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AoC evidence to Children, Schools and Families Committee Children and Families Social Workers inquiry
A submission from the Association of Colleges May 2009
Children, Schools and Families Select Committee Inquiry: Training of Children and Families Social Workers
Introduction
The Association of Colleges represents and promotes the interests of Further Education Colleges and their students.
Colleges provide a rich mix of academic and vocational education. As autonomous institutions they have the freedom to innovate and respond flexibly to the needs of individuals, business and communities.
The following key facts illustrate Colleges' contribution to education and training in England:
· Colleges have three million students · 737,000 of these students are aged 16 to 18 which compares to 471,000 in schools · Half of all entrants to higher education come from Colleges · Colleges teach over 60,000 students from outside the UK · Colleges provide half of all vocational qualifications.
Colleges are centres of excellence and quality - 84% of employers training through a College are satisfied with the service provided and 97% of colleges inspected in 2007/08 were judged satisfactory or better by Ofsted for the quality of their provision. For more information on Colleges please see www.aoc.co.uk Training of Children and Families Social Workers AoC welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to this inquiry. Our submission includes, in Appendix 1, a specific response from New College Durham which provides a BA Hons. in Social Work and, in Appendix 2, the number of social work 'learning aims' in Colleges. Entry routes to the profession 1. Colleges provide a major route for students to a degree in social work.
Table 1 University acceptances to Level 5 Social Work for 2008 entry: (Source: UCAS)
2. A number of Colleges also provide degree level social work courses themselves. See table 2 below shows that there were 1022 students in 9 colleges studying: · BA (Hons) in Professional Studies (Social Work) · BA (Hons) in Social Work · BA in Social Work and Welfare Studies · BSc (Hons) in Social Work
[Source: LSC ILR (f05) 2007/08]
3. The numbers doing a social work degree are included in over 2000 social work 'learning aims' delivered in Colleges. See Appendix 2.
4. Access for young people to social work has potential to be further strengthened by the level 2 Diplomas, in particular the Society, Health & Development Diploma (a phase one diploma that is currently being taught) and Public Services Diploma (a phase three diploma due to begin in 2010). In addition we feel there is a need for an apprenticeship pathway to be developed in this area.
5. We see as a potential source of social workers, those people already working in sector with level 2 and level 3 qualifications. There is a need for flexible provision which takes into account differing personal circumstances.
6. The majority of people working in the sector at this level are not well paid and so cannot afford to stop working in order to continue their learning. They are also not eligible for student loans if they take courses on a part-time basis. AoC believes that access for mature entrants and re-entrants would be greatly improved if financial support was made available to part-time students to pay HE tuition fees, cover childcare arrangements and transport costs.
7. The work of the Children's Workforce Development Council in early years provision, which supports practitioners financially to gain higher level qualifications, is a good model for professionalising the workforce.
8. Employers may also be reluctant to release staff to train. Supplements to employers to release staff to develop and support work placement particularly in small companies could encourage better more flexibility.
9. Complete and impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG) about the social work profession within schools is essential for young people to ensure that they are fully aware of the career options open to them. Information in schools about social work can be incomplete and with a gender bias towards females.
10. The image of social work has been badly affected by negative publicity especially concerning child protection issues. In addition the profession is not seen as high status, due to low levels of pay.
11. A potential route into social work could be through apprenticeships, however schools are not obliged to provide information, advice and guidance on apprenticeships or vocational courses if they don't perceive them to be within a student's best interests.
12. AoC believes that the duty on schools to provide impartial IAG should be strengthened. Colleges firmly believe that all young people should have a statutory right to be informed about all their options post-16, not only those which their teachers view as being in the pupil's interests. In this light we welcome DCSF's current consultation on careers advice and guidance.
Structure of training
13. AoC believes that learning on the job is the most effective way of developing skills and that in addition to the three-year bachelor's degree/two-year masters degree there should be a career pathway for people with level 2 qualifications in social work.
14. This could include apprenticeship progression to a Foundation Degree and mapped progression pathways, including the use of bite-sized education and training, to allow for part-time study and for adult students to return after a period of child care, illness or if they become unemployed because of the recession.
15. Foundation degrees have proved particularly effective in this regard. These can be not only useful preparations for full degrees, but can also allow graduates to specialise and hone their skills following a more general degree. In 2005-06 there were 1,485 entrants to 'social work' foundation degrees.
16. Colleges train their teaching staff through in-service courses. This might be a useful model for social work training with trainee social workers employed, supported and mentored by the employer whilst undertaking their graduate level training through the local College.
17. Colleges have a very successful record of working with employers and designing provision that is tailored to their needs.
18. Currently HEFCE is unable to fund modules of higher education which is delivered in Colleges. This is most unfortunate as it is this type of provision which enables institutions to react quickly and decisively to meet the needs of people needing to reskill as a result of the recession.
19. Job placement schemes to allow professional practitioners to teach in FE colleges for short periods of time with a designated brief in this area would strengthen training and ensure that students gain up to date knowledge.
Appendix 1 Responses to specific questions from New College Durham 1. New College Durham provides a BA Social Work to 105 students currently in partnership with the University of Sunderland.
2. The College has provided us with the specific answers to the Committee's areas of interest. Are entry routes to social work sufficiently flexible to encourage mature entrants, re-entrants and people considering a career change? 3. Entry routes to the Social Work Degree programme are via UCAS. There is a 'points' requirement for those who wish to pursue their training aged 18 but this is relaxed for mature entrants who need to demonstrate some experience in the social care field either professional or personal. The majority of New College Durham's social work students are mature and often from non-traditional backgrounds. In addition, there is a flexible part-time route available.
4. It would appear that the entry routes are flexible enough to encourage applicants as we have approximately 4 applicants for every place available. On application there is a short listing process and applicants are invited for interview which consists of a group discussion, a written piece of work based on the participation in the group and then the interview itself.
Structure of Training Is a three-year bachelor's degree/two-year masters degree the right format and level for initial social work training?
5. New College Durham only offers a three-year bachelor's degree so our response relates to this only. The Social Work course team believe that it is the right format and level for 'initial' social work training. The academic input and study provides the students with a sound basis on which to build their expertise as social workers. It provides the underpinning knowledge of theory, models and frameworks for practice which can put into practice during the practice placements. (30 days at Level 1, 80 days at Level 2 and 90 days at Level 3).
6. There is a growing concern relating to the availability of practice assessors within placements. The Practice Teachers Award, seen as a benchmark standard for those who wished to be involved in practice learning and assessing, no longer exists. Even with the introduction of the new Post-Qualifying Framework there is not an equivalent. We are aware that Children's Workforce Development Council and Skills for Care are shortly to produce, for consultation, outcome statements for a Practice Assessor Award. 7. Practice Teachers have often moved on due to promotion, retirement or change of career and no new Practice Teachers have qualified in the last three years. This inevitably restricts both the number of placements available and the quality of student assessment as existing Practice Teachers take on more students in an attempt to bridge the gap.
8. Organisations often do not have the resources to fund large numbers of staff to undertake study to become Practice Assessors. The provision of placements is no longer a Key Performance Indicator and other training can take priority over practice education. Staffing levels within teams is also an issue which can prevent teams from accepting students as team managers. A definition of statutory placements and the General Social Care Council's (GSCC) proposed requirements about student participation in statutory placements is awaited. Dependant on these, the provision of appropriate placements may become more problematic.
Following initial training, how should newly qualified social workers be equipped with further skills and experience they need?
9. The GSCC requirements for the training of social workers, and the Quality Assurance Agency benchmark standards, reflect the generic nature of the degree programme. It is 'initial' training. We do not and cannot train students to fulfil the particular requirements of whichever job they take after qualification. We can, however, give them the skills and levels of understanding required as qualified social workers. However the variety of opportunities available to them e.g. 'children in need' teams, 'looked after' teams, leaving care, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, therapeutic teams, youth engagement services, fostering/adoption services, makes it unrealistic to even suggest that the Social Work degree should prepare them for individual roles. Despite this employers, via the CWDC consultation on Newly Qualified Social Workers, have expressed the view that students should take up employment ready to 'hit the ground running'.
10. The Social Work team at New College Durham very much see the NQSW year as a time when students apply and consolidate their skills in their chosen setting. They still need help and support to do this and this should be through good quality supervision, time for reflection and carefully managed caseloads. Several of our agency partners have been involved in pilot schemes for NQSW and early indications show that in authorities where practice learning has been given priority the NQSW implementation has been successful. There maybe a need to maintain a connection with the NQSW's qualifying university or college over this first year to ensure that they still receive academic support and good access to research to inform their practice. This would perhaps involve some mechanism where the university or college, and the employer, are collaboratively involved in the assessment of the NQSW's abilities and potential just as employers are involved in the assessment of final year students.
11. Content of initial training Is the generic social work degree fit for the purpose of training children and families social workers? Is there sufficient scope for specialisation? 12. There isn't sufficient scope for specialisation but it is our view neither should there be. Students need to focus on obtaining and enhancing their skills in a generic sense and it is our belief that the specialisation should take place post-qualification.
13. Many students do not know where their talents lie and arrive with fixed ideas about where they want to work following qualification. For example one student at New College Durham maintained from her first day that she wanted to work in the field of mental health and expressed great dissatisfaction about having to do a placement with a children's service. Her final year placement was in a mental health setting and she focussed her research and dissertation on an aspect of mental health. She then decided that she preferred working with children and subsequently went on to apply for posts within children's services. Two years on, she is still working in a Leaving Care team. Undoubtedly her interest in mental health issues will inform the work she is doing. If this young lady had to choose a specialism during the course of her degree not only would Children's Services have lost a good social worker but they may have ended up with a worker with no insight into the issues affecting many parents. Adult Services would have also not been able to retain a social worker who was realising that her interests lay elsewhere. Students need to experience a range of placements to inform their education and career choices.
Does the content of training reflect the tasks social workers will be asked to undertake when in employment? Is the balance of knowledge, skills, values and experience correct? 14. As outlined above the range of tasks, in a range of different settings, will vary considerably. However, what is common to the majority of social work roles are the tasks of assessment, analysis, care planning, intervention and review. The content of the training currently focuses on the skills, understanding, methods and frameworks to undertake those tasks in any setting. The skills needed are the same whether applied in adult or children's services. There is also a focus throughout the three year degree programme on the dilemmas, both ethical and moral, which social workers face on a daily basis.
15. What a social work programme cannot provide for students is knowledge about individual employer's expectations, processes and procedures. Each agency may even follow national guidelines in different ways. In our view the balance of knowledge, skills, values and practical experience are correct for initial social work training.
Quality How effectively does the General Social Care Council regulate the quality of training? 16. The GSCC must, of course, give approval for all social work programmes and they require an annual report. Continued monitoring is completed via the regional inspectors. The inspectors attend Programme Management Boards and are available for other meetings, if required. Every five years the social work programmes have to be re-validated. GSCC instigates this and is a party to the whole process. They are fully aware of the content of programmes, the background and input of the teaching staff and the content of individual modules. During the validation process, and as part of the Programme Management Boards, they will hear the views of students from student representatives and service users and carers who are involved with our programme. Whilst the GSCC are involved in our programme it is not automatic that they are involved in the formal processes of validation, review and re-validation in other universities and colleges.
17. The regional inspector also attends other regional meetings such as SWENE (Social Work Education North East) so will also be aware of the input each university of colleges makes regionally and to specific projects and interests.
How can the quality, suitability and supply of practice placements be assured? 18. This is a topic which has been the focus of regional work in the North East over the last two years. There is a sub-group of the Regional Strategic Planning Group, the PQ/PL Forum. This began as a forum for sharing good practice and information about the development of both Post-Qualifying programmes and Practice Learning. However, with funding both from SfC and CWDC there have been a variety of projects carried out focussing on increasing the supply of practice placements (particularly in the voluntary and independent sector), establishing workforce data to inform planning and enhancing the student experience of placement with the LA organisations. These have resulted in some tangible products which have achieved their aims. For example the VIPLEX (Voluntary and Independent Placement Exchange) - project has developed approximately 50 new placements in the voluntary and independent sector through supporting organisations to accept placement via training and also the development of their own organisational procedures. We now have regional estimates of the number of placements we will require in the coming years. In addition, a Code of Practice about the supply and support of placements has been produced and accepted by the Regional Planning Group. This is being disseminated at Director level via ADASS and ADCS.
19. These have been major achievements for the North East region but the funding remains uncertain as national bodies focus on the supply of statutory placements. There does not appear to be any recognition that we still need to focus on the supply of placements from the voluntary and independent sectors if only to free up statutory placements for second and final year students.
Has the switch to degree-level qualification improved the calibre of recruits and the effectiveness of newly-qualified social workers?
20. With regard to the first part of this question consideration needs to be given to two groups of recruits, the mature students and those students applying to do a degree at 18 years of age. The recruitment of mature students has not been changed by the switch to the degree although there may be implications from the widening participation agenda. However, as a degree, applications are accepted from young people at 18 years of age. Many of these young people are excellent students but over the course of the three years a few students find through the practice placements that they are not mature enough to cope with the everyday stresses of social work and leave the programme.
Supply of initial training What factors influence whether HEIs offer social work qualifying courses? 21. New College Durham has a long history of providing social work qualifying programmes. Three members of the social work teaching team qualified at the College and, after many years experience of social work, have returned to deliver training. The College's social work course is held in high regard by local authorities and others and the mutual respect and collaborative working between not only the College and its partner agencies but also from the other regional universities and colleges, is a huge influence on the success of the programmes and the decision to provide them. Without our partner agencies, who supply the placements on which we rely, we could not run the programme. Without us the partner agencies would not have a supply of qualified social workers to employ.
How effectively do the DCSF, DIUS and the CWDC ensure adequate training capacity and workforce planning?
22. It is difficult to answer this from a College perspective but New College Durham has been impressed with the level of detail from CWDC when implementing the NQSW pilots. The College was involved in the early consultations about this and believes the training materials provided to support the pilots and staff training are of a high quality.
Post Qualifying training and career paths How can the quality, suitability and take-up of post-qualifying training be assured? 23. From our perspective the new post-qualifying Framework has not yet embedded itself either in the HEIs or with employers. There was a period when HEIs were expected to develop programmes in response to employer requirements. However, employers were not articulating what they wanted from the programmes.
24. It has been very difficult to establish such a programme at New College Durham as the PQ Awards have to be validated by the University which validates our BA (Hons) Social Work degree. We could not achieve this with our previous validation university but as we move to validation with Leeds Metropolitan University this option is more open to us. The process however is complex and will take some time to establish fully in any HEI.
25. One of the issues is that the PQ awards (apart from the first Consolidation module in some organisations which is linked to progression) are not linked to career progression. In most professions as you achieve higher qualifications you are eligible for increased salaries or promotion to higher positions, this is not so in social work.
26. The student's practice on the BA Hons. is assessed against the National Occupational Standards. There are no discernible links currently between the progression from a BA student to NQSW through to the PQ awards.
27. Employers and the GSCC need to be explicit about what they want from universities and colleges and collaboration with employers would ensure that programmes would be suitable for the local workforce. Places for PQ programmes should be properly funded to include replacement staff costs. Linking awards to pay and career progression would encourage social workers to be proactive in taking up places offered.
How well to employers support the development of social workers? 28. This is difficult to answer as a College although we are aware that although the employers may not send staff on external courses they may well have their own internal training. We are not aware that there is any monitoring of the quality and validity of that training.
How well are social workers trained to deliver front-line supervision? 29. There is no specific training on the delivery of supervision in the BA programme. Students do receive some teaching about what supervision is, what they can expect from it and how they can use it. It will be the senior practitioners or team managers who deliver supervision and therefore the training will be internal or from recognised management programmes. Many of these programmes will focus on supervision but not with particular emphasis on social work supervision.
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