Memorandum submitted by the Association
of Professors of Social Work
The Association of Professors of Social Work
(APSW) is a membership organisation open to all those eligible
in the United Kingdom. Currently, it has a mailing list of 102.
This submission is based upon discussions held at a meeting with
approximately 30 members in March, 2009.[15]
APSW welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this
call for evidence and would be pleased to contribute further to
the work of the committee.
SUMMARY
— Academic entry requirements to social
work training need attention and good practice in relation to
selection processes needs to be disseminated.— A qualifications
framework is offered as a possible way forward.
— It is important that initial training
retains a generic focus.
— Post-qualifying training should be based
upon recognised academic qualifications and should contain research
training.
— There is a need for investment in the
social work academic workforce and the research infrastructure
in social work and social care.
1. ENTRY ROUTES
TO THE
PROFESSION
1.1 The evaluation of the social work degree
commissioned by the Department of Health and carried out by Kings
College (2008)[16]
found that flexible approaches to achieving a social work qualification
have been maintained since the introduction of the degree.
1.2 There are a range of entry routes to social
work training which allow for mature entrants, re-entrants and
those considering a career change. The GSCC's analysis of the
composition of the intake on social work programmes for 2007-08
indicates that 24% of students study at Master's level, 64% at
degree level. A further 12% are sponsored on employment based
routes and/or part-time.[17]
Mature students continue to make up the majority of the intake
with students over the age of 25 accounting for 61% of total intake.
1.3 An issue which has been of concern to
members of the APSW concerns the variability of the academic requirements
for entering degree programmes. There are concerns that students
with good A Level grades are not applying for courses and that
entry requirements for some programmes are very low. A complex
array of factors may be at play here including the relentless
criticism of social work in the national media, pressures on HEIs
in relation to student numbers and a lack of recognition of the
need for social workers to have the intellectual skills to engage
in contemporary practice.
1.4 However, it would be unwise to focus
on A Levels, given the variety of entry routes to training and
the commitment to widening participation which we support. We
note the difficulties there appear to be in assessing the quality
of Access programmes or the quality of a student's overall performance
on Access courses. Universities have developed a range of imaginative
selection procedures in order to assess potential and capability.
There is a need to share "best practice" in this area
and the APSW would wish to work with other organisations on this.
For example, we note the existence of the SWAP website for admissions
tutors which offers the opportunity to share good practice.
1.5 Overall, it is imperative that the evidence
base is strengthened in order to better understand the links,
for example, between academic ability and being a "good"
social worker. The Association considers that the lack of a substantial
evidence base in this area reflects a wider issue which is the
historic low level of resourcing of research in social work and
social care.[18]
This has had implications at a range of levels including supporting
the teaching of research skills to social work students, thus
encouraging them to be "research minded".
2. STRUCTURE
OF TRAINING
The following framework has been developed by
members of the APSW as a way forward.
2.1 Build on the Foundation Degree in social
care, making it the qualification route for those who may not
have the critical thinking capacity and conceptual skills to be
social workers who undertake complex assessments and care planning,
but who can make a strong contribution within direct care roles,
building relationships and transferring skills, and as social
educators with children, young people and families, and with disabled
people and people with mental health difficulties, similar to
social pedagogues in Europe.
2.2 Require a higher intellectual capacity
for those admitted to the three year undergraduate, or two year
post-graduate, degree in social work, recognising the critical
analysis and appraisal skills required by social workers in collating
dispersed and diverse information, making complex and crucial
decisions based on sometimes incomplete and possibly conflicting
information, managing risks whilst also seeking not to be unnecessarily
restrictive, and being able to present judgements logically and
cogently, based on best knowledge, in discussions with resource
holders, and with decision-makers in legal proceedings and within
their own and other agencies. They would also be the leaders of
the future within social care and social work, promoting its value
and competence base, and ensuring its contribution is developed
and safeguarded for the benefit of children, families, and disabled
and older people.
2.3 Keep the initial qualifying degree,
as well as the recognised MA route, as the basic qualification
for all social workers, where core professional values and ethics,
and core generic professional skills (such as interviewing; collating
and critically evaluating information), are developed. Knowledge
about development across the age range, the needs of children,
and the nature and impact of mental health difficulties, drug
and alcohol misuse, and disability would underpin this education.
We need to recognise also that qualifying social workers should
not be required to restrict their decisions about future social
work employment too early. Decisions about future work choices
are likely to be influenced by availability of employment, and
its location, at the time of completing the initial qualifying
degree. If at this point newly qualifying social workers are already
constrained in the work they can seek we may see very early leakage
from the profession, compounding workforce scarcity. Mid-career
professionals may also want to re-orientate their role and work,
moving from, say, children's or adults' social work, and this
would be facilitated by having an initial generic qualification
with a requirement and opportunities for subsequent specialist
training re-training. The danger otherwise will be a drift away
from the profession as the only relief from work which has become
overly stressful or less satisfying.
2.4 Require a newly-qualified worker year
where specialist education and training is initiated, with successful
completion of this probationary period being required for recognition
as a qualified social worker entitled to registration.
2.5 Have an additional year of experience
and education leading to a Master's degree in specialist social
work for those who have the capacity, capability and competence
to move into advanced practice and supervisory and training roles.
2.6 Overall, we consider that these proposals
would not only strengthen current training and underscore the
complexity of the tasks social workers engage in, they would also
help strengthen the standing of social work with other professionals.
The latter is vital. Social workers need to have the capacity
to interact and communicate effectively with a range of senior
professionals, such as medical consultants and judges. This cannot
be achieved simply by aspiring to a common-language, but must
be rooted in a thorough education, which includes the nurturing
of an ability to research and assimilate new knowledge on an on-going
basis, for example, in response to understanding the medical needs
of a child with a complex genetic condition and their family.
2.7 These proposals also offer a framework
for building up the capacity of the social care workforce. There
has been some discussion about the possible utility of a social
pedagogy model as used, for example, in Denmark and Germany. This
model has considerable potential and could create exciting possibilities
and we recognise that interest in this has emerged partly as a
result of concerns about the experiences of children and young
people in residential care. We share the concerns to improve practice
in this area and to raise the status and qualifications level
of residential workers. However, it should be noted that in Germany
social pedagogy is a graduate profession, indeed the education
of social pedagogues takes place in the more prestigious academic
institutions, with opportunities to study to doctoral level. These
institutions have academically challenging curricula, incorporating,
for example, social theory, alongside more practice-oriented aspects.
The population of children in care is also very different to ours.
Thus, it is important to consider carefully how the best features
of this model may be developed, which need to take account of
the intellectual underpinnings of the German system and the differences
in the care populations. Our proposal to develop Foundation degree
level key workers with children and families may be the place
to start from to take account of current workforce and demographic
factors.
3. CONTENT OF
INITIAL TRAINING
3.1 Kings College (2008) found that social
work educators are teaching to the DH requirements for the degree
and that most research participants reported positive experiences
of teaching and learning on the degree. However, the CWDC argue
that based upon their work with NQSWs and employers in Spring
2008 and a "deep dive" activity in 2008 that the current
arrangements for training of social workers are not "fit
for purpose".
3.2 We would suggest that it is important that
a careful and considered look is taken at the research evidence
which exists and that the notion of "satisfaction" is
interrogated rigorously. For example, "satisfaction"
levels can relate as much to low as to high expectations of what
good practice should consist of. We would suggest that examples
of "best practice" in relation to employer-HEI partnerships
are collected as part of the call for evidence of the taskforce
chaired by Moira Gibb.
3.3 The APSW has considered the call by
Lord Laming for the introduction of specialist training after
the first year. As outlined above, it considers that it would
be problematic to introduce specialist and separate education
for children's social workers and adults' social workers so early
within the initial social work qualifying degree.
3.4 Within the initial qualifying degree
the focus should be on the skills and knowledge required by all
social workers, in terms of interviewing, analysing, assessing,
care planning, and working with people to make changes in their
situation or behaviour. Students need to learn about the resources
which can be mobilised to assist individuals and families, and
the powers and processes which can be used to protect when necessary.
They need to develop "research mindedness" in order
to engage effectively with the complexity of contemporary practice.
3.5 Specialised training in children's and
adults' services is also important and necessary. This is why
there should be a post-degree probationary practice year following
the initial qualifying degree, focused on the specialist area
of work within which the newly-qualified worker is then employed.
3.6 It is important to recognise that current
training incorporates 200 days of practice learning (50% of the
degree). The removal of the Key Performance Indicator for practice
learning in 2003 has contributed, alongside the increase in placement
length, to serious difficulties in some areas.
3.7 There is a sense among members of the
APSW that relationships between employers and HEIs need to be
strengthened in order to carry out our joint responsibilities
in relation to social work education. The Association has written
to Moira Gibb, the chair-person of the taskforce, suggesting that
a small working group is established as a sub-group of the taskforce
in the context of addressing the priority given to practice learning
particularly.
3.8 Overall, we would note that the social
work academic workforce has received little explicit investment
in relation to meeting a complex number of demands (for example,
demands arising from the Research Assessment Exercise, expanding
student numbers, keeping in touch with contemporary practice and
ensuring that good quality professionals emerge from the universities).
Research carried out on its demographic composition has pointed
to the fact that it is an ageing workforce (47% of social work
academics are aged 50 or over) and that low levels of investment
have been apparent in terms of building up its research capacity
for the future.[19]
We would draw the committee's attention to the Social Work Research
Strategy, mentioned previously which, based upon a range of studies
of resourcing, demographic profile and other dimensions of the
research/practice interface, outlined the need for action in areas
such as the following:
— Increasing the spend on social work R&D.
— Establishing practice posts with responsibility
for undertaking research.
— Increasing the proportion of social work
educators in HEIs with post-graduate research qualifications.
— Improving the visibility of social work
research and developing its public profile in a positive way.
3.9 We also recognise the need to break
down the barriers and boundaries between social work teaching
and practice. Skilled practitioners are currently involved in
selection, training and the assessment of practice, but further
encouragement and support is needed from agencies to recognise
and consolidate these roles. Similarly, we also recognise the
need for social work academics to continue to involve themselves
in practice. This would be an area we would wish to take forward
in a number of arenas such as any working group set up with employers.
However, it is also imperative that social work academics engage
their own employers in discussions about this and this is happening
in some institutions. The APSW will continue to take this forward.
4. POST-QUALIFYING
TRAINING
4.1 There is an urgent need for the current
post-qualifying framework to be simplified and rationalised. Our
strong preference is for a framework which is based upon existing,
internationally well-recognised qualifications such as Masters
and PhD, including professional doctorate, programmes. The current
system does not have international recognition and is not easily
understood by practitioners or HEIs. Moreover, research training
is not embedded in the current framework and this is a serious
obstacle to developing "research minded" practitioners.
Employers need to be challenged and supported to recognise the
value of a highly skilled and well-educated workforce. It is not
clear that the current systems are working to deliver coherent
packages in regions. There has been a proliferation of programmes
in some areas and in some specialisms resulting in gaps or over-provision.
4.2 Moreover, the benefits to agencies of staff
undertaking good quality post-qualifying training are often poorly
understood. For example, dissemination of the learning of those
doing post-qualifying programmes in child welfare and protection
is not routinely undertaken in our experience. Thus opportunities
are not always taken to build learning organisations. We would
welcome the opportunity to develop strategies in this area based
upon our local experiences. For example, some of us have been
involved in supporting local safeguarding children boards in the
wake of the death of Baby P and have offered resources to support
training and research. We would also draw the committee's attention
to the Making Research Count partnership between universities
and employers and the work currently being carried out by universities
on mentorship and support for the CWDC practitioner research projects.
5. CONCLUDING
REMARKS
5.1 Once again, can we state that we welcome
the opportunity provided by the Committee to offer some of our
views on this important topic and we would be pleased to contribute
further if required to do so.
May 2009
15 The authors are indebted to the following colleagues
for their help in preparing this submission: Ray Jones, Richard
Pugh, Jonathan Parker and Hilary Tompsett. Back
16
Evaluation of the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England
Volume1: Findings, King's College London: Social Care Workforce
Research Unit. Back
17
General Social Care Council (2009) Raising Standards: Social
Work Education in England, 2007-2008, London, GSCC. Back
18
A Social Work Research Strategy in Higher Education 2006-2020,
http://www.swap.ac.uk/research/strategy.asp Back
19
A Social Work Research Strategy in Higher Education,
http://www.swap.ac.uk/research/strategy.asp Back
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