North Lanarkshire Council, Housing and Social Work Services – Assessment, Planning and Reflective Practice programme
North Lanarkshire Council's Assessment, Planning and Reflective Practice programme aims to fundamentally shift the focus of social work engagement with people who use services from traditional service-led provision to an outcomes-based approach. The programme has been presented to over 700 staff over the last 18 months.
The philosophy of this approach is one that emphasises the strengths, capacity and resilience of individuals and builds upon natural support systems. The personalised interventions place the people who use services at the centre. Staff are provided with a clear practice and policy framework within which to work and this is supported by high quality education and training on assessment and planning led by senior managers.
The programme is having a powerful impact on staff, is helping to reshape services and is contributing to the SSSC's vision of a confident, competent and valued social services workforce.
Dumfries and Galloway Council, Social Work – Studentship/Sponsorship scheme
Dumfries and Galloway Council piloted, then created, a rolling social work qualification programme to improve recruitment and retention of social workers in the Dumfries and Galloway region.
The programme which takes six entrants each year is accessible to all parts of the council. So far, 14 members of staff have completed the diploma in social work, 10 have completed the degree in social work with another 20 workers at various stages of the programme. Practice teaching and mentoring are vital parts of the scheme as are facilitated student group sessions, consistent line management and senior approval for a handbook that clarifies the role of all stakeholders.
The scheme has been evaluated with oversight from the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) and this showed there was a high degree of support from students, practice teachers and line managers keen to extend and develop the scheme further. The scheme takes into account the Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers and the Continuous Learning Framework by developing the learning culture of our organisation.
Glasgow City Council, Social Care Services – Night-shift Learning and Development Team
Glasgow City Council, Social Care Services has established a permanent, full-time night-shift learning and development team to ensure that staff working non-routine shift patterns can gain equal access to the range of learning and development opportunities open to day staff.
Particular areas that this initiative addresses include the delivery of SVQs to meet registration requirements of the SSSC and the search of new and diverse practice learning opportunities.
