ADCS Conference: Children's social work reforms a top priority, says Timpson
Derren Hayes
Friday, July 10, 2015
Reforms to children's social work training and practice will be a "top priority" of government over the next five years, Edward Timpson has said.
The minister for children and families told delegates at the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) annual conference that the government intends to “accelerate” the pace of reforms to both frontline social work practice and governance.
He said: “We remain committed to a capable and confident profession that is held in the highest regard, and our plans will reflect that statement of intent.”
Timpson added that further details on the reforms will be announced soon by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.
Improving social work training is set to be major part of the reforms, and Timpson announced that the first four social work teaching partnerships are to be set up in Greater Manchester, south east London, South Yorkshire and Staffordshire.
These partnerships, a joint Department for Education and Department of Health initiative, will see local authorities working with local universities to design and deliver classroom and frontline training for those just entering the profession and existing practitioners.
Timpson said the partnership approach is similar to one the government has developed for the teaching profession.
“These partnerships give local authorities the lead in social work training, but beyond this to focus on the whole social work career,” he said.
“Impressive partnerships are essential to build strong regional workforces and a system that not only brings the right people into the profession and equips them with the right skills but also requires the best possible ongoing training for those already doing the job.
“These partnerships are just one example of how even when money is tight a sharp focus on innovation can reap new and better ways of working that are also cost effective.”
He also said that 10 councils have been selected to be “practice partners” to test out the measures in the new social work knowledge and skills statement, plans for which are to be consulted on over the summer. The statement, drawn up by chief children’s social worker Isabelle Trowler, contains the list of key skills that the government wants all trainee social workers to have before they can practice.
In addition, Timpson announced that the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) will issue new guidance to help local authorities understand the legal and practice requirements of providing education, health and care (EHC) plans for children with special educational needs (SEN).
The plans, introduced last September as part of the Children and Families Act reforms to replace statements of SEN, are the process used to assess a child’s needs and outline how these will be met.
Timpson said the government would extend the maximum timescale allowed for an EHC plan assessment to take place from 16 weeks to 20 weeks to help ensure they are done properly in complex cases.
“This isn’t and it mustn’t be about drift,” he said. “I would still expect the transfer to happen more quickly. But where transfers are complex it makes more sense to take a little longer to get it right.
“We can’t stint on quality especially at this crucial change.”
