Memorandum submitted by Christine J Whiting,
RSW, Independent Social Worker & Practice Teacher
INTRODUCTION
1. I would like to offer my comments on
some of the possible areas that are due to be considered in the
above inquiry.
2. I write in my capacity as a registered social
worker and Independent Practice Teacher of six years experience.
During this time I have practice taught in excess of 50 students,
from four different academic institutions from the diploma, through
to the bachelor's and master's degree. I practice teach in Suffolk,
Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
3. I also work as in Independent Post-Qualifying
Mentor both on the former Post Qualifying Framework for candidates
studying PQs 2-6; and for those on the GSCC approved Practice
Teacher Award programme. I also run Practice Teacher Development
Workshops for a local authority to provide on-going development
to their practice teachers.
4. My comments below are offered based on
my experience and are not representative of any one particular
academic institution.
THE ENTRY
ROUTE TO
THE PROFESSION
5. The committee intends to look at the
entry routes to social work and asks the question as to whether
there is sufficient flexibility to encourage mature entrance etc.
From experience, I have found that there is little flexibility
to encourage this as even the Open University programme requires
employer sponsorship, all other routes require the typical academic
entry requirements eg A Levels to a Bachelor's Degree or first
degree to progress onto a Master's programme.
6. What I have observed over the last six years
of practice teaching is there has become less emphasis on the
students obtaining suitable experience before embarking on the
social work degree programme. This is age irrelevant. I am aware
of mature students who have spent twenty years as home makers
embarking on social work degree programme having never used a
computer or having to regularly use a diary let alone having practical
experience in social work related fields. I have also had younger
students who have simply followed their career path straight from
A Levels to a degree without any break in the middle to obtain
any life experience let alone relevant social work experience.
7. This to me is major flaw in the entry
to the profession. I am of the opinion that there should be a
mandatory minimum period of practical experience that should be
undertaken before the student can be considered or interviewed
for entry to the programme. This experience should also be quantified
to terms of practical time eg X number of hours of service should
be obtained before entry into the profession. Based on my experience
I feel that relevant sectors should also be defined for students
considering entry to the profession. There seems to be, based
on student's anxieties of starting placement, a significant lack
of clarity and expectation about task and function of social workers
within the community. Many have an expectation that they can only
undertake social work within the statutory system but then become
frustrated, as recently documented in Community Care, by the overwhelming
degree of computer based activities. However, the students also
become anxious and frustrated when placed outside the statutory
system under the impression that they are not obtaining "social
work" experience. This could be addressed by recruitment
campaigns demonstrating the depth and breadth of social work and
the full range of the service users who can benefit from qualified
experienced professionals.
8. I am aware that there has been a decrease
in applications to the social work programme and that the above
suggestions may be perceived to exacerbate this. However, surely
the development of the social work profession relies on the quality
and not the quantity of the professionals taking and achieving
this degree. Providing such practical experience as a requirement
of the early stages will also help to manage unrealistic expectations
about the role of social work; and in the longer term would help
prevent burn out as practitioners qualify with a more realistic
expectation of their future role.
STRUCTURE OF
TRAINING
9. Since the introduction of the three year
Bachelor's Degree/two year Master's degree there has been an overall
sense of a rise in the professional status of qualified social
workers. This appears to be directly linked to the new academic
requirements creating a professional as opposed to the previously
skilled workers who obtained diplomas and CQSWs. However, with
this have come a number of challenges that have been portrayed
within the media that has also knocked the status of the profession.
This is not to be discussed here but is something that needs to
be taken into account too.
10. Since I have been practice teaching social
work students both on the earlier diploma and now the Bachelor's
and Master's Degree programme I feel that there is the potential
for this level of initial training to be correct to equip social
work students at the start of their career. However, from direct
experience I have noticed particularly in younger qualifying social
workers they still need a significant degree of ongoing support
beyond the end of their initial qualification. Fortunately this
has been addressed locally through the pilot Newly Qualified Social
Worker programmes that have been operating in the geographical
area within which I practice teach. These pilots however have
been directly linked to children and families which is the focus
of this particular enquiry; but I have none-the-less had concerns
for those students who do not wish to pursue a career in children
and families but to work within adult services. To date this area
of social work has not had benefit of additional Newly Qualified
Social Worker programmes. To place this into context it may be
worth noting that from the last cohort of students that I practiced
taught to March 2009 50% of these students chose to apply for
unqualified posts such as family support workers upon qualifying
as they felt that they needed more practical experience before
working as a qualified social worker. These students were academically
and professionally competent but this was their own feelings on
their abilities.
11. In my opinion I feel that the Newly
Qualified Social Worker programme although in its infancy at this
time will provide newly qualified social workers with the opportunity
to build and develop their skills further with the protection
of a qualified experienced mentor working alongside them for a
minimum of 12 months. It is important to ensure that newly qualified
social workers have protected case loads and receive regular supportive
supervision—not simply case management to ascertain work
levels but to enable the students to be clear and learn the systems
within which their practice operates. Furthermore they will benefit
from independent professional development. Independent profession
mentoring would provide unbiased support and would ensure that
the newly qualified social workers continued to explore and apply
their use of theory and research to build upon their knowledge
outside the academic arena. By providing independent professional
development supervision temptation to dip in to case management
would be overcome.
CONTENT OF
INITIAL TRAINING
12. In my opinion the social work degree
should remain a generic programme and as such is fit for the purpose
of training social workers to basic level to work in all areas.
This is important due to a significant degree of burn out that
the profession currently experiences. By forcing students to specialise
at such an early stage, particularly without experience prior
to entry to the programme, could potentially see them pigeon-holed
too early and the profession will experience higher degree drop
out as professionals decide that they no longer wish to work within
the specialised area.
13. With a generic qualification behind them
they will be able to transfer more readily between the service
user groups but then can go on and undertake the specialist training
required. Effectively using "building blocks" of specialist
trainings to extend and develop their knowledge to the appropriate
levels.
14. The new post qualifying framework provides
the potential for these building blocks. Specialists and higher
specialist awards have already been in place for some considerable
time with the Children's Award from the former Post Qualifying
Award framework. My experience is of supporting students both
within adult and children services. Generally, in the region,
social workers within children services have access to these post
qualifying programmes on a regular basis and from my experience
more so than their adult services colleagues.
15. As already stated in paragraph 7 I am
concerned that the students have at present an unrealistic expectation
of the task of social work that they will be asked to undertake
in employment. This needs to be addressed by the range of placements
and also through increasing awareness of the full scope of social
work within independent and voluntary sectors, as well as the
statutory services.
16. I have already highlighted above in
paragraph 6 that I am concerned that the students do not have
sufficient experience before embarking on their chosen degree
programme. As a consequence it makes it difficult at this stage
to acknowledge whether the balance of knowledge, skills and value
is correct. From experience I have found that students tend to
become either book learners as they absorb as much knowledge about
working with people as possible but this often gets in the way
of them developing their skills. Conversely I have those students
that are happy to apply their skills but are reluctant to develop
their knowledge base.
17. As a qualified practice teacher with
the Practice Teacher Award I am equipped and trained to be able
to support students to bring about this balance. However, as a
trainer for local authorities that provide five day in-house practice
teacher training programmes I have found that over the last four
years that these professionals do not necessarily have the same
level of skill and knowledge that is available through the Practice
Teacher Award Programme. I am led to question how six months worth
of training compares that to a five day in-house programme.
QUALITY
18. In view of my comments above, I have
as a qualified practice teacher been led to question how the General
Social Care Council do regulate the quality of training. As an
offsite practice teacher I have been required to undertake practice
teaching for more and more students in recent years as there has
been a shortage of practice teachers. Most recently I have been
involved in a pilot scheme running a student unit to overcome
some of these difficulties. The outcome of this pilot has in itself
been useful and informative but has not addressed the issue of
the shortage of practice teachers.
19. As an independent practice teacher I earn
less than £3.00 per hour and often have to wait until the
end of a contract (sometimes up to nine months) before I receive
financial remuneration. I am aware from discussions with other
independent practice teachers that this is an issue that has often
resulted in them withdrawing from providing their services. On
top of this I am being forced as a practice teacher to now travel
upwards of 70 miles to be able to undertake practice teaching
which is not reimbursed and yet the fee has remained the same
since the diploma levels were introduced. I feel that this is
a significant area that the General Social Care Council needs
to investigate to contribute to the overall quality of the training.
Without experienced qualified practice teachers the students are
not going to be able to link their academic and practice learning
to a suitable standard and for the future wellbeing of service
users.
I do not feel that I am in a position to provide
comment on the other areas that the committee may be exploring
but hope that my above comments will provide sufficient food for
thought.
May 2009
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