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Major Adult Social Work Survey Launched in England

A major survey has been launched to find out what research needs to happen in future to further improve social work in England and our understanding of what works for people.

The survey asks adults and those approaching adulthood who have been in contact with social workers in England, social workers themselves, and other professionals who work alongside social workers, to talk about their experiences and what they think should be priorities for future social work research.

It is part of an Adult Social Work Priority Setting Partnership, started by the Chief Social Worker for Adults in the Department of Health, in response to the 2016 report: “Social Work: the state we’re in” by the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College. The report recommended that research priorities for adult social work are identified by following the tried-and-tested methods used by the James Lind Alliance.

Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults in England said:

“We want to understand more about what works best when social workers work with adults and their families.  Research evidence can help with this but first we need to know what is important to people and therefore what to research.  That is why this survey is vital.  It will help us to make sure that future research answers the questions that are important to social workers themselves and anyone who has been in contact with them.  We want future research to make a real difference to improve the quality of care and support that people receive.”

Please complete the survey here!

South Yorkshire Teaching Partnership social workers recognised in national Social Worker of the Year Awards

Dean Radford, Sheffield City Council – Gold award in the Newly Qualified Social Worker category

 Sheffield City Council social worker who helped a terminally ill woman from Africa and her seven-year-old child to secure housing and support in the city has won a national award.

Dean Radford has won Community Care’s Gold award for Newly Qualified Children’s social worker of the year after helping the family who had been moved to Sheffield by the National Asylum Support Service.

Dean stood out to the judges as someone who is “tenacious, creative and passionate”.

For more information, please see  http://www.sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk/sheffield-social-worker-wins-national-award/

Suzannah Rockett, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council – Silver award in the Practice Educator category

Government to Regulate Social Workers from 2018

It has recently been announced, under plans tabled by ministers, that social workers will be regulated by the government from 2018.

A new government executive agency will replace the HCPC as the regulator for social workers in England, under regulations underpinning the Children and Social Work Bill.
The agency will be accountable to the education secretary and based in the Department for Education (DfE). It will be supported by the DfE and Department of Health with both departments sharing responsibility for social work policy.

Summary of what the new body will do:

  • Publish new professional standards, aligning with the chief social workers’ knowledge and skills statements
  •  Set new standards for qualifying education and training, and reaccredit providers against these standards by 2020
  • Maintain a single register of social workers, annotating it to denote specialist accreditations
  • Set new social work specific CPD standards
  • Oversee a robust and transparent fitness to practise system
  • Approve post qualifying programmes and training in specialisms including Approved Mental Health Professionals and Best Interests Assessors
  • Oversee the proposed new assessment and accreditation system for child and family social workers
  • Oversee the required arrangements for succesfully completing the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE).

For more information, visit Community Care: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/06/29/government-regulate-social-workers-2018/?cmpid=NLC%7CSCSC%7CSCNEW-2016-0629

Or view the Department of Education and Department of Health Regulating Social Workers Policy Statement:http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2016-0569/Policy_Statement_Social_Work_Regulation_June_2016.pdf

Speaking our for social work – crossing divides and building relationships

A one day event hosted by Sheffield University in partnership with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and the centre for Social Work Practice. Featuring 3 leading speakers in their field.

Wednesday 6th July 2016 10am to 4pm

University of Sheffield, Richard Roberts Building (building number 116), Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN

Dr Jadwiga Leigh will lead with ‘Crossing the divide between them and us: Drawing from the Belgian model to infoorm and restore balance in child protection social work’.

Dr Sharon Shoesmith will explore ‘Social work – understanding and tackling professional wulnerability’.

Professor Andrew Cooper will complete the morning presentations with “Holding it together despite everything – individual and organisational strategies for difficult times”.

The afternoon will offer 5 workshops run by James Gosling; Jane Laing; Nora McClelland; Professor Kate Morris & Robin Sean and Eva Sisak. Different aspects of working with vulnerable people with a collective theme of relationship based practice will be explored in more detail. Each workshop will run twice.

£45 Non Members

£30 Members/Students

Book Online: http://www.cfswp.org/

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Effective Court Work

Effective Court Work: An Advanced Practice Masterclass for Social Work Managers and Experienced Practitioners With Elizabeth Isaacs QC

13th May 2016

10am – 1pm (registration at 9.45am)

The Garden Room, St Mary’s Church and Conference Centre,

Bramall Lane, Sheffield, S2 4QZ.

This masterclass will focus on supporting best social work practice in court work. Led by a QC, it will be an exceptional opportunity to access highly skilled advice on recent developments and the implications for social work practice. Elizabeth Isaacs QC was called to the Bar in 1998 and took silk in 2013. She practises at St Ives Chambers in Birmingham and is a door tenant at 1 KBW at Atlantic Chambers, Liverpool.

Between 1989 and 1997, she was a child protection social worker practising in Birmingham and Warwickshire. She was appointed as a criminal recorder in 2009 and as a public and private law family recorder in 2012. She is a contributing editor of Clarke, Hall and Morrison on Children, a contributor to the Family Court Practice and has published a number of books on public law children’s work. Elizabeth sits on the Family Justice Council and has retained a strong interest in social work practice.

Register your place here http://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-work-practice-masterclass-effective-court-work-an-advanced-practice-masterclass-for-social-tickets-22528510381

Password: TP123

Places are free and aimed at experienced practitioners, with a maximum of 80 participants. The seminar will be interactive and will provide opportunities to consider your own practice and learning needs. Refreshments are available to purchase on the day and there is car parking on site.

 

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Advanced Practitioner Framework

A NEW BROCHURE FOR 2018/19  WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY. TO REGISTER FOR UPDATES, PLEASE CONTACT US AT southyorkshireteachingpartnership@Sheffield.gov.uk

Our Advanced Practitioner Framework is modular based and supports continuous professional development across four strands:

  • Social work practice – modules that are designed to develop your skills and knowledge, and to help support and enable you to deliver first class services
  • Practice education – Stage 1 and Stage 2 Practice Educators awards
  • Leadership and Management – modules to support aspiring/new managers and mentors, plus the opportunity for experienced managers to undertake a PG Certificate in Leadership and Management in conjunction with the University of Sheffield’s Management School (which is in the top 1% of business and management schools worldwide).
  • Research and evidence-informed practice– as a partnership, we are committed to embedding research mindedness across all areas of social work education and practice. Social work requires compassionate, thorough assessment through empirical engagement with the lives of individuals and families and complex analysis to generate knowledge and understanding. In these core respects social work is very similar to research and requires a similar skill set. In support of this, we:
    • Include modules on research and evidence-informed practice in our qualifying and post-qualifying training
    • Support social workers to undertake work-based research projects which address practice issues/challenges
    • Ensure that social workers understand how cognitive biases and professional cultures can affect the ways they make sense of the world
    • Ensure that our social workers can develop and use their research skills within their practice, for example to support effective information gathering, assessment processes and analysis.

All modules are accredited and social workers can therefore build up credits towards a range of postgraduate qualifications including a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management or an MA in Advanced Professional Practice.