What's going on?The political context of

social work education and its relationship with practice

Professor Aidan Worsleyarcworsley@uclan.ac.uk

@aidanworsley

Q What makes great social work /education? A…

Great social work practitioners/educators – with a breadth of experience

Great values -awareness of social justice and social work values

Great teams - supportive environments and strong supervision

Great partnerships – effective, responsive

Very significant policy/ economic challenges – but amidst all this clamour SW endures…

Joined up?

Social Work Reform Board

Closed upon recruitment of Chief Social Workers Produced important documents around CPD,

Partnerships, SW Education, Admissions Set in motion The College of Social Work ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year in

Employment) with TCSW – builds upon NQSW, some ‘requirements’ placed upon employers around supervision, workload relief etc.

Two new Chief Social Workers:

President of ADCS Hackney model ‘crap social workers’ Teaching

background

LA senior management / Hackney/ London voice dominant

Rewriting social work education Take 1 The Professional Capabilities Framework Underlined generic curriculum Tougher Admissions requirements/ processes Additional curriculum guidance Assessed Readiness for Direct Practice New placement structure and holistic

assessment Plus compliance with QAA, HCPC (SETS/SOPS)

and internal validation Began September 2013 – UG students are

literally on their first placement

Rewriting social work take 2 – compression in the profession

Compression and the DfE

Step Up to Social Work

Frontline (Summer 14)

Lamb and the DH Baroness Tyler

Review Mental Health

‘Frontline’ called Think Ahead

WHY?

Meanwhile on the real frontline… “I have been told not to accommodate children as

this will cost too much and we do not have the placements for them. I have also been told not to take cases to child protection as there are no social workers to take the case.”

“Ofsted observed the number of child protection cases was very high so the [local authority] reduced the number of child protection plans.”

“I had a child who was repeatedly neglected with other professionals raising concerns. However, child protection thresholds were not met and the child was deemed a child in need.”

Evidence suggests supply of social workers will not equal demand until 2022

But, LAs preferring to employ temps to NQSWs 13 LAs carrying 50+ vacancies, 4 carrying

100+ and 2 carrying 200+◦ Wokingham/ City of London/ Cheshire West/ Luton all

in top 10 Older workers leaving 70% say caseloads unmanageable Emphasis on qualifying training incongruent

with data

Retention in the profession

Rewriting social work take 3

Narey’s report is published 13/2/14

What's Narey saying? Curriculum guidance confused and inadequate Need to ‘increase’ calibre of entrants and lower

numbers Extend Step-Up and Frontline programmes (he

notes retention as key indicator) Specialisation of qualifying training – final years

focus on C&F Workbased non-graduate qualification for social

care Detach from HCPC Toughen Endorsement…

…there is nothing here about the quality of teaching (which, regrettably, is not observed), the entry calibre of students, the robustness of examination or other assessment systems, or the extent to which new graduates are ready for employment. And it is impossible to believe that the quality of placement provision can be assessed on a day visit to the university

Some thoughts Crushingly anecdotal Selective evidence undermines impact Plain wrong in some areas But much food for thought Very well promoted Supported by Gove- but perhaps not

Morgan/ the DfE? HCPC – enshrined in legislation

But the main problem…

What’s Croisdale-Appleby saying? See the social worker as a practitioner, a

professional and as a social scientist Fewer, better, PG students – 300+ (3 Bs) Better placements, better relationships – more cash Retain genericism (‘social work lite’ routes

critiqued) More research skills for practitioners, more IPL Merge HCPC/ TCSW regulatory function – keep both ASYE becomes Licence to Practice/ Revalidation Phase out UG bursaries

Some thoughts Evidential approach, less combative Received hardly any press coverage Losing a key demographic – mature UG

student CPD in focus Money in focus- but unrealistic Wary of ‘quick fix’ of fast track routes

Changes… PEPS (PE Professional Standards)

◦ Vital importance of the PVI sector Innovation, Capacity, Reflecting workforce

Placement funding - £20 a day◦ The dangers of driving down PE fees

Bursaries – PG direction, £18m savings already◦ Placement staff vital, partnership & SWET

networking, conflict... So many avenues for division

CPD◦ Removal of PQ framework but no replacement◦ Many alternatives developed - filling vacuum◦ Practice Educators – parallels with AMHPs◦ Why should it not all sit in an academic framework?

Knowledge & Skills Statements x 2◦ Sets out what Children's and Adults social workers need

to know◦ Tested (by whom?) for ‘approved status’ at end of ASYE◦ Separate one for Adults (LR)

4 x DOs, 2 written pieces, several work products, TCSW role

Changes…?

Where does this leave us? Complex and emerging picture – offering

signposts – more change to come DfE and DH playing punch bag with social

work and SW education? Can they find a compromise? Institutionalising divisions

No chance to implement and evaluate change◦ Change ideological rather than evidence based

Social work as a profession needs to take back control of these scenarios- engage in these debates

Desperate need for a renewed emphasis and funding for CPD – but is it nil sum?

Need to strive for the production of excellent social workers together – in partnership

Educating the profession Remembering why we are doing this! - that we

are still providing a strong service that protects children, their families and adults

Where does this leave us?

Any questions?arcworsley@uclan.ac.uk

@aidanworsley