The Role of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Social Workers in England - 2 nd April 2014

Key Issues – The employers’ perspective on the role of Higher Education in CPD

The Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)

The ASYE is the first stage of CPD for social workers leaving qualifying education. Through developing and implementing the ASYE it has been possible to see how a CPD approach might be supported by employers based on the learning from ASYE

The ASYE is practice-based and employer-owned but many employers have chosen to deliver this in partnership with HEI’s, either to include academic credit or to see the ASYE as the gateway to academically accredited CPD. Furthermore, in establishing quality assurance (QA) processes many employers and partnerships of employers have sought assistance from their partner HEI’s.

The ASYE in adult services has been positively evaluated http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/NMDS-SC-intelligence-research-and-innovation/Research/Research-reports/Concept-to-reality---Implementation-of-the-ASYE-with-social-workers-in-adult-services.aspx Employers have worked hard to introduce a framework for holistic assessment firmly based in practice.

Core principles for employers providing opportunities for social workers CPD

The sector, having previously relied on a centrally designed Post Qualification (PQ) framework to address the CPD needs of social workers, has struggled to understand how a flexible, hybrid approach can be managed alongside the implementation of a number of other Social Work Reform Board (SWRB) products. Employers do however have confidence in the ASYE framework and considerable effort and resource has gone into support its implementation. This confidence has ensured that the learning from ASYE can act as a bedrock for the development of CPD

During 2013, Skills for Care (SfC) worked with eight sets of employers and partnerships of employers and HEI’s to develop guidance for the sector, incorporating the SWRB products and the learning from ASYE. The focus of the core principles, like the ASYE, remains embedded in practice. They require organisations to clearly define the skills and knowledge required, to carry out holistic

assessment and to take responsibility for the final assessment http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Social-work/Social-work-CPD/Continuing-to-develop-social-workers.aspx

The case studies illustrate a range of different approaches to delivering CPD. Some of these include innovatory ways that HEI’s have provided support, not all through academically accredited modules.

Employers tell us that they are now using the core principles as a way of auditing HEI provision of CPD.

Measuring the impact of CPD

There is little research evidence of the impact of CPD on social work practice. This has hampered employers and HEI’s when arguing for resources for this activity.

As a development of the original CPD project (Core principles – see above), which included impact assessment as an element of holistic assessment, five projects are currently testing impact evaluation tools. http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Social-work/Social-work-CPD/Measuring-impact.aspx . The project will report with case studies in the Spring.

Reflections on what employers require from HEI partners:

Partnership – a negotiated provision that may include a number of different elements, not all of which will involve academic accreditation.

Value – employers and social workers value academic credit because it provides a portability for CPD that is currently difficult to replicate

Cost – cost effective ways of delivering CPD (e.g. in house courses that have an extended academic element)

Flexibility – input / modules that meet current employer requirements linked to organisational objectives (e.g. Shell modules)

Work based assessment - embedded in practice linked to organisational objectives