Be Inspired! Shirley Ayres Consulting

A conference for CAMHS commissioners, Looked after children’s Nurses, Children in Care officers, designated GPs and other professionals interested in developments around Children and Young People’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing.

Friday 16th October
Wellcome Collection Conference Centre, 183 Euston Road, London NW 1 2BE
 
The Government Office for London are bringing together professionals within Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts to share innovation, successes and learning to help improve health outcomes for London’s Children in Care. This event will focus on highlighting successful examples of transferable practise from across London. This wll be set within a context of national policy development and regional initiatives including the London Pledge for Children and Young People in Care.

Places are limited to 3 per each London Authority for this free conference. Register your interest by emailing Nigel.Barker@gol.gsi.gov.uk. The deadline for registration is Friday 9th October.
 
http://www.gos.gov.uk/gol

Young London Matters – Making Every London Child Matter is a very useful resource for sharing information about children and young people’s services in London.

The London Pledge for Children and Young People in Care sets ambitious goals to deliver the best possible outcomes for children in care. The Pledge aims to ensure that children and young people in care across London have equal access to the same range of key services and support wherever they live, go to school or access employment or training opportunities in London. The Pledge is supported by all of the Children’s Trusts in London .

http://younglondonmatters.org/home

Tags: advanced social work practice, encouraging innovation, Learning and Development

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Qualifications are changing. For employers this will have a direct impact on the workforce in the future, influencing how staff are attracted, supported and developed throughout their working lives.

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) are hosting a series of free events to introduce the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and how this will benefit employers. These events will also be updating participants on the important developments around the new Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce.

Who should attend?
Employers and local authorities who work in the children and young people’s workforce

Conference objectives
provide a greater understanding of the QCF principles and structure
give more information on how changes in the qualifications framework will affect providers and learners
demonstrate how the QCF links to the Integrated Qualifications Framework (IQF)
demonstrate the accumulation of transferrable credits for learners
provide further information on the importance of the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce

Three events are being held

Birmingham 5th November 2009
Leeds 20th November 2009
London  26th November 2009

Click here http://www.cwdcevents.org.uk/qcf/index.html for more information and to register for this event.

Tags: cwdc, Learning and Development, workforce engagement

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An article in the September 2009 edition of Social Work Connections published by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) reveals a worrying finding about the support employers are providing for their social workers. The management of risk is crucial to safe working practices and gives social workers confidence in reporting issues which could impact about the well being of service users. 

Responses to a GSCC poll* indicate that employers are failing to take action when social workers report barriers to their work.

Almost 50 per cent of respondents to the Social Work Connections poll in the June 2009 issue said an employer had not taken action when they had reported operational difficulties or concerns about a colleague. Similar numbers said they did not feel confident their employer would take action if they spoke up.

However, when asked if they would feel able to report concerns about colleagues to their employer, 85 per cent said they would.

Social workers are bound by the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers, which says they must ‘use established processes and procedures to challenge and report dangerous, abusive, discriminatory or exploitative behaviour and practice (3.2)’. The most common fears cited by those who said they would not speak up were victimisation and personal reprisals.

The GSCC’s Chair Rosie Varley said: “I am encouraged that the majority of social workers will report barriers to their work or the concerning behaviour of others through the correct channels. That said, their fears that no action will be taken are extremely worrying. Workers and employers share a duty to address anything that jeopardises high standards of care and the protection of service users – workers are doing their bit, they need the support of employers to follow up their concerns.”

The Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers says they must ‘deal with reports of dangerous, discriminatory, abusive or exploitative behaviour and practice promptly, effectively and openly (4.2)’. The Government accepted Lord Laming’s recommendation that this code should become mandatory. The GSCC is in talks about this with Ofsted, CQC and the Government and will meet employers in October.

* Figures correct on 28th August 2009

 If you have any comments you can respond to the article here http://www.socialworkconnections.org.uk/features/123/gscc_poll_reveals_employers_are_not_responding_to_social_worker_concerns

Tags: advanced social work practice, empowerment, gscc, Social Work

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• National Continuing Professional Development Conference for Social Workers~14th September 2010

 Advanced practitioners in social work are research-literate, reflective and professional leaders in their field. They are able to draw on a range of empirical, theoretical and professional sources of knowledge and take the lead on social work policy and practice innovations.

Run by Dr Martin Webber this two-day course will provide participants with hands-on experience of the making of the advanced practitioner in social work. The first day will provide an overview of the research methods that provide evidence for social work practice and will equip participants with some basic critical appraisal skills. The second day will give detailed consideration to the definition of an advanced practitioner and will include a case consultation group focusing on enhancing social work practice skills and knowledge. Participants are encouraged to bring a case example with them to discuss within this group.
 
Places are very limited and registration will close on 21st August 2009.
 
For further information on  this and all courses please see the website
http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/departments/?locator=4&context=1239
or email the administrator: imh@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Supporting and Promoting Advanced Social Work: a guide for employers and practitioners published by the Institute of Psychiatry is available to read here http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/sites/mhsw/?id=168

Tags: advanced social work practice, institute of psychiatry, mental health, post qualifyng training, research, Social Work

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