west midlands social work newsletter: focus on the task force final report

skills for care west midlands | march 2010

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Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to welcome you to a special edition of the West Midlands Skills for Care Newsletter, which looks at the implications of the Social Work Task Force Final Report. If I can introduce myself, I am Helen Wilcox the new Chair of the Skills for Care West Midlands Regional Committee. In my day to day work I am Managing Director of Woodford Home Care & Support Services in Bilston. I previously trained as a social worker, gaining my qualification in 1977. Recently, whilst chairing the West Midlands Social Work Practitioner Symposium for staff employed in Adult and Children’s Services that was held on 24 February at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, I drew attention to the challenges ahead for social work and social care at an exciting and critical time. It is my hope that the breadth of experience and knowledge that I bring to this new role will provide a good standard of leadership for Skills for Care West Midlands during this time of change in adult social care.

Yours sincerely, Helen Wilcox

a letter from the chair

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The first article presents an overview of the Task Force’s activities and recommendations; the second article discusses the Task Force implementation, and the third article illustrates how previous activities in the West Midlands have prepared stakeholders well to begin the task of implementation. The final article provides information about Master Classes in the region.

introduction

The Social Work Task Force: what will its Final Report mean for employers, universities, the social work regulator, and social workers?

Task Force purpose

The Social Work Task Force, comprised of 18 stakeholder members chaired by Moira Gibb, Chief Executive of Camden Borough Council, was established in early 2009 to make recommendations for social work reform that would raise the quality of social work practice in England. Setting up the Task Force was prompted by concerns about social work – whether the social work degree was fit for purpose, and whether social workers were equipped to function satisfactorily in the face of increased safeguarding requirements – as well as the recognition that the job social workers do is critical to the nation. But instead of imposing yet another review of the degree or of a specific perceived failure of practice, the Task Force’s aim was to identify what could be done to improve social work and how it is perceived.

Its purpose was positive in intent.

Final Report

Following the first report, which identified six themes that stakeholders identified as preventing social workers from performing their roles as well as they wished, and the interim report (July 2009) which identified nine building blocks for reform and suggested a new public description of social work in plain English, the long awaited final report of the Social Work Task Force, ‘Building a safe, confident future’ was published jointly by the Department of Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health at the end of November, 2009.

(The publication can be downloaded online at http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk. Search using ref: DCSF-01114-2009.)

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introduction Implications for stakeholders

Stakeholders have expressed their initial welcome for the Report, but will be concerned about probable implications for themselves.

Front line social workers and managers will want to consider:

n R11 for establishing a National College to represent the voice of social workers and to play a part in improving the public understanding of social work (R12).

n The proposed standards for employers (R 6-8) which cover how front line social work should be resourced, managed and supported, including standards for supervision and caseload ceilings.

n R10 for a single, nationally recognised career structure for social workers that maps the main stages of a social work career from degree course entrant onwards and makes clear the expectations that apply to social workers at each stage.

n The proposed new system for forecasting social worker supply (R14).

n R3 which requires responsibility for securing provision of practice learning to be shared by employers and universities through active partnerships.

n R4 for introducing an Assessed Year in Practice. (Currently Northern Ireland is the only UK country to have required an AYE).

n The development of a ‘licence to practise’ and a dedicated code of practice for social workers (Recommendation 13).

n Creation of dedicated programmes of training and support for front line social work managers (R8).

n A more coherent and effective national framework for social workers’ continuing professional development (R9).

Universities and social work students will want to consider:

n Suggestions for changes to the curriculum in both initial training (R 1-3) and continuing professional development (R 8-9), including the establishment of an Assessed Year in Practice [AYE] (R 4).

n Suggested changes to regulation of social work education (R5), to promote higher quality and more consistent standards, including proportionate regulation that targets weak courses and encourages the best, through inspection against a new set of standards in the interests of consistent high quality provision across the country, and ensures that course content is kept up to date, that expert practitioners, service users, employers and other professionals are involved in design and delivery of courses, and that criteria for entry to initial training and workforce entry are met through assessment.

n Bursary funding arrangements – now available without strings to all applicants who gain a place - might change to promote applications from individuals of ‘sufficiently high quality’ and to encourage completion of training, entry to and retention in the workforce.

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the social work task force’s 15 recommendations

The recommendations apply to social workers in both the children’s work force and in adult social care. The recommendations comprise a single national reform programme for social work (R 15), covering initial training for social workers (R1-3), continuing professional development (R4, 9), standards for employers (R 6-8), a new system of forecasting demand levels for social workers (R 14), a single nationally recognised career structure (R 10), changes to regulation (R 5, 13), a new programme of action on public understanding of social work (R 12) and establishing a national college for social work (R. 11).

1. Calibre of Entrants: that criteria governing the calibre of entrants to social work education and training be strengthened.

2. Curriculum and Delivery: an overhaul of the content and delivery of social work degree courses.

3. Practice Placements: that new arrangements be put in place to provide sufficient high quality practice placements, which are properly supervised and assessed, for all social work students.

4. Assessed Year in Employment: the creation of an assessed and supported year in employment as the final stage in becoming a social worker.

5. Regulation of Social Work Education: more transparent and effective regulation of social work education to give greater assurance of consistency and quality.

6. Standard for Employers: the development of a clear national standard for the support social workers should expect from their employers in order to do their jobs effectively.

7. Supervision: the new standards for employers should be supported by clear national requirements for the supervision of social workers.

8. Front Line Management: the creation of dedicated programmes of training and support for front line social work managers.

9. Continuing Professional Development: the creation of a more coherent and effective national framework for the continuing professional development of social workers, along with mechanisms to encourage a shift in culture which raises expectations of an entitlement to ongoing learning and development.

10. National Career Structure: the creation of a single, nationally recognised career structure for social work.

11. National College of Social Work: the creation of an independent national college of social work developed and led by social workers.

12. Public Understanding: a new programme of action on public understanding of social work.

13. Licence to Practise: the development of a licence to practise system for social workers.

14. Social Worker Supply: a new system for forecasting levels of supply and demand for social workers.

15. National Reform Programme: the creation of a single national reform programme for social work.

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Reform Board

The Government accepted all the Task Force recommendations, leaving the way clear to begin the process of implementation, although the effect of possible political change must be taken into account. An implementation plan was published in mid-March. The recommendations pose strategic issues to be developed and implemented over a considerable period. The final recommendation (R 15) calls for the creation of a single national reform programme to be overseen by a new Reform Board, reporting to Ministers. The Reform Board’s membership includes high level representatives of employers, educators, regulators, and existing bodies representing social workers, as well as service users, and is supported by three working groups (initially) to address Initial Education, Career Development, and Employer Standards, each representing collective interests that will work up the detail of each recommendation. It will be in the interest of all stakeholders to consider how they might contribute to the Reform Board and its constituent working groups and how they put forward appropriate representatives. Undoubtedly, Directors of Adult Social Services, as well as Directors of Children’s Services have key roles. Universities are represented through the Joint Social Work Education Committee, SWAP (The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Social Policy and Social Work), and the University Professors of Social Work Group. A good deal depends on the person or persons each stakeholder group has nominated to sit on the Reform Board and its working groups, and how successfully they promote particular and shared interests.

Building a Safe and Confident Future: Implementing the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force. Search using ref: DCSF-00306-2010 at http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk

what happens next? the task force implementation stage

Career structure – a significant recommendation

The recommended national career structure (R10) proposes levels from social work student to ‘probationary’ social worker (e.g. the stage encompassing the Assessed Year in Employment), to licensed social worker, senior licensed social worker, and then three parallel designated roles of ‘advanced professional’, ‘practice educator’, or ‘social work manager’. The structure seeks to remedy the lack of career advancement for social work practitioners who wish to remain in practice. The Task Force comments that once the core expectations for the national career structure (R 10) have been established, they ‘should be used to rationalise the plethora of standards and outcomes statement that are currently used to inform different aspects of social work training, development and education’.

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The Task Force recommendations may take up to five years to implement fully, but the Task Force views particular aspects of some recommendations as more urgent than others:

n A date should be set for ensuring that, as soon as possible, all those who take responsibility for supervision and assessment of a social work student in their final placement hold a current Practice Teaching Award or have demonstrated their competence against agreed national standards to be finally determined by the Reform Board (R3).

n As soon as possible the GSCC should implement measures that strengthen quality assurance of courses under existing rules (R 5).

n Employers should take action now to improve the support they provide to front line social workers in managing their workload. The Task Force recommends the development in the short term of a tool that can be used at team, service and organisation level to determine how well workflows and workloads are being managed and which, in due course, can form the basis for developing the final version of employer standards (R6). (Annex A of the Final Report presents an initial ‘health

check’ framework for helping employers and practitioners to take action now in assessing the ‘health’ of their organisation on a range of issues.)

n An urgent review of current requirements for renewal of registration as a social worker (Post Registration Training and Learning PRTL) is needed, to make the requirements more demanding and to include evidence of how learning has led to improvements in practice (R9).

n Expectations for a career structure (R10) should be worked on and consulted on as soon as possible.

n Interim ‘shadow arrangements’ for a National College of social work (R11) should be implemented quickly.

n Although recognising that it will take time to develop and bring into use a forecasting system for supply and demand of social workers (R14), employers and universities are urged to get together now (as some are doing) to make the best arrangements locally.

how soon will the recommendations be implemented?

An early success for the Task Force

The Task Force has succeeded in getting agreement from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to changes in the ICS (Integrated Children’s System) that would make this electronic tool simpler, easier to use, and more effective. This was in response to widespread criticism of ICS from social workers in children’s services. In its interim report, the Task Force noted that problems with computer systems are not limited to children’s services, and signalled that lessons learned must be applied to other areas as part of its reform system for social work as a whole. Social workers employed in adult social care therefore should be proactive in bringing significant issues for reform to the attention of the Reform Board.

Reaching agreement

The Task Force calls for national agreement on standards, rather than reliance on localised agreements, and a nationally agreed career structure and conditions. One of its major criticisms of existing structures is their inconsistency – for example, many degree courses exact a high standard with rigorous entry requirements, but others apparently do not. Variations of working conditions for social workers are widespread across England. Reaching agreement on national standards and a national career structure will challenge both employers and universities, but will be a necessary step to reform the social work profession.

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how soon will the recommendations be implemented?

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the west midlands – how will it tackle the task force recommendations?

High quality initial training (R1, 2, 3, 4) has been promoted by:

n Building on and developing partnership work, and establishing a register of practitioners willing and able to contribute to social work education with a shared expectation of the curriculum. Fiona Metcalfe from Warwickshire Council reported that Warwickshire, Solihull, and Coventry Councils are in the process of setting up an ‘Exchange Partnership’ with Coventry University.

Practitioners and managers have already contributed to the delivery of a module on practice in adult services and a module on children’s services practice. Plans are underway to enable social work lecturers from Coventry University to contribute to in-house seminars and workshops for experienced practitioners. This work is still in its early stages and dependant on the capacity of agencies to release practitioners but it is an encouraging start and one which resonates with the Task Force recommendations.

n Other partnerships that have been formed between Local Authorities. Fiona Burton, from Stoke on Trent Council, Adult Social Care, Health and Communities explained how, over the last two years the department has commissioned professional educator support from Staffordshire County Council through a service level agreement. This agreement provides an economic means of supplying assessor workshops, sharing best practice, delivering professional development sessions such as “how to support dyslexic students” and addressing one-to-one support needs from an experienced practitioner/educator. This has proved best value and use of resources when compared against the alternative of paying the salary of a full time dedicated Practice Learning Opportunity Co-ordinator post. Other Local Authorities have pooled the funding from the Social Work Partnership Board to provide workshops and conferences to support Practice Educators at a sub regional level. This has meant that more workshops have been available to a greater number of practitioners.

Even before the Task Force was set up, the West Midlands took steps to develop quality in social work education and practice. For some years, Skills for Care West Midlands has worked collaboratively with social work employers and universities in the West Midlands to develop activities that promote social work’s quality. The networks, collaborations, and achievements that resulted will put the West Midlands in a good position to address the recommendations of the Task Force.

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n Skills for Care providing funding for the introduction of QAPL in Adult services. To support the introduction of QAPL (Quality of Practice Learning), the electronic tool that evaluates practice learning opportunities from the perspectives of the employer, the university and the student, and which is designed to raise the quality of practice learning, Skills for Care has provided funding. Ida Bentley, Development Consultant (Placements and Secondments) at Walsall Council, reports that feedback from those who have used QAPL in its initial stage indicates the desirability of a further stage of revising and perfecting how the tool will be used. For example, all must be clear about what is being measured, and QAPL’s terminology should not impede the communication between the student, the practice educator and the lecturer. These are important learning points that will assist in the future use of QAPL.

n Adoption of LeaRNS. LeaRNs, the web- based national information system supporting the professional development of social workers at pre and post-qualifying levels, can play a part in driving up quality. (LeaRNs can also help in responding to Task Force R14 Social Worker Supply). LeaRNS will improve the task of Practice Educators (R3) by providing easier access to records that detail students and the quality of the learning experience, and assisting in performance management.

n Birmingham City University has become an early adopter of LeaRNS. Lizzy Preddy, from Birmingham City University, states that the university’s social work placement processes have flourished with the introduction of LeaRNS: ‘to date, LeaRNS has assisted both the University and its partner agencies with its function as a central database. The system provides detailed data in relation to student placements that will be useful to all stakeholders. A clear benefit of the new system is the tracking of the student’s placement progress. There is also a facility to record the daily placement fee and placement monitoring through the module

Fiona Burton

Fiona Metcalfe

Fiona Burton

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for the Quality Assurance of Practice Learning (QAPL). Data gathering for the initial input of information into LeaRNS is significant and will be an ongoing process. However, once the basic data is complete, the modules within LeaRNS have massive potential to work to the benefit of all Higher Education Institutes and employers involved in social work placements.’ Linda Evans from Birmingham Council is working closely with the University to ensure that local authority interests are incorporated into the LeaRNs partnership. A ‘reporting’ module is being developed to assist the local authority on how it can report not only budgetary information but also the type, number and quality of placements across the statutory and independent sectors. Linda would like to use LeaRNs in a predictive way, to gather certain kinds of information that the Department of Health may require from the Council in the future. To do this, it will be necessary to explore the potential of LeaRNs further, and to have some advance warning of the kinds of questions the Department of Health would ask.

n Stoke on Trent has a set up a partnership to promote quality assurance and co- ordination of placements (R3). Fiona Burton reported that Stoke on Trent Adult Social Care

has a dedicated learning and development business partner that works with local universities to centralise the quality assurance process and the effective co-ordination of placements, induction programmes and placement literature. Over the next 12 months this role will develop a communication strategy in order to raise the profile of practice education, the role of the educator and the impact positive or negative student engagement has on the customer. The business partner also links with university/ employer forums to ensure practice learning opportunity data is collated for the sub-region and performance targets reported to management boards where areas of concern can be addressed in line with workforce commissioning. One key area is that Stoke on Trent City Council Adult Social Care has a service level agreement for educators that is signed annually as an agreement that they will have a student, support the 5 day induction programme, confirm the amount they will be compensated for carrying out the work, identify with whom to raise issues and where to access training for themselves and students, etc. The senior management board agrees the number of statutory placements that the department will provide in April of each year, and this is fed down through annual appraisals so that having a student is recognised as part of individual objectives and learning. The projected performance target and details of placement setting is then provided to the local universities so that profiling can begin in the summer.

n Preparing for the introduction of R.4 Assessed Year in Practice (AYE). The region has demonstrated a positive take up of the Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) programme for adult social care social workers, with bids accepted to support 109 NQSWs. Engaging with the NQSW programme will help to build knowledge and skills that will assist with the eventual introduction of the AYE. From Staffordshire County Council, Val Hollins stated that Staffordshire, as a large employer, has seen that NQSWs are sometimes unprepared for, and are de-motivated by,

Fiona Burton and Business partner

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immediate exposure to pressured front line work in a social work team. The NQSW programme has been welcome and timely, with Staffordshire’s cohort responding well to the programme. Staffordshire is hopeful that this input will be reflected long term in its retention statistics; meanwhile, with the funding, it has been able to put in place the infrastructure which may also be fit for purpose to fulfill the Social Work Task force recommendations regarding the first year in practice, when the detail of this is known.

High quality ongoing continuing professional development (R 9) that supports R3 Practice Placements has been promoted through:

n Skills for Care funding of modules from Post Qualifying Social Work Higher Specialist Awards. Jane Thakoordin, from Birmingham County Council, who has been qualified as a social worker for 16 years (including 10 years as a manager), discussed how the Higher Specialist modules have enabled her to develop and use new skills.

Jane has completed four modules so far. The commitment required is enormous, but she believes that Higher Specialist modules on leadership, management, coaching and mentoring will help her to enhance her career development. For her, learning how to manage and support staff and students at whatever level in their career is as important as knowing how to manage a project. David Drayton- Green, from Stoke Council, stated that what he gained from the modules that he undertook has been a renewal of energy and enthusiasm for learning and development and supporting staff and students in this process; confirmation that what he has been doing can be supported by theoretical underpinning - so although his style of management feels right (mostly!) he now can apply theories to what he is doing and improve on what he aims to achieve. The modules provided an opportunity to reflect and acknowledge the work that he has done, so that he has a clear intention of where he wants to go and how to achieve it.

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A clear career structure, which specifies within it the roles of licensed social worker, senior licensed social worker, advanced social work professional, social work manager and practice educator (R10) and dedicated programmes of training and support for front line social work managers (R8) have been promoted by:

n The choice of modules from Leadership and Management and Practice Educator PQ Higher Specialist Awards. Alison Paris, from the University of Birmingham, reports that the PQ (Higher Specialist) in Leadership and Management for Social Work/Care has a strong learning and reflective focus overall, and is comprised of eight - nine modules. For maximum flexibility, candidates can undertake a module on a stand-alone basis, to meet specific organisational needs, or to build towards an award at Certificate or Diploma level. In partnership with Skills for Care, four modules were specifically identified as having particular significance for practice educators: Leading for Quality Assurance - Supervision Skills for Performance Management; Developing Organisations and Organisational Change; Leading for Learning; and Coaching and Mentoring for Managers. Initial responses indicate that these modules have been particularly helpful for enabling practice educators to envisage their role within their organisation in the context of the Social Work Task Force Report recommendations.

The University of Birmingham is in the process of developing a specific practice educator pathway which combines the above modules with the new Stage 1 and Stage 2 Practice Educator Standards.

n Skills for Care providing funding for delivering free one day and two day Master Classes at the University of Worcester and the University of Coventry during March and May for adult services social workers in the West Midlands. The topics range from the impact of Personalisation to the role of the ‘expert’ social worker. (For more information, see the separate article on the back page).

n The Adult Social Care Transformation Conference. Social work in search of a future? Emerging models in transformed services on 28 September 2009, which considered the roles of social workers in adult social care, and the skills and levels of other workers in skill mix teams (e.g. with relevant Foundation Degrees) who work alongside social workers. The Regional Social Work Strategy Group (Adults) has, as members, two Directors of Adult Services: Andrea Pope Smith from Sandwell, and Brian Walsh from Coventry. Brian is also the DASS (Directors of Adult Social Services) regional Joint Improvement Partnership lead for Workforce. The next meeting of the RSWSG in May will discuss how the conference recommendations can be taken forward in the light of the Social Work Task Force recommendations. Alison Paris

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n The West Midlands Regional Social Work Practitioner Symposium for staff employed in Adult and Children’s Services Facing up to the challenges in delivering social work education: a regional response to the recommendations of The Social Work Task Force.

This event, which took place on 24 February 2010 at the Birmingham International Conference Centre, was very well attended by practitioners and managers. Glen Mason, Director for Social Care Leadership and Performance at the Department of Health, and Jamaila Tausif, who is a Team Manager at Stoke Social Care and Health and a member of the Social Work Task Force, were keynote speakers. The symposium provided participants with opportunities to become acquainted with and debate the Task Force’s 15 recommendations for the social work profession, including its recommendation for a career structure.

Brian Walsh

west midlands regional Social Work Practitioner Symposium for Staff employed in Adult and Children’s services Facing up to the challenges in delivering social work education: a regional

response to the recommendations of The Social Work Task ForceWorkshop OneLocation: Executive Room 7Extending the highway – the regional

response to the national practice educator

framework.Led by Mike Shapton Coventry University and

Alison Paris, University of BirminghamThis workshop explores the proposed Practice

Education Framework from the perspective of the three Universities delivering the New Stage

2 Practice Educator Programme in the Midlands

Region. The Workshop will present an overview

of the proposed framework and will explore two

models of delivery reflecting both differences and

similarities. The Workshop leaders will share issues

arising from the planning and delivery of modules.

They will highlight implications and opportunities

for practice educators and for continuing professional development across sectors following

the Social Work Task Force Report.Workshop TwoLocation: Main RoomTraffic merging – Practitioner involvement in

social work educationLed by Sarah Hill, Staffordshire UniversityPractitioner involvement in the design and delivery

of social work education is crucial to ensuring the quality and currency of the curriculum. This

workshop examines mechanisms that can be put in place to ensure this involvement and will

consider the experiences and challenges faced by

practitioners in delivering social work education.

Workshop ThreeLocation: ER9Putting social work on the map – the architecture of the national collegeLed by Jamaila Tausif – Stoke Social Care

and HealthThe development of a National College of Social

Work is one of the radical recommendations coming out of the Social Work Taskforce. Such an

organisation could have far reaching effects on the

social work profession its image and status. This

workshop allows you the opportunity to find out

what is the suggested role of the College and will

allow you the opportunity to say what you would

like the College to do for you.Workshop FourLocation: Hall 10aAccelerating the pace of change – how regional employers can action the recommendations of The Social Work Task ForceLed by Cheryl Wall – Skills for Care & Pat Higham – Independent ConsultantThis workshop will provide a brief overview of the Social Work Task Force recommendations and identify key issues for practitioners, HEIs and

employers. It will give an update on the progress

of the Reform agenda and give delegates an opportunity to discuss some of the priority areas

for reform, for example, practice education, the

career framework and the development of a Masters degree in Social Work Practice.

workshop list

west midlands regional

Social Work Practitioner Symposium for

Staff employed in Adult and Children’s services

Facing up to the challenges in delivering social work education: a regional

response to the recommendations of The Social Work Task Force

programme

Venue: International Convention Centre, Birmingham Date: 24th February 2010

Time What’s OnName and title of presenter Title of presentation / workshop

9.30 amRegistration and view

exhibition stands

10.00 amOpening remarks

and welcome

Helen Wilcox

Chair, Skills for Care West Midlands

– Chairing the day

10.10am Keynote speaker

Glen Mason

Director for Social Care Leadership

and Performance, Department of

Health

Reforming Social Work – the

challenges

10.50 am Keynote speaker

Jamaila Tausif

Team Manager – Stoke Social Care

and Health, and member of The

Social Work Taskforce

Developing the profession – the

practitioners challenge

11.25 am Workshop Session 1See workshop list on the back

for further details, (Refreshments

available in Workshop rooms)

12.50 pmLunch (Hall 9 & 10 foyer)

Networking and view exhibition

stands

1.50 pm Regional UpdateMary Keating

Regional Development Officer,

Skills for Care West Midlands

Travelling Forward – what do we

have in our regional suitcase

2.10 pm Interview Session

Jane Thakoordin

Project Manager – Mental Health

Modernisation Day Services

interviewed by Mary Keating

Examining the relationship

between CPD, managing

change and the development of

professional practice

2.40 pm Workshop Session 2 See workshop list on the back

for further details, (Refreshments

available in Workshop rooms)

4.05 pmPanel – keynote

speakers and

workshop leaders

Led by Jan Burns

Regional Development Manager,

Skills for Care West Midlands

4.25 pm Close

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Improving the quality of practice educators (R3, R10) has been promoted by:

n Skills for Care providing direct funding to local authorities to support practice educators, building on the work already done in the region to develop regional standards for practice educators and to survey the supply of practice learning opportunities. For example, Alison Mukherjee had observed that most practice educators in Warwickshire were social workers who were undertaking the practice educator role for the first time, but few of them continued as practice educators. Reflecting on how she could better support practice educators so that they continued to take students, Alison noted that their line manager supervision did not include discussion of their practice educator role. Using funding from Skills for Care, Alison arranged for experienced skilled practitioners to provide mentoring to practice educators that would give them needed support and promote good practice, thus making it more likely they would continue in their roles.

Supporting and enabling effective front line practice – the overall purpose of the Task Force – has been promoted by:

n Funding of Higher Specialist PQ modules and Master classes that lead to improved supervision of practitioners and students at every level, higher standards of leadership and management, and better access to research knowledge and learning.

n All of the initiatives detailed above.

n Setting up a regional employers’ group (Social Work Employers Forum) and a regional university group (Social Work HEI Forum), with some cross representation on each, to encourage partnership and collaboration in the interest of improving the quality of social work practice. Val Hollins, from Staffordshire County Council, who is Co-Chair of the Employers Forum, reports that the forum has provided an excellent platform for employers to network, discuss, and share best practice. This has been especially

David Stephenson

Val Hollins Glen Mason and Jamaila Tausif

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important in current times when learning and development professionals and others may have found themselves somewhat isolated as organisations restructure in response to the evolving social care agendas. Maintaining close contact with employers in the region has also facilitated the gathering of data on practice learning, which allowed the region to challenge university intake policies from a position of some strength. David Stephenson, Associate Professor and Head of the Institute of Applied Social Studies at the University of Birmingham, who chairs the Social Work HEI Forum, said that the HEI Forum has proved a very useful vehicle for taking views and consulting on strategic issues affecting social work education, and the Joint Employer/ HEI Forum is proving to be invaluable in agreeing approaches to implementing the recommendations from the Task Force Report that will work for both employers and universities.

These are impressive achievements which demonstrate that the West Midlands has successfully introduced and carried out projects and activities that relate well to the recommendations of the Task Force and put regional employers and universities several steps forward towards implementation of the recommendations. One of the outstanding contributions of West Midlands Skills for Care is its development and support of constructive regional and sub-regional partnerships where employers and universities work together to promote higher quality. This is a legacy for future collaborative activity to turn the Task Force recommendations into reality in the West Midlands. Through these collaborative partnerships, work could begin soon to address the more urgent recommendations detailed in the Task Force Final Report.

Glen Mason

To request this publication in an alternative format please contact the Skills for Care regional office.

Skills for Care West MidlandsiBIC BuildingHolt Court SouthJennens RoadBirmingham Science Park AstonBirmingham B7 4EJ

Phone : 0121 250 3800Fax : 0844 858 0780 Email : enquirieswm@skillsforcare.org.uk

www.skillsforcare.org.uk/westmidlands

Useful websites for Social Work Education

www.skillsforcare.org.uk www.practicelearning.org.uk www.gscc.org.uk www.swap.ac.uk

Skills for Care West Midlands has provided funding for delivering free one-day and two-day Master Classes at the University of Worcester and Coventry University. These Master Classes are structured around interactive participation and discussion, and will be available on podcasts. The classes are designed to promote the continuing professional development of social work practitioners in adult services in the West Midlands – social workers and managers who deliver and support work-based learning, including practice educators working with pre and post qualifying social workers, newly qualified social workers and student social workers in placement in adult settings. Topics include the implications for social work of the Personalisation agenda, the role of the ‘expert’ social worker in multi-disciplinary skill mix teams, the implications of Putting People First for social work roles, the practice educator

role in empowering the workforce to ensure empowerment of service users and communities, the implications of call centres for social work roles, and the compatibilities of mobile/lone working with practice education.

There has been such a demand for these classes that two additional ones are being funded at Coventry University in May, these classes are already fully subscribed. If you missed the Master Classes however, all is not lost, watch out for the Podcasts of the classes. These will be available on the Skills for Care website. An evaluation of the entire project will also be available.

http://westmidlands.skillsforcare.org.uk/what_we_do/Socialworkdevelopment/OutcomesfromPrevprojects/The_Transformation_of_Adult_Social_Care_and_Social_Work_Roles.aspx

master classes for adult service social workers in the west midlands