Jobs

Q. Tell me more about Post Qualifying awards

The Post Qualifying Awards are important for Social Workers to work towards achieving.

The current post-qualifying awards for Social Work

The Government has made the Post-qualifying Awards for Social Workers a high priority and CSF has made a commitment to support it. The target is for 40 people a year to receive the Award so that 40% of qualified Social Workers within our department will have this award by 2007, when the DOH hopes to have 5000 award holders nation-wide.

What is post-qualifying training?

All Social Workers who have completed a recognised professional Social Work qualification are eligible to continue their learning by studying for a GSCC -recognised post-qualifying award. This enables them to improve their skills and, in some cases, begin to specialise in a particular area such as childcare or mental health.

There are two parts:

Part One: PQ1 - recognises the learning acquired since the point of qualification. It involves the production of a portfolio of evidence, and must be completed before the candidate can complete Part Two. CSF workers undertake the PQ1 through Bournemouth University, though it is delivered locally. There are 2 programmes a year, each involving 10 days work spread over a 4-month period. You can see details on their website: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/ihcs/pqswp.html
Part Two: PQ Child Care (the Post Qualifying Child Care Award or PQCCA). This is taught at the Universities of Hertfordshire and Luton - this will commence in Sept/Oct 2006. The programme consists of 4 modules, each a 2-week block. Each block will offer time for 'teaching' and for writing assignments, so candidates should not need to work on this in their own time, or in work time.

CSF actively encourages Social Workers to undertake the above awards and has a successful sponsorship scheme onto the programmes.

Q. Do I get paid more is I get a PQ Award?

Both of these courses can help you move up the salary scale within CSF. On completion of the PQ1 Social Workers are eligible for progression to Level 3 (H9). Workers will complete an assessment of their competence with their manager, attend an interview and use their PQ1 portfolio to support their competence to work as an experienced social worker.

On completion of the PQCCA Social Workers currently receive an honorarium of £500 in recognition of completing the whole of the Award and are able to use their portfolio as current evidence of their competence to meet the progression criteria, with an interview for progression to a level 4 Social Worker.

Q. What is the NEW GSCC Post Qualification Framework?

Currently the local universities are developing new modules for new PQ Framework.
The Specialist, Higher Specialist and Advanced Awards for those working with children and young people, their families and carers will be available from Sept 2007. More information available on www.gscc.org.uk.

Supporting students

Q. Can I enable and support students while I am working?

CSF actively encourages experienced practitioners to assess Social Work students within teams who work with children, young people, their families and carers. Each team are encouraged to have a Social Work student placed in their team each year to develop the skills and knowledge of students, share current academic thinking relating to Social Work and to provide students with an environment within which they can practice their skills for preparation for working as a qualified Social Worker on successful completion of their Social Work programme.

All experienced practitioners wishing to support students have access to the following programme with the support of their line manager.

Practice Assessor Development Programme

• 3 day taught programme, delivered regularly at the University of Hertfordshire, De Montford University and University of Luton
• Recall (2 days) dates to be advised

Trainers(s)/Consultant(s) University of Hertfordshire / University of Luton / DeMontford University

For all unaccredited practitioners (who do not already hold the Practice Teacher Award) wanting to offer a social work student a placement.

As part of the training, candidates are expected to supervise a Social Work degree student from one of the participating universities. It is best for you to attend a course at the University, from which you will be having a Social Work degree student (student placements will be organised by Learning & Development Team).

Content of the Programme

• Day 1 - Setting the context
• Day 2 - Adult learning and guide to social work theories
• Day 3 - Supervision and support.

Recall Days TBA (to run in conjunction with student's placement)

• Day 4 - Mid way assessment and issues
• Day 5 - Final report and student's future learning

The above 5 day programme is designed for on-site practice assessing and is certificated for CPD purposes.

Professional / Academic credits

It is possible to formalise the Practice Assessors training and obtain 30 academic credits and also professional credits towards the PQSW (PQ5 and 6). To achieve this, candidates will need to attend an additional 5 day taught programme. This additional programme is currently delivered only by University of Luton and you must already have completed the initial 5 day training outlined above. You must also successfully complete the assessment tasks which will involve a presentation, a report, a portfolio and direct observation of your practice.