Comments on: What to do about PQ? http://shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk/post-qualifying-learning-and-education/what-to-do-about-pq Promoting excellence in social work Wed, 18 May 2011 14:49:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Neil Sanyal http://shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk/post-qualifying-learning-and-education/what-to-do-about-pq/comment-page-1#comment-62 Neil Sanyal Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:52:47 +0000 http://shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk/?p=724#comment-62 I am fascinated by these two postings by Martin and Shirley. There are some very good points they make which I whole-heartedly agree with. The funding issue is probably the biggest of all in my opinion, speaking as one of the ex-students Martin mentioned who had to fund myself!! I like Shirley's 10 point plan and I think she should circulate it to as many training and development leads in local authorities as possible, if that has not already been done. I really would relish the chance to correspond with experts at the IoP like Jack Nathan, Elizabeth Kuypers and others in some sort of discussion forum so that their academic experience and skills could somehow continue in some small way to be beneificial to ex-students. We made the original investment in the course, struggled our way through (some of us that is) and have not always been supported in our organisations to follow through what we have learnt!! I am fascinated by these two postings by Martin and Shirley. There are some very good points they make which I whole-heartedly agree with. The funding issue is probably the biggest of all in my opinion, speaking as one of the ex-students Martin mentioned who had to fund myself!! I like Shirley’s 10 point plan and I think she should circulate it to as many training and development leads in local authorities as possible, if that has not already been done. I really would relish the chance to correspond with experts at the IoP like Jack Nathan, Elizabeth Kuypers and others in some sort of discussion forum so that their academic experience and skills could somehow continue in some small way to be beneificial to ex-students. We made the original investment in the course, struggled our way through (some of us that is) and have not always been supported in our organisations to follow through what we have learnt!!

]]> By: Martin Webber http://shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk/post-qualifying-learning-and-education/what-to-do-about-pq/comment-page-1#comment-46 Martin Webber Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:22:45 +0000 http://shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk/?p=724#comment-46 In my experience of running an advanced level post-qualifying programme at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, it appears that it is primarily practitioners who are interested in their own professional development and not their employers. Whilst we work in partnership with some very supportive employers, most see PQ awards as an optional extra for their practitioners or, at best, have a narrow vision of which ones they should be supporting. The majority of our students are self-funding because their employer will not pay for their professional development. Some have study leave, others have to use annual leave. Only the minority have the full support of both study leave and funding by their employer. In the absence of any bursary scheme, PQ awards are being achieved at huge personal expense. Regional partnerships have squeezed out programmes on specialist areas of practice - if it is not on a list approved by the employer, it will not be funded. Also, if the employer does not view a programme as being of central relevance to the practitioner's job, it doesn't get funded. Practitioners working in children's social care, for example, struggle to get funding to go onto our mental health advanced award - even though the programme is aimed at working with both adults and children. Have we not learnt from all the child death inquiries about the importance of understanding adult mental health problems? Recent SCIE guidance indicates the importance of joined up working between adult mental health and children's social care. Shared training is one way of building bridges and sharing learning to enhance the protection of both vulnerable children and adults. PQ needs to be put centre stage by the SWTF and the new national college of social work. Practitioners should be supported to determine the direction of their own professional development (within obvious parameters) and they should be properly funded to achieve the awards. If we are serious about the professionalisation of social work, PQ needs to be embedded in workforce development plans and not left as an afterthought. In my experience of running an advanced level post-qualifying programme at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, it appears that it is primarily practitioners who are interested in their own professional development and not their employers. Whilst we work in partnership with some very supportive employers, most see PQ awards as an optional extra for their practitioners or, at best, have a narrow vision of which ones they should be supporting. The majority of our students are self-funding because their employer will not pay for their professional development. Some have study leave, others have to use annual leave. Only the minority have the full support of both study leave and funding by their employer. In the absence of any bursary scheme, PQ awards are being achieved at huge personal expense.

Regional partnerships have squeezed out programmes on specialist areas of practice – if it is not on a list approved by the employer, it will not be funded. Also, if the employer does not view a programme as being of central relevance to the practitioner’s job, it doesn’t get funded. Practitioners working in children’s social care, for example, struggle to get funding to go onto our mental health advanced award – even though the programme is aimed at working with both adults and children. Have we not learnt from all the child death inquiries about the importance of understanding adult mental health problems? Recent SCIE guidance indicates the importance of joined up working between adult mental health and children’s social care. Shared training is one way of building bridges and sharing learning to enhance the protection of both vulnerable children and adults.

PQ needs to be put centre stage by the SWTF and the new national college of social work. Practitioners should be supported to determine the direction of their own professional development (within obvious parameters) and they should be properly funded to achieve the awards. If we are serious about the professionalisation of social work, PQ needs to be embedded in workforce development plans and not left as an afterthought.

]]>