NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION
OF SOCIAL
WORKERS IN
EDUCATION
Founded 1884
ASSOCIATION
OF SOCIAL
WORKERS IN
EDUCATION
Founded 1884
EWS Training & DevelopmentThe Education Welfare Service and its predecessors are the oldest state funded 'social work' service in the UK with the roots of the profession dating back to the inception of compulsory education in the late 1880s. During this time other family support services were largely the province of the voluntary sector and the church.
The EWS has evolved over more than a hundred years and whilst some basic tasks remain the same, there now exists a huge variation in terms of pay, ways of working, qualification and progression and the breadth of work undertaken with families. There has also been continuing controversy over what is the most appropriate qualification.
In 1974 there was a review of the training requirements of the EWS commissioned by the now defunct Local Government Training Board. The review, known as the Ralph's review, concluded that a social work qualification was the most appropriate for the service and made recommendations which included access to social work training as well as recognition of the training needs of experienced staff that may not want to pursue this. Unfortunately the recommendations were not implemented nationally.
Subsequent campaigns by NASWE and the trade unions did little ensure access at national level to qualification, despite the CQSW and subsequently the DipSW being recognised by CCTESW (The former regulatory body) as the relevant qualification for EWOs. However some local authorities did and still do insist upon social work qualified status at entry and others have continued to support this by providing access to secondments and workplace courses leading to social work qualification.
Over the years a range of specialist qualifications have also been developed, mostly on an ad hoc basis and sometimes with only regional recognition. For a number of years the DfES facilitated meetings between the EWS, higher education Institutions, Ofsted and other interested parties to advise on training this was know as the Training Advisory Group (TAG). This mostly consisted of ad hoc courses, often organised and delivered by the EWS with some funding from government and a number of publications on relevant topics. This group was disbanded 3 years ago.
We saw something of a breakthrough in 2004. The development of a set of national occupation standards and a specific qualification for connexions personal advisors resulted in recognition that whilst there were some distinct differences between the role of Connexions PAs, Learning Mentors and EWOs many of the skills and knowledge were the same. So a unique set of standards, and a qualification were developed which brought together Connexions PAs, EWOs and Learning Mentors under the umbrella of Learning Development and Support Services for young people and those who care for them. (LDSS). The NOS and the NVQ qualification, although relatively new are gaining recognition and more may join that 'family' of learning development and support services.
The standards consist of 61 "Units of Competence" which relate directly to individual job functions. The full catalogue of units is available to view from the DfES web site www.dfes.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies. A CD-ROM is also available for the DfES Publications (telephone 0845 60 222 60 or email dfes@prolog.uk.com quoting reference number NOS/CD/JAN04).
www.dfes.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies/docs/qualification_structure.pdf.
Whilst to date there has been no national funding stream to support EWS access to NVQ 4 LDSS a letter was sent to all Directors of Children's Services in 2004 supporting its implementation.
Download letter from DfES (Helen Kay) 1 (62k). Re: National
Occupational Standards for Learning Development and Support Services for Children, Young People and Those Who Care
For Them.
The current position regarding qualification and progression for the EWS is unclear. Whilst the NVQ 4 LDSS is available for local authorities there has been no national funding stream to support its delivery and whilst many local authorities are accessing the NVQ and taking staff through the route, it is a piecemeal approach. There is no national agreement on appropriate qualifications for EWOs and local authorities vary in their requirements for entry qualifications.
A recent survey conducted by NASWE reveals a complex picture with practitioners and managers from a varied range of backgrounds with differing levels of qualification and experience. A significant proportion of those surveyed hold a social work qualification and many have higher level, graduate and post graduate qualifications. The NVQ 4 LDSS is, along with a social work qualification, the most frequently cited qualification recognised by local authorities according to the latest survey.
Download the background document (119k).
Work is underway, funded by CWDC Occupational Group funding to draft a framework for qualification and Progression for the EWS. See latest developments for more details.
NASWE with the help of Occupational Group Funding (OGF) is working with CWDC to promote EWS training. The NASWE project had 3 distinct strands and was completed in May 2007.
The project comprised three strands, all designed to build the NASWE's capacity to inform and consult with members and to provide information to support us in influencing policy on the future development of the EWS.
A postal survey was undertaken with a questionnaire to more than 300 NASWE members and a further 30 were involved in round table discussions at the NASWE conference 2007.
Feedback from respondents revealed strong support for a qualification and progression framework that supported greater flexibility within the children's workforce rather than an EWS specific award. The second part of this strand involved commissioning a workforce consultant to help us develop a qualification and progression framework for the EWS which recognises the diversity of the workforce and puts it firmly in the context of current children's workforce developments.
Download the training survey report (119k).
In addition to the survey and round table discussions, the sector also had the opportunity to hear about this work and related LDSS projects at a training event in November and the annual NASWE conference in April 2007. NASWE training events are generally priced to breakeven in order to ensure that as many members as possible can attend with limited local training budgets. The small subsidy from the OG funding lessened the 'risk' and allowed us space to include consultation sessions in the programme.
This strand comprised two parts. First funding to develop the technical aspects of the NASWE website and secondly funding to support an officer to undertake an information search and populate the site.
The website provides us with a cost effective methods of keeping in touch with members and offering information to non-members. Training and development is a significant issue for the service and a dedicated mini - site provides a single point of information for members with links to other sites.
This initial round of Occupational Group funding has been invaluable to NASWE as a small membership association. Whilst there have been some difficulties in delivering to the original timescale, we should bear in mind that with the difficulty of working with a group of people on an entirely voluntary basis, this was always a risky endeavour. NASWE's National Council have never been short of ideas, but this process has enabled us to present a much stronger argument for a future funded training strategy, backed up by sound information and a framework that is coherent and has "fit" with current workforce developments. We believe it will support NASWE in continuing to be the voice of EWS and play a useful part in determining its future development. In the absence of any other body to represent all grades in the sector, we believe that this funding was essential and will provide NASWE with a sound basis on which to continue our work.
NASWE has submitted a project bid for the second round which will, if funded, look at the types and complexity of casework undertaken by EWOs and other workers within the 'LDSS family' and give us much better information on skills gaps, casework supervision requirements etc. Further details will be posted if the project bid is successful.
At the NASWE National Conference in April 2007 there was a presentation by David Leay, workforce development consultant. He set out the current position and the challenges for the EWS and undertook a consultation exercise. This, along with survey data, will inform how a qualification and progression route for the EWS might look. Upon completion the sector will be invited to comment on the draft and NASWE will then use these findings to inform discussions with CWDC and other bodies to lobby for more investment into a qualification and funded progression route for the EWS.
In June, members of NASWE National Council participated in a closed seminar with CWDC to consider what has been learned through the OGF projects and the next steps.
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Towards a Qualification and Progression Framework for Education. |
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Download full project report including survey data and draft qualification and progression framework.
Download the full Report (239k).
Other projects funded supported by CWDC under OGF have a direct link to EWS training & development.
NTU APEL Project This project looked at using narrative to accredit experiential learning.
NTU NVQ 4 route This project looked at building assessor capacity for the EWS to deliver NVQ4 LDSS
Details on these projects can be found on the CWDC website.
Childrens Workforce Development Council (direct link to seminar reports-shortly!)
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Download David Leay's Presentation 2