1 Floor 3 94, St. Stephens Green Dublin 2 Web: Fit to Practice Educating Professionals Presented by: Michéle Clarke Chief Inspector: SSI

2 Report of Joint Committee on Social Care Professionals Audit of staff qualifications Children’s Residential Centres (October 2001) Residential Centres for People with Disability (April 2002)

3 Professional Qualification National Diploma in Childcare (HETAC/DIT) Diploma in Applied Social Studies (HETAC/DIT) Diploma in Social Care (HETAC/DIT) Diploma in Applied Social Studies – Social Care (DIT) National Diploma in Applied Social Studies (Disabilities) The Open Training College (HETAC)

4 Associate Degrees Degrees and Masters in Psychology and in Social Science

5 Other 3rd Level Qualifications Certificate level (HETAC/DIT) in Applied Social Studies, Youth and Community Studies Teaching Nursing

6 Professionally Qualified 54.9% Not Professionally Qualified 45.1%

7 Childcare Professionally qualified 44% Ass. Degree 10% Other 3 rd level 19% Pre 3 rd 9% Other 4% No Qualification 14% Total 100%

8 Social Services Inspectorate Established 1999 Standards: Children's Residential Centres and Foster Care Inspections completed to date: 83 Reports published: 65 Annual Reports: 3

9 Inspection Findings 174 children’s residential centres (102 are health board centres) Majority have 4 to 5 children 36 cater for one child only Young children

10 Positive Inspection Findings Relationships Primary Care Health Education Recreation Safeguarding Contact with families

11 Need to Improve Assessment Assessment impact on practice Planning outcomes Working with families (siblings) Reasons for care status and impact Working with troubled and troubling children

12 Social Care Work Client group Significant others Teams, organisations and networks Legislation, regulation, international convention, best practice Professional developments

13 Standards Standards of knowledge Standards of skills and practice Standards of ethics, values and self-development Standards of integration of knowledge, skills and values

14 Knowledge Normal psychological development Attachment and loss Specific profile of children in care Impact of poverty/addiction on families Why children come into care Safeguarding and child protection Legislation and regulation Social policy and service delivery issues

15 Skills Relationship building Working across disciplines and networks Working with family members Planning Direct work with child

16 Ethics Values Self Development Human rights Non-discrimination Non-judgemental Insight Boundaries Judgement

17 Integration Applying attachment theory or bereavement stages to day to day practice Human rights to practice, advocating on behalf of child’s right for an education Understanding own role in child’s behaviour