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Barry Sheerman
MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Wednesday 7 May 2009
Dear Mr Sheerman,
Please find below 11 MILLION's submission to the Training of Children and
Families Social Workers Inquiry.
1. Introduction
1.1
Children and young people have told us that, following the trauma of family
breakdown and removal into care, they want and need someone in children's
services with whom they can have an enduring and trusting relationship.
The social worker is often the person to whom they look.
1.2
This submission is predicated on the critical importance of ensuring that
social workers have the emotional and intellectual capacity to undertake this
difficult and demanding task and that the support and development framework
encourages and supports them to stay in their roles for a sufficient length of
time such that they can provide enduring support for troubled children and
families.
2. Entry routes
to the profession
2.1
The most important issue with regard to entry is to ensure that the profession
attracts people of the right intellectual and psychological calibre to deal
effectively with the emotional and cognitive demands of the job. Entrants need
to have high levels of self awareness, be psychologically minded (i.e. tuned
into the underpinning emotional factors which influence behaviour of self and
others), have excellent analytical and writing skills (or demonstrate the
capacity to develop these rapidly), be effective communicators and have strong
boundaries. Ease of entry should not dilute these requirements. We believe that
the introduction of a two year diploma focused too strongly on accessibility
resulting in too many social workers entering the profession who struggle with
assessment, analysis and report writing - all key skills for effective social
work.
2.2
Having said that, more part-time training should be available to ensure the
pool of suitable entrants is not deterred by the standard three year full-time
course. Allowing students to complete their academic and placement requirements
over a longer period (maximum five years) may increase access.
3. Content and
structure of initial training
3.1
A three year bachelor's degree / two year master's degree is the minimum level
for initial social work training. We favour a move towards social work becoming
a master's only profession in the way that teaching is evolving. This would
have the dual advantage of raising the standards of the profession as well as
its standing. Social workers attaining NQSW status must work a probationary
year in protected roles with full professional status only being attained on
successful completion of the assessed NQSW year. With the introduction of the
mandatory master's programme, the undergraduate degree would become part one of
social work training, with completion of the master's forming part two, within
a nationally determined timescale.
3.2
NQSWs must, as a minimum, have protected case loads which include the shadowing
of a child protection case led by an experienced social worker. NQSWs should be
allocated a mentor who would be separate from their line manager and provide
ongoing support and advice. Line managers should observe a range of practice on
a nationally agreed basis and successful completion of the year should be
contingent upon observation of effective practice. Line managers must also
provide formal supervision on a minimum of a monthly basis. Learning needs must
be clearly identified and action taken to ensure learning outcomes are
achieved. As a minimum, NQSWs must be able to demonstrate effectiveness in:
assessment and analysis; accurate record keeping and report writing; effective
engagement with children and families (including the active participation of
children and young people in the process of assessment and on-going planning),
and ability to work in partnership with other agencies and professionals.
Training should also include input from police as well as health and education
professionals to ensure NQSWs are fully aware of the roles and responsibilities
of key partners in the children's workforce and are prepared for the
requirements of integrated working. Dual assessments with other professionals e.g.
health visitors, should be part of placement requirements. Shared/joint
training modules with others in the children's workforce would be an advantage.
3.3
Views on whether the generic social work degree is fit for the purpose of
training children and families social workers are highly divergent. It is our
view that, as recommended by Lord Laming, specialisation should commence at the
end of the first year. Working with children and families with complex needs is
a highly demanding specialist area of work that requires students to absorb and
digest significant quantities of evidence and research. The final two years of
the undergraduate programme give limited time for this to be done
comprehensively, even less so if the work to be covered spans the whole age
range. There needs to be a detailed and substantial focus on: attachment theory;
child development (physical, intellectual, emotional, social); neurological
research regarding the impact of early nurturing on the development of the
brain; child protection (signs, symptoms, protective factors, investigative
requirements); systems theory; training in direct work with children and
families; legislation; equalities and diversity; understanding best practice in
relation to early intervention and prevention, and the ecological and
environmental factors affecting children and families and their impact on
healthy development and functioning. There needs to be integration between the
academic and the practice elements so that they are complementary and actively
enhance learning and progression. This onerous workload cannot be effectively
achieved within a generic three year programme. Progression to a master's only
qualification would allow for much greater in-depth study spread over the whole
training programme. This would include a detailed infant observation and, in part
two, a more specialist focus on child protection and other key areas such as
drug and alcohol abuse, etc.
3.4
In addition to the above, placements must have minimum requirements to ensure
effective coverage of core areas of knowledge and experience. These must
include: assessment of a complex family (including taking a detailed history
and completing a genogram); direct work with a child in need and securing
appropriate multi-agency collaboration and intervention; acting as lead
professional, and shadowing a child protection investigation. Student social
workers must be able to demonstrate progression as they acquire experience on
their placements, taking on increasing levels of responsibility as they near
the end of their programme.
3.5
We have focused primarily on knowledge, skills and experience in the above.
Social workers must also appreciate and internalise the values underpinning the
profession including being non-judgemental, placing a high premium on equality
and diversity, developing their capacity for reflective practice, and
understanding their own responses to emotionally and psychologically
challenging situations. Issues of class, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality
and disability need to be explored and students need to develop an acute
understanding of their own conscious and unconscious reactions to these
matters.
4. Quality
4.1
We have limited knowledge of the effectiveness of the General Social Care
Council (GSCC), however I will comment on the basis of having made one referral
regarding a serious allegation against a social worker. Despite submitting
detailed evidence to the GSCC (including the results of the local authority
investigation), and numerous phone calls, emails and letters chasing the case,
it took the GSCC more than two years to consider the matter. This was
unsatisfactory.
4.2
The quality, suitability and supply of practice placements must be monitored by
both the placing institution and the GSCC. All practice teachers must be
suitably qualified, and assessment of the placement should include oversight of
records kept on the student and scrutiny of placement plans. Students should
evaluate placements as part of the process. Poorly performing local authorities
must satisfy the GSCC that placement supervision and practice will meet
required standards.
4.3
Low entry requirements for many social work undergraduate programmes and poor
expectations of students mean that it is difficult to fully assess whether the
shift to a degree level course has had a significant impact on the calibre of
the people entering the profession.
5. Post-qualifying
training and career paths
5.1
Post-qualifying training must be thoroughly quality assured by the GSCC.
5.2
Overload, low morale, inadequate supervision, and case loads dominated by an
unremitting diet of child protection too frequently lead to social workers
leaving frontline service for alternative careers. Duty work is undervalued
with work such as fostering and adoption and working with disabled children
often being referred to as 'specialist', with the implication that duty and
assessment can be done by any qualified social worker. Frontline child
protection and provision of children in need services, including duty and
assessment, should be seen as a specialism in its own right. This would
potentially raise the standing and morale of frontline workers, and this could
be further reinforced by the implementation of Lord Laming's recommendation for
the establishment of consultant social workers. This proposal should assist in
keeping the most experienced social workers in practice. Consultant social
workers could, once established, be responsible for the monitoring of student
social work placements and observation and oversight of NQSWs. Salaries must
reflect the enhanced requirements of the role.
5.3
Post-qualifying training in child protection must include input from other key
agencies, notably the police, education and health. It is essential that all
social workers are aware of the requirements for joint working in child
protection investigations and are competent to contribute.
5.4
Many employers are strongly committed to supporting the development of social
workers. However, standards are at times sacrificed to the necessity of
maintaining an adequately staffed workforce and putting qualified workers
through post-qualifying courses. I am aware of courses that deliver poor
quality in terms of content and standards and make few demands upon the PQ
students. The good intentions must be matched by rigour in terms of training
and standards if performance is to be of a sufficiently high calibre.
5.5
Supervision has moved a long way away from the focus on reflective practice
predicated on a psychodynamic model. Clearly, while supervision must cover
oversight of cases, quality standards (including file monitoring) and
management issues, space must again be made for full consideration of the impact
of the work on the supervisee and the complex dynamics affecting families, the
social worker and the wider professional and community context. This is a
highly skilled task for which training should be mandatory and accredited.
5.6
A system of spinal points awarded on the basis of taking on additional
responsibilities or acquiring specialist skills would enhance the career
opportunities of social workers and help to make the profession more attractive,
as well as help keep more experienced practitioners on the front line.
Sue Berelowitz
Deputy
Children's Commissioner/Chief Executive
11 MILLION
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