1. NOPT conference 2017 Changes in Practice Education and Assessment
Cheryl Wall, Skills for Care

2. Practice education and assessment…
Overview:
Where are we now?
Work in progress/developments
Challenges
What’s next?

3. Practice education and assessment…
What do we have now:
Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF)
Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS)
Practice Development Educator (PDE) guidance – Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) assessor standard within Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSS), updates completed but not published
Direct observation guidance (on our website)
ASYE
KSSs– adults (social worker) & children and families (C&F) (social worker, practice supervisor and practice leader)

4. National Assessment and Accreditation
Standards
Context and developments
National Assessment and Accreditation
PCF
Teaching partnerships
Practice Educator Professional
Standards (PEPS)
C &F Practice Supervisor KSS
Adults’
Practice Supervisor Knowledge and Skills Statement
Direct Observation Guidance
Practice Development Educator Guidance
(ASYE standard)
Revised learning objectives
Adults Principal Social Worker KSS

5. Current developments – PEPS
Context – why changes….
Questions re status, standards, quality assurance increasing in 2016
Trawl for views – Early 2017
PEPS widely implemented but assessment process and development programmes vary considerably.
Variation in use and implementation of stage 1 and stage 2
Absence of national quality assurance (The College of Social Work accreditation could have contributed…)
Varying ‘currency’ arrangements
Strong message of support for national PEPS standards/accreditation
Variation in HEI accreditation
Recognition that review is needed…
BASW appointed to undertake this in partnership with profession/sector bodies, survey circulated by BASW and Skills for Care.

6. Current developments Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSS)
Practice Supervisors’ context…
KSSs for adult social work (ASYE) in 2015, child and family statements (practice supervisor and practice leader in Nov. 2015)
October 2016 Request from Lyn Romeo to draft KSS for practice supervisors (Link to C&F KSS, PCF and PEPS)
Working group established to developed draft statements and options for assessment and accreditation
Feedback gathered through network events
Report completed and sent to Lyn Romeo in early April
Further work/considerations:
Links with PEPS/PDE – BASW undertaking ‘refresh’
Alignment with principal social workers KSS

7. Current developments Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSS)
Practice supervisors’ draft statement
Role of practice supervisor in Adult social work
Social workers providing professional, reflective supervision
Operating at different levels within PCF dependent on role
May supervise social care staff
Supervision statement
Strengths based model to supervision
Assessment against professional standards
Importance of professional supervision if line manager is not RSW
Managerial and performance issues, professional development and providing emotional support/resilience

8. Current developments - KSS
Practice supervisors’ draft statement
Knowledge and Skills Statements (draft)
Comments
Values and ethics
Promoting and governing excellent practice
Developing excellent social workers
Promoting and supporting analysis and decision making
Relationship based practice supervision
PEPS prior accreditation? National QA challenge?
Shaping and influencing practice within the organisation and community
Effective use of power and authority as a supervisor
Assuring good social work practice and development
Performance management and improvement
Values and ethics an addition – Some the same as C & F others tweaked..

9. Practice Supervisors’ KSS - Update
Considerations/further work/questions….
eligibility (two years’ post registration) and currency
assessment and accreditation – ASYE model? How will this work in practice, transitional arrangements, implementation guidance
development activity/programmes
regulation
links with PEPS/PDE – alignment with BASW ‘refresh’
alignment with principal social workers KSS (working group established in June – to report in September)
Formal Department of Health consultation – Autumn 2017

10. Assessor/educator standards
Links to professional levels
Level
Title
KSS
Assessor Standard
Strategic
Strategic SW Educator
Principal Social Worker (Adults) ?
Advanced
Professional SW Educator
KSS Practice Supervisor (Adults linked to PCF)
Experienced Social Worker
ASYE
Social Worker
Qualifying
Practice Educator (split into stage 1 and 2)
KSS Practice Supervisor (Both)
Proposed progression/
accreditation from PEPS (Adults)
PEPS/PDE (Adults)
PEPS
KSS Social Worker (Both)
Coming back to the bigger picture
Start from left – fairly established. Titles – practice educator widely accepted, prof SW educator varied adoption?
KSS – newer, development from 2014/5 - Practice supervisor still in development
Assessor standards Working from bottom – PEPS is most straightforward at the moment but under review– then gets a bit trickier
Is this helpful – not sure – demonstrates the need for clarity? Potential for clearer understanding of the assessor role

11. What’s next….

12. What’s next…. Past Present Future??? Practice teaching/ education
Accredited practice teaching programmes since at least mid eighties (CCETSW/GSCC PTA)
2003 social work degree – ‘appropriately qualified and experienced’
PEPS since 2011
Fully implemented Autumn 2015
National standards but not quality assurance
Teaching partnerships criterion
Nationally accredited practice educator status?
Regulation?
Career progression/links
Practice teaching used as a step to management for some
Difficulties retaining practice educators
PEPS integrated within some JDs and used to support ASYE Increasingly promoted with career frameworks (teaching partnerships)
Progression from practice educator to practice supervisor?
Supervision
In house supervision/management training
PQ leadership programmes
Practice supervisor role establishing
Overlap with practice education and ASYE assessment variable
Assessment and accreditation?