Thursday, 01 December 2011 15:10

High quality social care is dependent on a trained and trusted workforce, says the Scottish Social Services Council, the body responsible for developing and regulating Scotland's 198,000 social service workers, in its annual report for 2010/11. 

Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the SSSC said:

"The social service workforce is vital to Scotland's future.  As well as caring for the people who need it most, they help people in all of our communities from our youngest to our oldest to live better and more equal lives. We are making significant progress towards our outcomes to ensure the sector is made up of the right people with the right skills and the right education and training to ensure that the people using services are protected and have safe and competent workers. 

"This means making sure we have high quality workers in our social work departments, care homes, nurseries and day care services through robust workforce development and planning as well as individual workers achieving high standards of practice.  Our annual report highlights the key role that the SSSC has in providing a trained and trusted workforce and sets out what we aim to achieve in the next year.

"In these difficult financial times training and development of the social service workforce remains a priority to make sure we have the skilled and confident workers needed to provide care services for the future."

Some of our highlights in 2010/11.

• Completed a very successful research project looking at the use of mobile devices (Playstation Portables) to support workforce development in the workplace with Glasgow City Council.  Participants were enthusiastic about the approach.
• The SSSC Workforce Solutions Portal has received international attention.  The work is being showcased by the Adobe Corporation in an online case study and video discussion.  The project was also featured in the EU CREANOVA project which showcases examples of best practice in innovation and creativity in education and learning.
• We visited services including care homes throughout Scotland to meet workers and people who use services to hear their views a on what they need and on the difference that high quality care and well trained social service workers make to their lives.
• In a stakeholder survey 76% of respondents said the Codes of Practice were very or quite effective at ensuring that people who use services are aware of the standards they should expect.

Read the full SSSC Annual Report and Accounts

ENDS

Notes to the editor

Media enquiries:

Nicola Gilray, Communications Manager, 01382 207261/07766133243

Cristina Dello Sterpaio, External Relations and Media Officer, 07810156390/01382 346462.

The SSSC was set up in October 2001 under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 to:

• protect those who use services
• raise standards of practice
• 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 Skills for Care and Development, the sector skills   council for the social care, children's and young people's workforce and this includes workforce 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 in 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

 

 High quality social care is dependent on a trained and trusted workforce, says the Scottish Social Services Council, the body responsible for developing and regulating Scotland's 198,000 social service workers, in its annual report for 2010/11.