delivering standard 1 the social work ‘health check’ · the social work ‘health check’...

Delivering Standard 1 The social work ‘health check’

Report styleGuide for employers

3 Delivering Standard 1 The social work ‘health check’

The health-check is an important tool in supporting and delivering effective social work. It is a key element of Standard 1 which covers the requirement to have a ‘clear social work accountability framework’. The Standard says:

“All employers should: complete, review and publish an annual ‘health check’ or audit to assess whether the practice conditions and working environment of the organisation’s social work workforce are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.”

The standards for employers of social work are developed and published by the Social Work Reform partner organisations which include central and local government, higher education institutions, voluntary sector, trade unions and professional associations.

Background As part of its final report in 2009 the Social Work Task Force recommended the development of standards for employers of social workers setting out the support and working conditions they should provide. In preparation for that, the SWTF included a ‘health check’ process for assessing practice conditions: covering five areas:

1. Effective workload management

2. Pro-active workflow management

3. Having the right tools to do the job

4. A healthy workplace

5. Effective service delivery

The final report of the Task Force said:

“We recommend the development in the short term of a tool that can be used at team, service and organisation level to determine how well workflows and workloads are being managed...

The framework is not designed to act as a check-list, but as a mechanism to promote debate at all levels of the service.

It can be used at team, service and organisation level. It should be the basis for discussion at each of these levels, with a requirement in place that staff have been involved in the response at each level and a mechanism for recording areas of disagreement.”.

Organisations and workloads – a health check. Annex A of Building a safe, confident future: The final report of the Social Work Task Force

Why do the health-check?The health-check is an important barometer of workflow and barriers to effective practice. Doing it annually allows employers to track progress as they work on implementing the Standards. It also means problems can be picked up and addressed in a timely fashion rather than becoming entrenched and creating a negative culture.

The health-check can be an important part of an employer’s retention and recruitment strategy because it means social workers feel that they are listened to and that the employer

Introducing the health check


is pro-active in tackling the issues that affect them at the front-line.

It is also a way of enabling employers to provide a well led professional environment as well as enabling social work professionals to maintain their professionalism and to practice more effectively.

The health-check also supports openness and accountability by providing a regular snapshot to the organisation’s leaders about workflow and organisational issues.

“The value of the ‘health check’ for social workers was recognised very early on as a very useful tool to consult with social workers and get a snapshot of how things were for them around workload, support, learning and development…Three years later, this view hasn’t changed.”

“It’s important to look at the things you can do almost instantly, like an audit of printers and photocopiers; stuff that can make people’s lives much easier very quickly. “You must not underestimate how important these things can be to people. We have to communicate what we can do or the reasons why we can’t do something.”

Early adopters of the health-check

ImplementationOrganisations that have implemented health checks successfully have used a variety of methods to engage staff in the process including independently facilitated workshops, team briefings and focus groups. These have been used in combination with staffing and performance data, and anonymous surveys of social workers.

Some employers do a very comprehensive health-check in one year followed by a lighter touch check-up in alternate years. Using some or all of the same survey questions each year allows the tracking of trends over time.

The health check process itself is usually a positive one for staff giving them the chance to air issues and be listened to. However, following up on what comes out of the health check is even more important. A clear agreed action plan – regularly monitored and reported back to staff – is crucial. The standards for employers provide the natural headings for what such an action plan might contain.

Employers in the Independent Sector As outlined above, the Social Work Task Force intended that the health check should be a mechanism to promote debate about the practice conditions and working environment of social workers where ever they work.

With this in mind, Independent and community sector organisations that employ small numbers of social workers in diverse roles should be able to contextualise the process to the benefit of their service environment.


This section offers advice about carrying out the health check.

Preparing for the health check1. Agree a joint steering group to oversee

the health-check process across all the social work teams which includes principal social workers, practitioners and union representatives.

2. Agree an indicative timetable for completion.

3. Agree how the results will be published – to include social work staff and elected members/trustees/board members.

4. Develop a communications strategy for explaining and reassuring staff about what the health check is for and how it will be used. An early message is that it is about organisational health not occupational health! Give assurances that anything said in discussions will not be used in any way against staff but only to inform what extra support is needed.

5. Identify and scope the sources of information needed to complete the work – this will include:

◦ performance data e.g. workflow, complaints, service response times

◦ workforce data e.g. vacancies, turnover, sickness absence

◦ qualitative data e.g. quality of supervision, stress, caseloads, TOIL

6. Identify resources in terms of HR, systems and IT support needed to collect the required data. Technical guidelines will be needed covering areas such as:

a a common date or period for data capture

b a common definition of a case, for example where siblings are involved

c how the results will be analysed team by team and on an aggregated basis

7. Decide the scope: in view of close working relationships and work organisation, many authorities have extended the health check to social work assistants, care managers and non-social-work-qualified practitioners who are carrying out casework.

8. All team members will need to be given advanced notice and time to prepare for team discussions, focus groups etc.

9. Consider whether independent facilitation of sessions with social work staff could be helpful.

The social work health check process


1. The results of the health check should be captured in a report which is shared with social work staff.

2. The report should be published and presented to those accountable for the service ie Elected members/Board/Trustees.

3. An action plan should be developed and agreed with a commitment from the organisation’s leadership to prioritise it.

4. The health check steering group should work together on an implementation plan.

5. Regular progress reports should go to staff and back up through the chain of command.

6. In 12 months’ time, the health check may need adapting so it can specifically test whether agreed actions are having an effect.

Using the results


The Social Work Taskforce’s health check recommendation consisted of 39 prompts. We have presented them here as a series of questions, colour-coded according to the likely source or sources of information. These provide a starting point which can be adapted and tailored to your organisation.

In the next section we provide some case studies and an example of a council’s health check questionnaire.

Key:

Management reports or workforce data

Practitioner reporting Combination of both

The 39 stepsEffective workload management

1 How many unfilled posts are there in the team?

2 How many posts are being covered by agency/temporary staff?

3 How many posts are there where the post-holder is on long-term absence eg sick leave, maternity leave?

4 What is the level of staff turnover?

5 How many cases does each FTE hold?

6 How many hours are staff working on average a week?

7 What levels of TOIL and annual leave are still to be taken?

8 How often is supervision taking place – is this in line with organisational policy?

9 Have staff been able to attend the CPD opportunities planned in their appraisals or development reviews – how often is training cancelled or re-arranged?

10 What additional responsibilities are team members undertaking, for example supervising a student on placement, mentoring another team member, doing research?

Proactive workflow management

11 How many cases are currently unallocated?

12 How many cases are being re-referred?

13 Are there changes throughout the year in workflow (peaks and troughs)?

14 How are unallocated cases risk assessed?

Social work health check – the 39 steps


15 What is the escalation process for unallocated cases and alerts to senior managers?

16 How many cases are currently allocated to a) team members b) the team manager c) the duty team?

17 Are there delays in the transfer of cases between teams?

18 How often are workers required to cancel meetings with people who use services and other professionals in an average week due to re-prioritisation of work?

19 What specific blocks to workflow need to be considered eg efficiency of commissioned services, relationships with other agencies, transfer between teams and services?

20 Is the most efficient use of skills being made within the team and wider service - are social workers undertaking tasks for which their skills are primarily required or could they be done more effectively by someone with different skills eg an administrator, paraprofessional or other professional group?

Having the right tools to do the job

21 Do staff have access to the right equipment – for example, mobile working and IT access?

22 Do staff have access to the right professional services to support case work– translators, legal advice etc?

23 Do staff have access to the right resources, for example research or library facilities?

24 Do staff have appropriate office space, for example, desk, office chair, access to quiet space?

A healthy workplace

25 Is there a system in place to monitor frequency and quality of supervision in order to ensure effective practice is supported?

26 Is there a 360° appraisal in place?

27 Is there an employee welfare system in place and are staff aware of how they access it?

28 How often do team meetings take place?

29 Are staff able to contribute to the agenda?

30 Are senior managers accessible/ visible in the service?

31 How are stress levels monitored on an individual and service basis?

32 Is there a whistle-blowing process and are staff aware of what this is?

33 Are there processes in place to ensure staff welfare eg risk assessments of roles and activities, and call-back/monitoring processes to ensure safety whilst working away from the office base including out of hours?

34 What are the sickness levels in the team/service and what is the pattern over time?

Effective service delivery

35 Findings from compliments / comments and complaints

36 Feedback from service users

37 Feedback from stakeholders / other professionals

38 Staff survey results

39 Exit interview analysis


Surrey County CouncilSurrey began the health check process in 2011 in children’s services and has since extended it across adult social care. Working jointly with local trade unions, Surrey’s approach has consisted of three main strands:

• data collection on topics such as caseloads and sickness absence, carried out centrally by HR

• a printed questionnaire

• workshop-style discussion forums jointly organised by HR officers and union reps with independent facilitation

The main problems identified included stress; workload and caseload management; IT and IT support.

Action plans emerged from the health checks have covered a wide range of issues, including:

• improving supervision quality

• training for managers

• addressing parking and hot-desking issues

• new IT equipment

• ‘back to the floor’ visits

• developing a new workload management model

• well-being assessments

Surrey has used a ‘You said...’ ‘What’s happened...’ model of feeding back to staff about how the health-check is being followed up.

Sefton CouncilSefton Council worked with local trade union reps to deliver a health check using anonymous real-time voting button technology with social work teams. The sessions were appended to normal social work team meetings. Staff answered a series of questions on issues including caseloads, working hours, supervision, workload and stress. This then formed the basis for comparison and discussion with what the management and performance data were showing. The results prompted discussion about workflow, pressures and barriers within teams.

The sessions enabled some immediate changes to be made such as provision of extra mobile phones, as well as feeding into longer term plans for improvement measures.

Appendix – examples and case studies


Dear Social Worker/Senior Social Work Practitioner/

Social Work Team Manager

Please find attached your copy of the Social Worker Survey

2013. As you will know, this Survey is one of a number

of methods in use to collect your feedback. Other routes

include e-mailing [email protected],

providing us with feedback at events such as the Social Work

Briefings taking place in November and December, and via

Team Meetings.

The results from this questionnaire will be collated by the

Workforce Development Team in the Children’s Trust and

then shared with the Children’s Services Management Team

(CTMT) and then with you. There is the option of leaving your

personal details blank if you would prefer your answers to

remain anonymous. The questions are once again divided

into key areas which we know affect Social Workers and

can make a difference to how the services you provide are

delivered. The survey should take you no longer than 15

minutes to complete.

Many thanks for taking part in this consultation exercise and

helping inform us what is working well, what needs to be

developed or changed and how we can work together to

develop the learning culture in Redbridge. Your feedback

really does matter and I would strongly encourage you to

take part to ensure that your views are heard!

LB Redbridge Children’s Services Social Worker ‘Health Check’ Survey 2013

mailto:[email protected]


NAME Optional

JOB TITLE Optional

TEAM Optional

DIVISION/SERVICE AREA Required

LOCATION Required

Section 1: Your rolePlease choose one option from the list below that best fits your current work role:

[ ] Student Social Worker

[ ] Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) (up to 12 months in practice)

[ ] Social Worker

[ ] Senior Practitioner (including Non-Case Holding Senior Practitioners)

[ ] Social Work Team Manager

[ ] Other – (i.e. non-case holding Social Worker – e.g. IRO or Quality Assurance Team)

How many years have you worked for the LB Redbridge Children’s Services?

[ ] Less than 1 year [ ] From 1 to 3 years

[ ] From 4 – 6 years [ ] From 7 to 11 years

[ ] From 12 to 20 years [ ] More than 20 Years

On which of the following basis are you employed?

[ ] On a permanent contract

[ ] On a fixed term or temporary contract

[ ] Via an agency

How many years of qualified social work experience do you have in total?

Please include all places of employment since qualifying.

[ ] Less than 1 year [ ] From 1 to 3 years

[ ] From 4 – 6 years [ ] From 7 to 11 years

[ ] From 12 to 20 years [ ] More than 20 Years


Section 2: Workload managementDo you ever work over and above your contracted hours in order to keep up with your workload?

[ ] Never

[ ] Occasionally

[ ] Most weeks

[ ] Every week

When you accumulate flexi time, how easy is it for you to take it?

[ ] Easy – I can usually schedule this in within the next working period.

[ ] Sometimes difficult due to work pressure or other staff absence.

[ ] Always difficult – I have to wait to take it.

[ ] Impossible – it can never be fitted in around commitments.

Did you carry over Annual Leave from last year because you were unable to schedule in sufficient time to take it?

YES/NO If YES, how many days? [ ]

Have you ever had to cancel previously agreed Annual Leave due to workload?

YES/NO

How often do you have to cancel or re-arrange training or other professional development activities previously agreed with your Line Manager/Supervisor due to case work demands?

[ ] Never [ ] Rarely [ ] Occasionally [ ] Often

Do you ever feel stressed about your workload or the nature of your work?

[ ] Rarely [ ] Occasionally [ ] Often [ ] Always

Have you taken sick leave in the last year due to stress at work?

YES/NO If yes, please estimate the number of days: [ ]

How many cases are allocated to you currently?

[ ] 1 – 5 [ ] 6 – 10 [ ] 11 – 15 [ ] 15 – 20 [ ] 21 – 25 [ ] 26+ [ ] N/A – non-case holding role


Do you feel your caseload is manageable?

[ ] Completely [ ] Almost [ ] Not really [ ] Not at all

How much time in a typical week do you spend undertaking direct work with children, young people and families on visits etc?

[ ] 0 – 1 hour [ ] 1 – 2 hours [ ] 2 – 3 hours [ ] 3 – 4 hours

[ ] 4 – 5 hours [ ] 5 – 6 hours [ ] 6 hours+ [ ] N/A

How efficiently do you believe your skills as a Social Worker being used?

Very Efficiently Efficiently Neutral Inefficiently Completely Inefficiently

Please comment on your answer in the box below.

Are there tasks that you feel you should be doing but you don’t get time to do?

YES/NO

If Yes, please detail in the box below.

Are there tasks that you do that you feel should be undertaken by support staff (e.g. administrator, outreach worker)?

YES/NO

If YES, please detail in the box below.

How many hours a week on average do you spend doing routine admin tasks?

[ ] 0 – 2 hours [ ] 3 – 5 hours [ ] 6 – 10 hours

[ ] More than 10 hours.


Section 3: Having the right tools to do the jobDo you have access to the following resources?

[ ] Citrix (extranet) [ ] Laptop for mobile working

[ ] Mobile phone [ ] Lockable drawer for your personal items

[ ] Adequate private meeting space

Do you experience any of the following problems with the ICT and equipment you access?

[ ] ICS Protocol/CareWorks going off line frequently

[ ] Outlook ‘inbox’ too congested to send mail

[ ] Photocopier unreliable

[ ] Phone line down

[ ] Slow running of PC

[ ] Access to a scanner

[ ] Other – please comment below:

To what extent do you feel the Integrated Children’s System (ICS) Protocol/CareWorks supports your work as a Social Worker?

[ ] To a large extent – it has made my job easier

[ ] To a reasonable extent

[ ] Only a very small extent

[ ] Not at all – in fact it has made my job harder

[ ] N/A – I don’t use a case work management tool

How do you currently feel about ICS Protocol/CareWorks?

Please detail in the box below.

What would you like to change about ICS Protocol/CareWorks?

Please detail in the box below.


What percentage of your time do you spend inputting data into ICS Protocol/CareWorks during a typical working day?

[ ] 0 – 10% [ ] 11% – 20% [ ] 21% – 30%

[ ] 31% - 40% [ ] 41% – 50% [ ] 51% - 60%

[ ] 61% - 70% [ ] 71% - 80% [ ] 81% - 90%

[ ] 91% - 100%

How satisfied with the Protocol/CareWorks training you received were you?

[ ] Completely satisfied [ ] Partially satisfied [ ] Not very satisfied

Please comment on your answer in the box below, including any improvements to the training offered that you would like to suggest..

How do you usually get to hear important information relating to changes in plans, priorities, and working arrangements?

Please choose a maximum of three options.

[ ] From my Line Manager/Supervisor

[ ] From Team colleagues

[ ] From outside of the Local Authority

[ ] CASCADE – Corporate, Service or Local Brief

[ ] One Minute Guides

[ ] Via the office grapevine

[ ] Redbridge I (website)

[ ] Redbridge Intranet

[ ] Team/Staff Meeting

[ ] E-mail from Workforce Development

[ ] Other


Section 4: Learning and development(a) To what extent would you agree with the following statement:

“LBR Children’s Services is a learning organisation and has a positive learning culture”

[ ] Completely [ ] Partly

[ ] To a great extent [ ] Slightly [ ] Not at all

Please comment on your answer in the box below, including any ideas that you have that would contribute to the development of a learning culture.

(b) Do you feel that Children’s Services is more of a learning organisation now than this time last year?

[ ] Yes [ ] No

How satisfied are you with the learning and development opportunities that are on offer to you from LB Redbridge?

[ ] Completely

[ ] To a great extent

[ ] Partly

[ ] Slightly

[ ] Not at all

How often do Team Meetings take place?

[ ] Weekly [ ] Monthly [ ] Most months

[ ] Every six months [ ] Rarely [ ] Never

Do you receive regular feedback and updates from management team meetings?

YES/NO


Section 5: Supervision and performance management How often do you receive formal supervision with your Line Manager/Supervisor?

[ ] At least once a month [ ] Once or twice in the last year

[ ] Most months [ ] Never

[ ] Once or twice in the last six months

How often do supervision sessions get postponed or cancelled?

[ ] Never [ ] Rarely [ ] Sometimes [ ] Frequently

How satisfied with the quality of your supervision are you?

[ ] Completely [ ] To a greater extent [ ] Partially [ ] Not at all

Do you get sufficient opportunity within supervision for the following:

[ ] Reflection [ ] Discussion of learning and development needs

[ ] Coaching [ ] Mentoring [ ] Emotional support with issues

[ ] Not answered

How satisfied are you with the support you receive from your Line Manager/Supervisor where you have complex cases involving risk or safeguarding?

[ ] Completely [ ] To a greater extent [ ] Partially [ ] Not at all

Do you have ready access to discuss urgent issues outside of supervision?

[ ] Always [ ] Most of the time [ ] Occasionally [ ] Never

Have you ever felt that you have needed to make an important decision relating to a case and have not been able to access support to do so?

[ ] Never [ ] Once or twice [ ] Sometimes [ ] Often

[ ] Not answered

Have you undertaken a Performance Management Review, incorporating an update of your Personal Development Plan in the past six months?

YES/NO


Have you taken part in a telephone interview with a representative from the Workforce Development Team relating to your experience of Supervision?

YES/NO

If YES, do you think that this is a useful way for you to provide your feedback?

YES/NO

Section 6: Your general viewpointTo what extent do you agree with the following statements?

I know who the Children’s Services Senior Managers are and can recognise them.

[ ] Completely [ ] Partly [ ] Not at all

Communication between staff and senior managers is effective.


Staff are consulted and involved in proposed changes.


I feel more positive about my role and employment with LBR Children’s Services than I did a year ago.

[ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A – I have been in post for less than one year.

Please indicate how frequently you agree with the statements below:

I look forward to going to work.

[ ] Always [ ] Often [ ] Sometimes [ ] Never

I feel enthusiastic about my job.


Times passes quickly when I am working.


To what extent are you satisfied with the following elements of your ‘reward’ package:

Element Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied

Salary

Annual Leave

Below is a space for you to comment on your response, should you wish to:

Please state one or two things that you would change about your job if you could. This can include any aspect of your role, learning and development or working environment etc.

Please state one or two things that make you feel positive by the LB Redbridge as an employer and contribute to you wanting to continue working in Redbridge. This can include any aspect of your role, learning and development, or working environment etc.

Would you like the opportunity to discuss the feedback you have provided within the survey to provide more detail or receive support.

YES/NO

If YES, please indicate who you would like to take this exercise with:

[ ] Line Manager/Supervisor [ ] Team Manager

[ ] Service Manager [ ] Member of the Workforce Development Team

[ ] HR Employee Relations

Local Government Association Local Government House Smith Square London SW1P 3HZ

Telephone 020 7664 3000 Fax 020 7664 3030 Email [email protected] www.local.gov.uk

For a copy in Braille, larger print or audio, please contact us on 020 7664 3000. We consider requests on an individual basis. L14 - 697

© Local Government Association, November 2014

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