Workers in care homes services for adults are now being registered by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
Care home services for adults are registered with the Care Commission and include services such as care homes and nursing homes. Managers began to register with the SSSC in January 2006 and supervisors in October 2007.
Registration of social service workers has been introduced to increase the protection of people who use services, making sure that workers have the right qualifications for the job that they are doing and are properly regulated. It will also bring the social service workforce in line with their professional colleagues. Nursing, medicine and teaching are all regulated professions and workers register with their own regulatory bodies to be able to work in their field.
Derek Phaup, Service Manager Older Peoples Provision at East Lothian Council explains the benefits of registration:
“Our managers are already registered with the SSSC and other senior staff have begun the process of registration. We see registration as a positive step in the professionalism within care home settings and it begins to acknowledge the professionalism and skills staff have achieved throughout their careers. As a council we look forward to other front line staff taking up registration through the SSSC and having their skills acknowledged.”
Workers who apply to register with the SSSC must agree to abide by the SSSC Code of Practice for Social Service Workers, undergo an enhanced Disclosure Scotland check and will need to have or gain a relevant qualification agreed by the SSSC. However workers who don’t already hold a relevant qualification but meet all other registration criteria, you can still be registered on the condition that you gain the qualification within a specified period of time. This is normally the first three years of the initial registration period.
ENDS
If you require further information contact Vanessa Glenday, Information and Communications Officer, on 01382 207267.
The SSSC was set up in October 2001 under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.
- Its objectives are:
- to protect those who use services
- to raise standards of practice
- to strengthen and support the professionalism of the workforce.
The SSSC has five main tasks:
- to establish registers of key groups of social services staff
- to publish Codes of Practice for all social services staff and for employers
- to regulate the training and education of the workforce
- to undertake the functions of the National Training Organisation for the personal social services – Workforce Development and Planning
- to promote education and training.
Each country in the UK has its own regulatory body. They are: the Care Council for Wales, the General Social Care Council (England), the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Scottish Social Services Council. The Councils are each responsible for the registration and regulation of social services workers in their country. They work in co-operation with other regulatory bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
For further information about the SSSC please visit: www.sssc.uk.com
