my fellow Social Workers have, used my much needed off duty time to complete my renewal and CPD. This is on top off working 16-18 hour days due to pressures. There is a need to align the register with employers appraisal processes and place more pressure on employers to ensure they have competent and professionally able staff, that way we may be able to have some built in reflection time to our working lives, instead of having to complete this as an essential extra. Please wake up SWE and cut Social Workers some slack before we risk another mass exodus from our profession. Your draconian expectations are putting lives at risk
Will SWE read & check all nearly 80thousand CPDs or just a sample. Most social workers engage with ongoing professional development and simple to upload. This should not be the issue I dont think. It’s also easy to forget with other competing demands under this pandemic. Surely they could be some flexibility. What’s worrying is the lack of register for students and social care workers, who were monitored by former GSCC & continued by HCPC for students only. We still need a Social Work College equivalent to Royal College of Midwives or Nursing or Surgeons etc which provides voice for social workers and make us stand out as a powerful profession with our own voice while regulated by SWE. We need social work voice to strengthen the profession. Royal College of Nurses did stand up for Nurses during the pandemic and nothing similar for Social Work. Managerialism has sucked out Sovial Work voice and we need to regain our voice.
SWE with their little helpers from BASW, will “scrutinise” 2.5% of CPD’s. Massively impressive you will agree.
The SWs are being tested and asked to prove their fitness to practice at so many levels of their work such as regular supervision, PDAs every six months or equivalent assessments on top of thee stressful work they do. Looking at the reported number of SW who have not uploaded a piece of cpd does indicate problems with this useless exercise. It is not required and it should be ended before it starts at 00:00 on 1/12/2020
I’ve paid my money and completed a load of CPD, but they don’t seem able to confirm I’ve renewed.
I’m waiting for 1 minute after deadline to see if I’ve still got a job.
It wasn’t like this 39 years ago when the ink was drying on my CQSW.
As a Senior Social Work Practitioner in Wales, I’m surprised that some Social Workers are finding it hard to comply with such a ridiculously low requirement. In Wales you need to have 90 hours of CPD on renewal not a measly ‘one piece of CPD’. This has the effect of undermining the public’s faith in us as professional workers. Come on SWE raise the standards please and match Social Care Wales’s requirements.
I’ve struggled with it. Qualified in 2009 but for last 2 years been seconded to a full time role in my local government union branch. Luckily managed to find some free online training so can still remain on register. My colleagues are so stressed and stretched right now and once again we have a regulator who will happily take our money but won’t stand up for us!
As a retired social worker, I worked as a Practice Teacher for a charity and over the past 4 years have had 7 students plus occasional
international social work and counselling students for individual supervision on an ad hoc basis. I tried ringing SWE several times over the past 2 years to check my position as I am technically not a practicing SW, No one has ever rung me back nor answered my emails.
Over the past year – due to lockdown we have not had students. I looked at the necessary forms to complete and found that unless i was actually employed by an agency or the charity – could not get past the first page. I have not received a fee or any form of payment as a PT in 2020. Reluctantly I have decided to not continue with registration. SWE did take £45 off me in October despite ignoring my emails etc.
Lot of social workers have failed on this CPD
SWE are right in demanding this as continuous professional development
As a consultant to local authority adult social services and an NHS consultant I think it’s fair that social workers must do this, I’ve seen so many mistakes being made from social workers who dont have on going training this includes newly qualified social workers and social workers who have been doing this for years!
Lot social workers need serious updating of Autism and how to deal and understand how to communicate with a autistic person major of you and well know fact you don’t know how to interact and approach am autistic person
I’ve lost count on how many social workers have been taken to court over this issue it is dreadful.
If you can’t handle the pressures of uploading a single CPD then simply leave and stop moaning about it
The NHS have to do this every year and on all their subject areas that they cover in their day to day tasks.
Get on with it stop moaning or leave simple as
Paul, I could not disagree with you more. I am a Consultant Psychiatrist with a daughter who is an AMPH.
She left her medical training because of the sexism that pervades medicine. Doctors are hardly the best people to accuse other professionals of incompetence given the history of medical errors and negligence. Because of my daughter I actually read what this film flam regulator requires from them. As others better positioned then me have commented, its demeaning and embarrassing for serious professionals to be asked to write one sentence and be judged to be safe and competent on that. As doctors we get dedicated time built in for training, for us to to pursue professional interests and complete our CPD requirements. There is no such privilege for social workers. For all our privileges and comforts as doctors, we too are just workers so should stand in solidarity with other workers. I also think doctors should be very careful when criticising others about communication skills, you will know how poor doctors are at clear communication; it’s a perennial in our teaching. What I hear from the majority of posts here and from discussions with my daughter and other social workers is their frustration with a new regulator which for them seems to be more interested in consolidating its role and power than listening to and advocating for them. Trust me, these dedicated people can handle pressure, its arbitrary demands they can’t stomach. As for moaning, we doctors you will know, are the champions in that contest. Workloads, rotas, training opportunities, extra payments, teaching requirements, 360 appraisals, parking spaces, on call duties, the list is endless for us. It seems to me all these professionals are asking for is to be heard.
Given that the majority of qualified social workers would have meet the criteria to continue their practice, it is not !unusual for a small percentage to fail to comply, given the impact Covid-19 is having on the way of working and managing our caseloads at present. However, when the HCPC was in the same position, we could say that there was no recall from anybody to ask for an extension, but we might say this situation is very different because there was no pandemic to worry about. I have read the response to this effect as above mentioned and the responses from SWE appears reasonable and open to those not able to meet the requirements to filter through to continue to to practice if they keep abreast with what SWE has recommended or suggestions.
Agree. But your assumption that those of us who have not uploaded are finding it “hard to comply” is at least in my case way off. It’s because I want rigorous, transparent and thorough regulation that I refuse to dignify this con on the public. It’s collegues who are colluding in the pretence who will undermine the publics faith, not those of us desperate for more rigour. Writing pretty poems is uplifting for the soul but does not raise professional standards. Support us Dr Drew, don’t dignify the bureaucrats by beleiving they are interested in improving our practice and protecting the public.
Don’t beleive the threats. I asked SWE 4 times if I would be able to carry on with my job if I did not use Rgistered Social Worker as my title, but yet to get a response. I asked my employer if I could carry on doing my job if I used the title Social Worker, and eventually they said probably as they employed me as a Qualified Social Worker, not as a Registered Social Worker. Clear as mud I agree but not as bleak as SWEwould like to pretend. Perhaps CC can ask for clarification given that those of us who pay our fees are deemed not worthy of communication and basic courtesy.
Dr Hugh has shown more understanding and empathy towards us than our own supposed leaders. SWE at least has the excuse of being bound to the government but what’s the excuse for BASW? I thought they were the “voice of social workers”.
Dear Unworried, I agree Community Care should clarify with SWE your point but collagues please do not put your careers on the line. Just provide something to keep your registration and perhaps when we are not burdened by the pandemic we can challenge them more formally.
Can anyone help me. I am trying to renew my registration but unable to get past employment history. It asks for details of last 12 months. I have not worked over the last 12 months. But unable to proceed as nowhere to record this.
It’s a difficult situation to say the least. While i agree that swe do not appear to know what they are doing. I have a strong commitment to cpd and feel that as professionals we should not find excuses not to demonstrate our good practice. Given we have all struggled to access training due to C19 we have continued to provide vital services to people in need. Get registered and challenge the issues from within
SWE’s registration is flawed. I’ve been off work for a year quite ill. I emailed SWE twice about registration/CPD. No response. All my registration details are on my work email which J refuse to open. I’ve now spoken to someone in SWE and have been told that I have to complete. I’ve now done so after they changed my email details but of course I am unable to answee half the questions as they require one to actually be in work.
I wonder what SWE will see when it pulls its head out of the sand on 1st of December? Will it be the glory of every social worker registered with their reflective CPD’s uploaded? Or the realisation that after all the incentives, the podcasts, the threats, the hectoring, the macho genital swinging, the co-opting of BASW, the pleading and the desperation, they have a mess created by their stubborn refusal to listen and seek meaningfull engagement? With perhaps 1in 5 social workers not registered on deadline day, and no meaningful increase after the 21 day extension where will their ‘strategy’ have taken us to? My local pub has shown more agility, more thoughtfulness, more skill and more determination to address the implication of the pandemic than our supposed leadership. They have pootled into a cul de sac and if they find a way to reverse out of their incompetence we will know whether the real wreckers of confidence and credibility are people like me or the gilded, but not celebrated, bureaucrats of SWE.
Given SWE can’t afford to lose a minimum of £869.764 or the mind boggling £1,350.000 in fees, I’d say the chances of their rejection continuing is slim. Apart from anything else, no one is going to reward them with a Queens Honour if they bankrupt the show will they. Oh the ignominy.
I’ve just remembered that SWE constructed their CPD strategy from the massive 216, 20 from organisations, responses to their ‘consultation’. Having facilitated SWE to create this nonsense based on so few respondents, I wonder how BASW justifies social workers losing livelihoods and people being left even more vulnerable? Not one social worker or professional lead of my acquaintance has ever had their views sought by the way. Hull was probably too far to come. I sent SWE an email response which sadly did not count as apparently it was “too long” for “this particular consultation”. Admittedly meandering verbosity is a failing in me but it’s not much of a consultation if brevity is the sole criterion now is it?
Deadline was actually midnight 29/11. Not even 30th. I was completing my cpd and tried to submit at 0020hrs which was now 30th and it took me straight to the restoration application page: had to complete the restoration application which required me to upload my qualification certificates and pay £135 plus another £90 if they accept my restoration. In the meantime it says I cannot practice until they restore.
Hi Charlotte, we’ve been told very clearly that deadline is 11.59pm today. There were some technical problems apparently on the website which Social Work England say have now been fixed. See https://twitter.com/SocialWorkEng/with_replies
Hopefully they can resolve things for you you.
I simply cannot understand why so many people are moaning. We are professionals. Act like it.
Strange king of professionalism that regards Coronation Street as a source for CPD rather than advocating that employers provide and SWE oversee good training. When I had surgery I didn’t expect expertise gained from Holby City but had confidence that my surgeon had undergone verified, tested and evidenced based medical training. You can kid yourselves that you are well trained professionals but that isn’t going to be backed up by SWE will it given that they won’t bother looking at 80% of CPD submissions. Regard this as a moan but better still reflect on what it is that you are colluding with.
Here’s a moan. Please let us be regulated by an entity that can least have a functioning website.
JasonM, let’s see: acting professional like our esteemed colleagues in Birmingham, our professional collagues in Westmister Council? Personally, I would rather take what we do seriously and instead of having a thousand and one self definitions of professionalism, actually expect a regulator to set some standards. We would be better served if we didn’t scavenge from other disciplines and convince ourselves theft makes as a distinct ‘profession’. But perhaps this is just another moan. Happy to be judged.
Always amazes me what battles some SWs (soon to be no longer SWs if they haven’t registered) want to fight. The process may well be flawed but its flawed by its relative simplicity and the most sensible approach would be to complain and fight for improvements within the system than out of it in my opinion.
We and the public are being asked to believe that by scrutinising just 2.5% of CPD’s, SWE will improve practice, protect the public and raise standards. Such is the state of “professional” social work.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication. The new way of working apparently. Colleague told me she managed 1100 words with interactive uploads and YouTube links. Foucault was wrong, we are our own willing jailors.
I know quite a few social workers that can talk the talk and write a “good enough” recall for CPD, but when it comes to walking the walk in interventions with people we work with, have absolutely no real empathy or compassion, yet they can practice away.
So SWE, rather than wave the big stick and leave it to chance that 98% of CPD won’t get a look in, maybe you should be setting achievable, measurable criteria for scrutinising the moral compass of ALL practitioners.
…the people and families we work with deserve better.
Me to my manager: Sorry I’m late today, I broke down in my car.
Manager: what happened to the car?
Me: what car????
After working through a pandemic in an LA that has no money, followed by the winter pressure, undertaking various post graduate courses in the name of professional development and more weekly reflective practice sessions than Schonn! Now, I’ve had to pay for the pleasure of being pressurised and threatened with registration removal unless i write yet another reflection!
And my manger asks, what happened to the car??? SWE may be able to provide an update.
It’s not a battle, just an honest attempt to show the con we are being asked to be part of. I am sure you regard yourself as a competent social worker Fog so you should be ashamed that posturing incompetents that pass for a regulator are asking you to prove it by writing any old guff and pass it off as “reflection”. Let’s see how many social workers are actually struck off when employers get in their faces. The only positive within this mess is the exposure of BASW as collaborators in the infantalisation of our practice. What was that about being the voice of social workers?
Its the 1500 people (I won’t refer to them as SWs because legally they aren’t anymore) who should be ashamed. The pathetic excuse from some that their’s is a protest against SWE is pathetic given many like myself who are protesting and complaining within the system rather than acting like a spoilt child and having tantrums outside of it.
The shame here is on colleagues who may well have more work because of these selfish people and also the impact on our clients given there aren’t enough SWs in the first place.
I wouldn’t gloat about soon to be social workers if I was you Fog, you might find being asked to take over our work on top of your own a bit heavy. The scouse social worker and Nihat have it about right.
Thank you Mithran and also your collagues for keeping us informed, without your diligence we could never know what SWE leep from us.
Apparently we can continue to practice if our name is not on the register while SWE updates it. Can we be told how long the update is likely to take? Can we use the protected title of social worker while we are not on the register? What safeguards are in place to protect service users during the update period?
In what could be a moment of crisis for social workers BASW remains silent. Too busy with the pretty eChristmas card I suppose. Beyond parody.