Transcript NOPT AW Presentation October 14

Professor Aidan Worsley
[email protected]
@aidanworsley
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Great social work practitioners/educators – with
a breadth of experience
Great values -awareness of social justice and
social work values
Great teams - supportive environments and
strong supervision
Great partnerships – effective, responsive
Very significant policy/ economic challenges
– but amidst all this clamour SW endures…
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Closed upon recruitment of Chief Social Workers
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Produced important documents around CPD,
Partnerships, SW Education, Admissions
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Set in motion The College of Social Work
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ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year in
Employment) with TCSW – builds upon NQSW,
some ‘requirements’ placed upon employers
around supervision, workload relief etc.
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President of ADCS
Hackney model
‘crap social workers’
Teaching background
LA senior
management /
Hackney/ London
voice dominant
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The Professional Capabilities Framework
Underlined generic curriculum
Tougher Admissions requirements/ processes
Additional curriculum guidance
Assessed Readiness for Direct Practice
New placement structure and holistic assessment
Plus compliance with QAA, HCPC (SETS/SOPS)
and internal validation
Began September 2013 – UG students are literally
on their first placement
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Compression and
the DfE
Step Up to Social
Work
Frontline (Summer
14)
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Lamb and the DH
Baroness Tyler
Review
Mental Health
‘Frontline’ called
Think Ahead
WHY?
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“I have been told not to accommodate children as
this will cost too much and we do not have the
placements for them. I have also been told not to
take cases to child protection as there are no social
workers to take the case.”
“Ofsted observed the number of child protection
cases was very high so the [local authority] reduced
the number of child protection plans.”
“I had a child who was repeatedly neglected with
other professionals raising concerns. However,
child protection thresholds were not met and the
child was deemed a child in need.”
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Evidence suggests supply of social workers will
not equal demand until 2022
But, LAs preferring to employ temps to NQSWs
13 LAs carrying 50+ vacancies, 4 carrying 100+
and 2 carrying 200+
◦ Wokingham/ City of London/ Cheshire West/ Luton all in
top 10
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Older workers leaving
70% say caseloads unmanageable
Emphasis on qualifying training incongruent with
data
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Curriculum guidance confused and inadequate
Need to ‘increase’ calibre of entrants and lower
numbers
Extend Step-Up and Frontline programmes (he
notes retention as key indicator)
Specialisation of qualifying training – final years
focus on C&F
Workbased non-graduate qualification for social
care
Detach from HCPC
Toughen Endorsement…
…there is nothing here about the
quality of teaching (which, regrettably,
is not observed), the entry calibre of
students, the robustness of
examination or other assessment
systems, or the extent to which new
graduates are ready for employment.
And it is impossible to believe that the
quality of placement provision can be
assessed on a day visit to the university
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Crushingly anecdotal
Selective evidence undermines impact
Plain wrong in some areas
But much food for thought
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Very well promoted
Supported by Gove- but perhaps not Morgan/
the DfE?
HCPC – enshrined in legislation
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But the main problem…
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See the social worker as a practitioner, a
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Fewer, better, PG students – 300+ (3 Bs)
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professional and as a social scientist
Better placements, better relationships – more
cash
Retain genericism (‘social work lite’ routes
critiqued)
More research skills for practitioners, more IPL
Merge HCPC/ TCSW regulatory function – keep
both
ASYE becomes Licence to Practice/ Revalidation
Phase out UG bursaries
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Evidential approach, less combative
Received hardly any press coverage
Losing a key demographic – mature UG
student
CPD in focus
Money in focus- but unrealistic
Wary of ‘quick fix’ of fast track routes
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PEPS (PE Professional Standards)
◦ Vital importance of the PVI sector
 Innovation, Capacity, Reflecting workforce
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Placement funding - £20 a day
◦ The dangers of driving down PE fees
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Bursaries – PG direction, £18m savings
already
◦ Placement staff vital, partnership & SWET
networking, conflict...
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So many avenues for division
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CPD
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Removal of PQ framework but no replacement
Many alternatives developed - filling vacuum
Practice Educators – parallels with AMHPs
Why should it not all sit in an academic framework?
Knowledge & Skills Statements x 2
◦ Sets out what Children's and Adults social workers need
to know
◦ Tested (by whom?) for ‘approved status’ at end of ASYE
◦ Separate one for Adults (LR)
 4 x DOs, 2 written pieces, several work products, TCSW role
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Complex and emerging picture – offering
signposts – more change to come
DfE and DH playing punch bag with social
work and SW education? Can they find a
compromise? Institutionalising divisions
No chance to implement and evaluate change
◦ Change ideological rather than evidence based
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Social work as a profession needs to take
back control of these scenarios- engage in
these debates
Desperate need for a renewed emphasis and
funding for CPD – but is it nil sum?
Need to strive for the production of excellent
social workers together – in partnership
Educating the profession
Remembering why we are doing this! - that
we are still providing a strong service that
protects children, their families and adults
[email protected]
@aidanworsley