NEWPORT CITY COUNCIL
NEWPORT’S 2007-8 UPDATE OF THE STRATEGIC SOCIAL CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
2005 - 2010
Penny Lloyd-Evans
Training Manager
The Bridge Training Centre
Newport City Council
01633 414600 April 2008
NEWPORT’S 2007-8 UPDATE OF THE STRATEGIC SOCIAL CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2005 - 2010
CONTENTS
1 Executive Summary
2 Summary of Progress
3 Progress on 2007 – 8 action Identified in Newport’s Five Year Strategic Plan 2005 - 2010
4 Significant changes in the direction or objectives of Newport’s Five Year Strategic Plan
5 Appendix One – Social Work Training Plan
NEWPORT’S 2007-8 UPDATE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE SOCIAL CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2005 – 2010
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
During 2007-8 the work of Newport’s Social Care Workforce Development Partnership has continued to bear fruit, supported by the Partnership Coordinator, the City Council Social Wellbeing and Housing Training Team and the commitment of the SCWDP Management Board. Three well attended full partnership meetings have taken place; in addition to the usual planning and review discussions there have been presentations from WAG on the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, on the updated Social Care Induction Framework and Social Care Qualification Framework, and on Newport’s Outcome Focused Planning initiative; partners have had hands on access to a range of new CD training packages, now available to them on loan, and have contributed to the development of the Partnership website which is now up and running. There has been high level attendance on the SCWDP and S E Wales Consortium programmes of non qualifying training events and improved % take up of places following the introduction of charges for non-attendance. For the first time Partnership employees from the independent sector were in the majority at Newport’s Annual Social Care Award Ceremony, held in the Riverfront Theatre in January 2008. The achievement of qualifications by 98 individuals including one family carer and several foster carers was recognised. The key speaker was the Chief Executive of the local LHB, herself a carer. Significant progress towards social care qualification targets has been made in all areas.
The Partnership has contributed to Newport’s draft Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Strategy 2008 – 2011 and has been instrumental in the success of the social care element of a pilot scheme, introducing Year 11 pupils to employment, led by Newport’s Lifelong Learning and Education Service. It has been decided, following positive evaluation of the pilot, that the scheme will be offered to a higher number of pupils this year and will be extended into a second college based year for current participants from Autumn 2008.. The SCWD Partnership is now represented on Newport’s Workforce and Skills Board which provides further opportunity to raise the profile of the social care sector.
In January 2008 the Management Board reviewed Newport’s SCWDP 2005 – 2010 Plan identifying good ongoing progress against objectives for 2007-8.The Partnership Coordinator had identified that the first language of circa 15% of the independent social care sector workforce is neither Welsh nor English. Concerned at the impact on quality of care experienced by service users, in March 2008 Management Board members commended proposals jointly developed with Coleg Gwent, to use a new source of funding to pilot a programme of language assessment, language training and social care induction for migrant workers.
The Partnership Management Board continues to meet two monthly; its complement of ten includes representatives of residential, day and domiciliary services, and of Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations who ensure the views of users and carers are consistently heard. The local HEI representative has a foot in two camps: the UWN social work degree and the higher level PQ accredited management programmes. The support of the Head of Coleg Gwent’s Business Unit who is also on the Board continues to ensure the relevance of FEI provision for social care providers in the Gwent area. Newport’s Commissioning, HR and Training Managers are active members of the Board and the Health Social Care and Wellbeing Partnership Manager contributes as appropriate.
The Bridge Social Wellbeing and Housing Training Team has supported the production of Newport’s draft Children and Young Peoples Partnership Plan 2008 - 2011, leading on the Workforce Chapter. and has been been key to the delivery and further development of Newport’s extensive SCWDP and Safeguarding Children Board Training Programmes. The filling of a vacancy in the administrative team in November 2007 has relieved high workload pressures.
The Partnership has been successful in 2007-8; it is reliably predicted that there will be more than 1250 attendances by participants other than Newport City Council employees at Newport SCWDP funded events. To date they have been well evaluated by participants and all SCWDP partner agencies are accessing the Bridge Training Centre where most courses are delivered. There has been further progress in increasing the Newport SCWDP membership database, in the use of the Workforce Information Template in the collection of data, in accessing the new Newport Learning Network arrangements and in collaboration with neighbouring SCWDP Partnerships.. The percentage of statistical returns received this year from the commissioned agencies re training needs and workforce information has been maintained due to the perseverance of Newport’s Partnership Coordinator. Due to the absence of the SCiP[SE] Coordinator some aspects of regional development have slowed, however the affiliated Social Work Education and Training Group [SWETG] and its PQ sub group have continued to meet and support Social Work Degree and new PQ SW framework initiatives
Service users and carers have again been well engaged in the selection of the next [fifth] cohort of students for the University of Wales Newport Social Work Degree [entry September 20087] and a high volume of applications for the course is once more reported. The first cohort of 19 graduates have now emerged from the UWN SWD Programme with excellent results; they include seven Newport City Council sponsored employees. The UWN Social Work Degree programme has again been well evaluated by the Care Council for Wales and by the external examiners, and Pan Gwent arrangements to identify practice learning opportunities for all 148 social work degree students hosted by the SCOLA consortium’s six authorities have proved effective. However, following review of the SCOLA function in 2007-8 and given the increased accountability of individual Local Authorities for the quality of student work experience, it has been agreed that the partner agencies’ Memorandum of Agreement [for the period April 2005 – March 2008] should not be extended. New ‘in-house’ arrangements for the support of students’ practice learning will come into effect in 2008 and in 2008-9 considerable work on the development of new models of programme delivery by the stakeholder agencies will take place.
The Newport SCWDP customer survey of 2007-8 provided positive feedback and endorsed arrangements currently in place. Further consultation, undertaken since the survey, underpins the programme of courses 2008-9, their administration and model of delivery. Feedback suggests that Newport SCWDP’s programme of non-qualifying training for provider services has been very well received; some elements of the programme continue in high demand: specifically the certificated Administration of Medication course and the series of four programmes developed with PSMW support for inexperienced and new social care managers. The POVA course for managers of provider services will be redesigned in the light of feedback received by managers from CSSIW Inspectors
Promotion of the training and development pathways for the whole sector, which first appeared in the appendix of the Newport’s 2006-7 Plan, will continue to be a 2008-9 focus and their significance will no doubt be underlined by further work on National Occupational Standards in Health and Social Care, being undertaken currently by the Sector Skills Council.. Newport is well connected with the national, regional and local social care agenda via its contribution to planning and development initiatives at all levels: the Care Council, PQ Consortium for Wales, Regional Social Care Partnership, and through active membership of national, regional, sub-regional and local consortia delivering qualifying and non-qualifying interdisciplinary training under joint arrangements
The Partnership has agreed the continued SCWDP contribution to the NVQ bursary fund: that a maximum of £5,000 should be committed to the NVQ bursary fund in 2008-9; £100 per award is payable to the candidate’s employing agency, for the achievement of Health and Social Care NVQs and the A [Assessor] Award, where no other external funding stream is accessible.
The level of SCWDP funding available in 2008 – 9, is for the first time, since its introduction in 2003, slightly reduced. This reduction of 1.5% is significant as inflation impacts on some ‘given’ elements of the 2008-9 SCWDP programme. The priority for the Partnership continues to be the recrutment and retention of staff, and provision of cost effective programmes of qualifying and non-qualifying training to ensure the workforce is competent to meet the requirements of service users and carers. The Management Board is concerned by the funding reduction and will continue committed to making best use of available SCWDP and other agency resources, and to maximising access to other sources of funding. It will thus be particularly important in 2008-9 that new DCELLS arrangements for funding qualifying training are fully understood by Partnership agencies. There is no complacency in Newport SCWDP Management Board, in Newport City Council’s Operational or Commissioning teams in respect of ‘overdue’ qualification targets across Newport’s social care workforce, and the need to evidence robust induction arrangements for new social care staff and ‘ first year in practice’ support for newly qualified social workers. Funding will be directed in 2008-9 to target areas where need is greatest.: qualification targets in adult and children residential services, domiciliary services and fostering services.
The Management Board also recognises the challenge to ensure that the competence of all workers in adult and children fieldwork services reflects national occupational standards; this will be addressed in both areas of service by the introduction of new quality monitoring mechanisms and coaching and mentoring initiatives in 2008-9.
2007-8 has been a good year for Newport’s Partnership however capacity building via recruitment and retention, and staff development in the Sector, remains a key challenge for services.
Implementation of the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing, and Children and Young Peoples Strategies, 2008 – 2011, currently out in draft for consultation, will result in more cost effective models of service delivery and further collaboration between agencies in workforce development. Newport’s SCWDP Partnership has a significant part to play in these developments.
2008-9 will see further evidence of Newport’s commitment to ‘making connections’ work, in support of its commitment to the wellbeing and prosperity of all members of the community and the quality of social care services throughout Wales.
David Turner
Chair, Newport SCWDP
April 2008
2. SUMMARY OF PROGRESS
2.1 Analysis of progress made against the five year strategic plan
2.1.1 The following objectives were identified in broad consultation across the Partnership in 2004-5 and
informed Newport’s Five Year Strategic Plan
· Increase the proportion of staff across the Sector locally with the qualifications, skills and knowledge they need for the work they do.
· Expansion of the membership of the Partnership [to include independent fostering agencies] and level of activity of the Partnership
· Achievement of qualification targets and national minimum standards in non qualifying training for the whole workforce
· Availability of information to Partnership re non-qualifying training programmes [calendar x 3 per annum]
· Sustainable measures in place to ensure required qualification baseline can be maintained
· Effective use of resources for staff development across the sector
· Reliable database re workforce and workforce development maintained
· Agreement to provision by all service providers of in-house practice learning opportunities for students and individuals pre-employment
· Career and training pathways in place, pre-employment to employment and within employment
· Maintenance and expansion of Skilled to Care Schemes
· Delivery of leantime cost effective training programmes in support of new and existing policies and procedures
· Consistent funding streams for staff development across the care sector
· Maintenance of an Approved Provider List of trainers and consultants
· Sustained delivery of management development programme in support of sector wide Management Development Strategy.
· Introduction of a Pilot Funding Scheme for residential social care SMEs to support successor achievement of NTTs by the direct care workforce.
· Develop a Centre of Excellence for qualifying and non-qualifying training for the Social Care Workforce, based on Coleg Gwent, building on current partnership working between joint delivery of training by the five LAs and Coleg Gwent Business Development Unit
Many of the above objectives were incorporated into Newport’s SCWD Partnership Plan for 2007-8, with achievements as follow.
2.1.2 2007-8 Progress against the objectives contained in Newport’s Strategic SCWDP Plan 2005-2010
Objectives / Progress /· Map activities and groups relevant to the Partnership
· Engage with groups relevant to the Partnership and identify objectives to be achieved through the interaction
· Effective channels of communication in place between Partners
· Identify and develop information baseline re training, development and associated funding and resources for all Partners
· Identify deficits of essential training and development experienced by the Partnership
· Develop sustainable cost effective relationships between individual social care agencies and NVQ Assessment Centres
· Consult on and action outcome of Customer Survey
· Training and Development Pathways from 14yrs in place across the Sector: direct care, management, fieldwork, support staff
· Resources to promote CPD available across the Sector
· Cost effective qualifying and non-qualifying training provision across the Sector
· Engage users and carers in training delivery, fund and provide support
· Identify and deliver measures to improve recruitment and retention
· Support initiatives to develop the provider/ commissioner relationship and to Increase joint working within the Partnership via T&F groups
· Monitor, review and evaluate outcomes of the Partnership Plan / Further agencies identified and mapping of activities in which Newport SCWDP agencies involved at national, regional, sub regional and local level undertaken
Representation in Newport’s Children and Young People’sPartnership Coordinating Group ,with Newport’s Learning Network. With the national and ;regional PQSW groups; with the 14-19 learning pathway pilot group; with the South East Wales Consortia’s Mental Health Act Mental Capacity Act ,POVA and UACM implementation and training groups
NSCWDP newsletter and programme; NSCWDP Full Partnership Days [3]; SCWDP Website online and SCWDP page on the Newport Connexus website; Partnership Coordinator visits to members; representation at job fairs and 3 day Newport Schools careers event Feb 2008
Further refinement of workforce data to improve intelligence re Newport Social Care Sector’s qualification baseline 2007-8. Increased volume of data re funding streams and training sources used by Newport SC sector 2007-8
Sector’s 95% response to TNA; increased use of CSIW reports re training etc deficits; consultation via Full Partnership Days
Following DCELLs reprovisioning; assistance provided by Partnership Coordinator to a number of providers whose candidates lost access to NVQ Assessment Centre provision.
Customer Survey completed; outcome of analysis discussed with Management Board and actioned. Further ‘focused’ survey to be undertaken 2008-9
Successful DCELLS funded joint pilot undertaken with education to introduce VI form youngsters to social care work experience and associated professional training. Cohort 2 numbers to be increased 2008-9 and Cohort 1 participants to be offered College based year 2 with work experience/employment and NVQ 2 in Health and Social Care.
Financial etc resources provided for non qualifying training which is linked to training pathways
High volume of non-qualifying training linked to pathways delivered – 20% non –attendance addressed 2007-8 with some success; increased number of targeted qualifications gained across Sector 2007-8
Service users and carers engaged in implementation of POVA, Child Protection and Mental Capacity Act Training plans and in SW Degree Programmes and planned support and resources available in latter initiatives. Major initiative undertaken with staff re use of new models of consultation with children and young people, with c & yp participating
Attendance at job fairs and 3 day Newport Schools Careers event; training and development pathways established; retrospective bursaries and traineeship schemes for SW Degree students agreed by NCC Cabinet were successfully implemented 2007-8
Continued participation of commissioning and contracting team in design of SCWDP events and in Management Board activities; presentation re outcome focussed planning; agreement to provide 2008-9 workshops for provider managers re skills in responding to invitations to tender,etc...
Management Board routinely monitors action against objectives and monthly measures of non qualifying training attendance and SWB progress against qualification targets are disseminated.Partnership Coordinator mow liaises with commissioners and independent providers re course attendance and achievement of targeted qualifications.
2.2 Emerging effective practice