Social worker skills list undergoes revamp
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
A greater focus on how social workers can make a difference is among changes to the professional capabilities framework (PCF), which has been refreshed for the first time in three years.
This is the first overhaul since the British Association of Social Workers took over management of the PCF from The College of Social Work, following its closure in September 2015.
Since then a rolling review has been taking place looking at improvements to the PCF, which was created to give social work in England a common language in describing the skills social workers need at different stages of their career.
The revamped version introduces three ‘super domains' of capabilities social workers require.
These include the ‘impact' of social workers and how they can make a difference, the ‘purpose' of social work, which covers their values and ethics, and ‘practice' which focuses on specific skills including social workers critical analytic abilities.
The PCF is designed to stand alongside the government's two knowledge and skills statements (KSS), one for children's social work and the other for adult social workers.
"Both the PCF and the KSS have been developed by the profession through extensive engagement with social workers at all levels, representative bodies and the public," says BASW chief executive Dr Ruth Allen and the two chief social workers for England, Lyn Romeo and Isabelle Trowler, in a joint statement.
"Together, the PCF and KSS provide the foundation for social work education and practice in England at qualifying and post-qualifying levels and are used to inform recruitment, workforce development, performance appraisal and career progression."
BASW has launched a consultation on the changes, which closes on 4 April.