principal children and families social worker …...2019/03/29 · principal children and families...
TRANSCRIPT
Principal Children and Families Social Worker network meeting
Friday 29 March 2019
Welcome & minutes of last meeting
Claudia Megele & Adam BirchallNational Co-Chairs
@AdultPSWNetwork
What Works Centre update
Michael Sanders & Ewan King
What Works Centre
for Children’s Social CarePrincipal Children and Families Social Worker Network Meeting
Birmingham, 29th March 2019
Michael Sanders, Executive Director WWC
Anna Bacchoo, Head of Practice WWC
Ewan King, Chief Operating Officer, Social Care Institute for
Excellence
What is the What Works Centre?
● We are an independent organisation
● Dedicated to collating, creating and translating
the best and most useful evidence possible to
help social workers to support children and
families
○ Collating - finding the evidence that’s out there,
reviewing it, and pulling it together in an accessible
way
○ Creating - where there are gaps - or new innovations -
working to ensure that high quality evaluation happens
What is the What Works Centre?
Our principles for getting at What Works;
● Impact
● Nuance
● Usefulness
● Empowerment
What is the What Works Centre?
What are we up to?
What are we up to?
● Testing the impacts of
devolving budgets to social
workers
○ Working with Hillingdon,
Darlington and Wigan
○ Working to support families at
the edge of care
○ Working to reduce the need for
care
● Testing placing Social
What are we up to?
● Happier Healthier
Professionals
○ Social Work Turnover is 15%pa
○ We’re working with 25
authorities on research to
reduce turnover
○ Reduce sickness
○ Bolster resilience
○ Help social workers to thrive
● Schwartz Rounds
What are we up to?
● Machine Learning
○ Trying to shine some light into a
complex and sometimes
contentious area
○ Working with 7 local authorities
to test the accuracy and value
of predictive analytics
○ We’ve commissioned a review
of the ethics of their use
○ Carrying out deliberative
discussions with the profession
and others
What are we up to?
● New projects are starting all the time - we’re
working on research projects with 47 local
authorities so far.
● We want to work with the sector to work out
what to do next
● We want to support innovation and good
practice that’s coming out of the sector
Engagement so far
● 21 Pioneer Partner Authorities
● 6 Change Project Partners
● 32 local authorities visited
● Practitioner Panel
● CYP Panel
● Families and carers panel
● #iuseevidence Event
● 4500 twitter followers
What have we heard?
● You can’t simply ‘lift and shift’
● Working with the sector to set the agenda and on
research, increases relevance and usefulness
● It can be difficult to determine quality of evidence
- you want a trusted source
● Good practice exists everywhere, not just in the
Partners in Practice sites
● Lots of great practice happening, little evaluation.
Practice in Need of Evidence (PINE)
● Officially launched today!
● Evolution of our prototyping work with Pioneer
Partners in 2018/19.
● Brings together a suite of products and services
to support a journey to a robust evidence-base.
● Based on the principle that excellent practice is
happening all over the country (not just in
Outstanding or Good LAs).
● We are looking for promising practice that needs
an evidence-base.
Practice in Need of Evidence (PINE)
● Our aim is to support a number of local authorities
to be ready to work with WWC on RCTs in 2020
to produce the highest quality evidence about
what works.
● We want to support promising practice,
particularly where there is little or no evidence at
present.
● We will support successful LAs to become
generally more evidence-minded and provide
tools and resources to enable self-evaluation.
● Where there is early indication of evidence that
something works, we will take this forward to an
Practice in Need of Evidence (PINE)
Selection criteria:
● Specific activity or way of working.
● Financially self-sustaining.
● Concrete measurable outcomes that relate to
children and families.
● Innovative idea or something that’s been around
for a long time.
● Not part of the Innovations Programme.
Practice in Need of Evidence (PINE)
We would like to work with a broad range of practice
areas.
- What are your priority areas of practice?
- Where are the gaps in evidence?
Refreshment Break
Principal Children and Families Social Worker Network Meeting 29 March 2019
This year so far….• We published the appointment rules and the appointment rules consultation response
on 31 January 2019
• We worked with the Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care steering group, and the two Chief Social Workers to finalise drafts of rules and standards
• We launched our brand on 19 February 2019
• We launched our consultation on 21 February 2019 – to end 1 May 2019
• We launched our recruitment for 7 regional leads and Head of Strategic Engagement
Consultation on rules and standards 1. Professional standards covering standards of proficiency (the skills and expertise that social workers are required to have), standards of performance, conduct and ethics (the way that social workers are expected to work) and standards for continuing professional training and development
2. Standards of education and training covering standards to be met by social work educational courses and training
3. Registration rules, including criteria for eligibility (including English language requirements), renewal and restoration, CPD requirement, registration procedures and registration fees
4. Education and training rules, including criteria for the approval of courses and the role of inspectors of courses
5. Fitness to practise rules, including standard of acceptance, case examiner decision making guidance, pre-hearing case management procedure and indicative sanctions guidance for hearing panels
Concern received
Close concer
n
Triage
Investigation / preparation
for case examiners
Concern does not meet the triage test
Case examiner
s
Warning
Advice
No action
Disposal without a hearing
Can be closed by case examiners –
agreement not necessary
Social worker agrees?
Close concer
n
Refer to the adjudicators
Yes
No
Case opene
d
Can be closed by case examiners
Triage At triage, we will consider a concern and decide whether it is something that we can, and should, take forward, taking into account a number of different factors
Case Examiners are able to dispose of a case with a range of different options; advice, warning, conditions or suspension. Disposal means they can conclude the case, although some of these options will require a review at a later date
Timeline • 10 week consultation 21 February - 1 May 2019
• Consultation events in London, Plymouth, Salford, Newcastle, Birmingham and Sheffield
• Specific consultation events for people with lived experience of social work
• Online surveys https://socialworkengland.org.uk/rules-and-standards/
• Twitter Q&As that focus on a different aspect of the consultation, go to our Twitter page and use #SocialWorkEngland to ask your question
• Wednesday 27 March, 12:00-13:00 | Jonathan Dillon, Executive Director, Fitness to Practise
• Monday 8 April, 17:00-18:00 | Philip Hallam, Executive Director, Registration and Quality Assurance
• Wednesday 17 April, 13:00-14:00 | Sarah Blackmore, Executive Director, Standards
When the consultation closes…• Post consultation analysis
• Social Work England Board workshop mid May
• Draft amendments to the rules and standards based on consultation responses and revised rules and standards
• The outcomes of the consultation will then be put before the Secretary of State for review of rules and approval of standards
• Following review and approval we will publish the consultation response, rules, standards and guidance on the Social Work England website
Promote the rights, interests and
wel lbeing of people
Establish and maintain the trust and
confidence of people to effect change
Chal lenge unethical practice and report
concerns
Uphold trust and confidence in my
practice and in the social work profession
Be accountable for the quality of my work and the decisions I
make
Take responsibility for maintaining my
professional identity and developing my
knowledge and skills
Knowledge and Skills
Statements C&F
Knowledge and Skills
Statements Practice
Supervisors
Knowledge and Skills
Statements Senior
Leaders
Knowledge and Skills
Statements Permanence
Knowledge and Skills
Statements Adults
Professional Capability
Framework 9 Domains 8
levels (BASW)
Practice Educator
Professional Standards
(Col lege of Social Work)
Knowledge and Skills
Statements Practice
Supervisors
Adults
Approved Mental Health
Professional
Social Work England will
approve
Best Interest Assessor
Social Work England will
approve
Draft Social Work England regulatory standards
Post qualifying standards; knowledge and skills statements - Department for Education
Post qualifying knowledge and skills statements Department of Health and Social Care
Knowledge and Skills Statement for Social Workers in Adult Services
Alignment What is the relationship between:
• Regulatory standards,
• A Continuous Professional Development Framework,
• The Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF), and
• The Knowledge and Skills statements for adults and child and family social workers (KSS).
Where do they align, where are they different, how do we communicate them clearly and unambiguously?
• Promote awareness of the consultation and encourage colleagues to respond to the online surveys
• Think about the challenges and opportunities at regional level for networking and involvement of Regional leads
• We need to talk about … Ambition … Collaboration … oh and fees
Carrying on the conversation
PSW strategic update
Claudia Megele & Adam BirchallNational Co-Chairs
29 March 2019 PCFSW Programme 2018/2020 Progress Report 33
PCFSW Work Programme 2018-2020 progress update
Project and/or work programme initiative Status Progress & Actions Outputs
Continued and active collaboration with the DfE Ongoing Good progress and progress report delivered on 29 MarchSystemic leadership programme; Annual joint conference; and 3 strategic outputs
Active contribution and collaboration with WWC Ongoing Update from WWC on 29 March 2019 Collaborate with WWC to ensure practitioners' voice
Supporting DfE's implementation of the KSS & NAAS Ongoing Good progress and progress report delivered on 29 March Updates, materials, and resources
Developing PSWs' media and communication skills as a component of practice leadership
Finalised AgreementAgreement with Community Care finalised and we will send out an update next month to all members.
Workshops for PSWs, video output and guide/resources that could be used by PSWs
Social media and digital/holistic safeguarding and practice innovation
Ongoing Working group created & 1st meeting of Working Group is today 2 ebooks and resources that could be used by all PSWs
Quality Assurance, peer reviews and practice dillemmas Ongoing We will make further announcement about this project. Regular practice sharing & learning events for PSWs
Voice of the Child and service user partnership in practice
OngoingWe have supported the TACT work & will be carried forward as part of the Workstresms on holisitc safeguarding and quality assurance.
Helpful resources to be shared with PSWs
Recruitment and retention & workforce strategy Pending Clarification of scope, outcomes, outputs, and a workgroup around it TBD
Celebrating Social Work Day with a brief ebookCompleted 2019
ebookWil be preparing for a 2020 ebook WSWD ebook 2019 & 2020
29 March 2019 PCFSW Programme 2018/2020 Progress Report 34
PCFSW Work Programme 2018-2020 progress update
Project and/or work programme initiative Status Progress & Actions Outputs
Continued and active collaboration with the DfE OngoingGood progress and progress report delivered on 29 March
Systemic leadership programme; Annual joint conference; and 3 strategic outputs
Active contribution and collaboration with WWC OngoingUpdate from WWC on 29 March 2019
Collaborate with WWC to ensure practitioners' voice
Supporting DfE's implementation of the KSS & NAAS
OngoingGood progress and progress report delivered on 29 March
Updates, materials, and resources
Developing PSWs' media and communication skills as a component of practice leadership
Finalised Agreement
Agreement with Community Care finalised and we will send out an update next month to all members.
Workshops for PSWs, video output and guide/resources that could be used by PSWs
Social media and digital/holistic safeguarding and practice innovation
OngoingWorking group created & 1st meeting of Working Group is today
2 ebooks and resources that could be used by all PSWs
29 March 2019 PCFSW Programme 2018/2020 Progress Report 35
PCFSW Work Programme 2018-2020 progress update
Project and/or work programme initiative Status Progress & Actions Outputs
Quality Assurance, peer reviews and practice dillemmas
OngoingWe will make further announcement about this project.
Regular practice sharing & learning events for PSWs
Voice of the Child and service user partnership in practice
Ongoing
We have supported the TACT work & will be carried forward as part of the Workstresms on holisitc safeguarding and quality assurance.
Helpful resources to be shared with PSWs
Recruitment and retention & workforce strategy
PendingClarification of scope, outcomes, outputs, and a workgroup around it
TBD
Celebrating Social Work Day with a brief ebookCompleted 2019 ebook
Wil be preparing for a 2020 ebook
WSWD ebook 2019 & 2020
Lunch
Hearing Children and Young People: PSWs as Practice Leaders and
“Innovators” Mark Owers
Independent Government Adviser on Looked After Children and Permanence
What should children and young people expect, what are their rights?
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in England in 1991 with all other parts of the UK; and indeed almost all countries across the world.
• It brought the right to:• freedom of expression for children and young people;
and • access to appropriate information to allow them to be
informed about, and involved in decisions about their lives.
• These rights for children and young people in care have been a particular focus.
As social workers, we know that right!
• We all have our own motivations to work in social work.
• Personally, I chose to become a social worker for a number of reasons - personal experience, a desire to make a difference, interest in social justice
• I chose children and families social work because I wanted to make a difference to children and young people. I’ve always loved kids.
• I also became a social worker because I’m a people person, I am attracted to working with people, particularly children and young people.
• I started off as a family support worker playing with children with emotional and behavioral difficulties on the beach, in the sea and in the woods in Jersey. We used to have so much fun.
• Interestingly, they were always most disruptive at the end of the day on the way home…
Inter-personal skills, relationship based practice, being at ease with children and young people and keeping them in mind are important.
• It turns out, quite by accident, that my pre-qualifying experience gave me a good grounding in working with children and families.
• If I’m honest, I actually thought playing with children and seeing them laugh was social work. The case management world of statutory social work I entered in 1997 in the London Borough of Ealing was a rude awakening.
• I have always strived to hang-on to my inter-personal skills, values and self-knowledge, my “soft skills” that I had when I set out.
• But this has been one of the greatest challenges of my varied career in social work, balancing the “soft skills” with theory, policy, legislation, practice wisdom, resource constraints and limited time.
Getting this balance right is fundamental to hearing children and young people
Why is hearing the voice of children and young people important?
• Children feel listened to
• When children are involved, plans are more successful
• We can see their experience, from their point of view
• Children can develop their own story about what is happening in their lives
“Spending time with children, talking to them, and making sure that you are actively listening and taking seriously what they say is an essential safeguarding activity.”
• NCB (2006)
Children and young people know what they want from
children’s social care staff and other adults
• Get to know us; spend time with us and give us your attention
• Don’t get us to repeat our story over and over again
• Keep us at the centre of the decisions you make
• Be honest with us and explain in a way we can understand
• Let us make some decisions about our own life
• Don’t make assumptions about our thoughts and feelings
We heard from many children and young people throughout our review of fostering
• They told us about the positive aspects of fostering such as feeling safe, belonging, being loved, feeling part of the family, and having a ‘normal life’.
• Placing them - matching them - with a family who are able and willing to offer that is vital.
• Children and young people invariably stressed the importance of positive relationships with foster carers, particularly as a means to placement stability.
But, children and young people also told us…
• Like the Care Enquiry before us - we heard that too often, children and young people did not feel that they were involved in decisions about their lives, including about matching.
• One of the main determinants of whether a child feels effectively and consistently involved in decision-making is the quality of relationship with their social worker. The quality of such relationships appears - at best - mixed.
• Some children regard their social workers positively, describing a strong sense of feeling supported and having a ‘friend’ they could rely on. Others, used words such as ‘unreliable’, ‘invisible’ or ‘patronising’. Too often we heard from children and young people, but also from their carers about their social workers changing frequently, making impossible the development of a trusting relationship and, inevitably, encouraging a child or young person to feel ignored by the system.
• Too many children experienced numerous moves, often not informed about why their current placement was ending and why they were moving to new placement. There was also little detail of the timing of such a move and, as a consequence, too little time to prepare.
Why is it so difficult to hear children and young people- root cause problem solving?
• The research into the participation of children and young people in care and child protection systems has consistently evidenced two key issues:1. that children and young people do not feel heard or understood
and2. that professionals lack the skills, confidence and sufficient time to
ascertain the wishes and feelings of children and young people.
• These challenges are compounded by the large numbers of social workers and other child care professionals that children and young people in care come into contact with.
• Workers are often working within systems that are inherently disempowering for both themselves and their clients.
• Munro (2011) reported that learning to listen to children and young people is not straightforward.
• Working and communicating with children and young people who have experienced multiple adversity and trauma can be challenging.
• This can lead workers to think that the child or young person is not engaging or cannot be engaged.
• More robust reflection and support is necessary to help practitioners explore whether they are adequately skilled and confident in their ability to communicate and to build relationships with children and young people.
• The organisational context must also support and facilitate these practice efforts.
Why is it difficult to hear children and young people?
Have care experienced children and young people engaged in an ongoing dialogue that has led to, and can be evidenced, change for:
• them personally; and
• systematically for all children and young people?
Voice of Young People in Care (VOYPIC)
The key question for practice leaders
We have lots of insights to understand children’s experiences of the care system
• Range of topics covered - placements and care planning, children’s and young people’s own attitudes and behaviours, family and friends, education and leisure, health and wellbeing, their local environment, money and, for those leaving care settings, transition.
• Variety of methods - surveys, interviews, focus groups, Children in Care Councils and the like but also through new or innovative approaches e.g. MOMO App, peer research and training
• Reach more or less all groups - males, females and transgender; white, black and Asian; people with and without disabilities and SEND; children and young people in a range of care settings and placements; from the very young to young adults transitioning from care settings.
What is already working?
• Direct engagement with children in care and care leavers is widespread.
• Organisations recognise the importance of participating directly with children and young people.
• Children in Care Councils often undertake activities with the specific and primary aim of understanding children’s views and experiences – taking over parliament, recruitment, staff training, advocacy
• Activities by children’s services, voluntary organisations and statutory bodies are often focused on evaluating a programme or intervention, or informing practice and policy at local or national level.
What do we not yet have?
• We have a dissonance between the work of CIC and the experiences of individual children in care
• We are not clear how successful an activity was (in achieving its intended aim); and
• Lack of transparency about the ethical considerations involved in the research and any actions taken to ensure activities did not compromise the best interests of children involved.
• Organisations do not routinely publish information about the outcomes or impact of their participation work, such as whether it leads to changes in policy or practice.
• Organisations also do not routinely publish outputs from participation work or say whether these are disseminated or to whom.
• For many organisations, this work takes the form of a one-off project, or is in its early stages.
So what about hearing us?
What do you want?
• help to access guidance and support on engaging with children and young people;
• support to share good practice; and
• more systematic ways of seeking, recording and analysing children’s views and experiences, including how they change over time.
National Assessment and Accreditation System update
Claire OwensNational Assessment and Accreditation
System
OFFICIAL SENSITIVE 54
PSW network29 March 2019
What we’ve achieved so far…
55
All five phase 1s have put social workers forward and a further 11 out of 16 Phase 2s have started to take the assessment
500 social workers have been practice endorsed against the KSS by their employer
200+ social workers have taken the assessment between July 2018-March 2019. Over 100 are booked in April- May
Feedback from assessment centers remains positive. All social workers who attended the assessment centers have completed the
assessment.
We have a further 35 sites joining us in Phase 2 enabling us to test alternative models and approaches to NAAS
NAAS sites March 2019 – 56 in total
56
North East: (3)• Durham• Darlington• Middlesbrough North West: (11)
• Bolton• Bury• Lancashire• Manchester• Oldham• Rochdale• Salford• Stockport• Trafford• Warrington• Wigan
West Midlands -Future Social (14)• Birmingham• Coventry• Dudley• Herefordshire• Shropshire• Solihull• Staffordshire• Stoke• Telford and Wrekin• Walsall• Warwickshire• Wolverhampton• Worcestershire• Sandwell
South West: (2)• Cornwall• Plymouth
East Midlands: (3)• Lincolnshire • Nottinghamshire• Derby City East: (3)
• Central Beds• Essex• Southend
London: ( 9)• Bexley• Hackney• Hammersmith and
Fulham• Islington• Kensington and
Chelsea• Lambeth• Lewisham• Waltham Forest• Westminster
South East: (2)• Hampshire• West Berkshire
Yorkshire and Humber: (9)• Barnsley• Bradford• Calderdale• Doncaster CT• Leeds• North East
Lincolnshire• Nth Lincs• Nth Yorks• Rotherham
Progress on improved results letter …
62
What next for you?
• Sent out by Skills for care – 7th/8th
March• Express interest to DfE initially or to
me today!• Variety of endorsement options• Send practice endorsement forms
online.• Attend peer workshops if that’s your
preferred option -Use then or lose them!
8/9th May – London 29/30th May – Nottingham October dates and locations – TBC
Refreshment Break
Chief Social Worker update
Isabelle TrowlerChief Social Worker
