Social Work Career Structure Briefing Questions and Answers

Transcription

1 Social Work Career Structure Briefing Questions and Answers These are questions that were captured at the 6 briefing sessions held in October They have been grouped under a number of headings for ease of reference with a general/other section at the bottom. Questions have been reviewed to try to avoid duplication Section 1 - PQ/Progression/Traineeship Q1.1 Will the completion of PQ be mandatory? As in Somerset County Council it is mandatory to complete the PQ if you are a Social Worker A1.1 PQ is woven throughout the career structure and it is now an expectation that staff complete it. There has been significant investment set aside to fund PQ and 45 days backfill is being offered to those doing the PQ to cover work demands so we can really make this happen. Q1.2 How will the F grade SW become a G grade and is there some learning attached? A1.2 The requirements as regards Post Qualification Awards and CPD at every level is covered in the career structure document. Yes, there are specific requirements at the 3 differing levels. Progression between grades will be as usual i.e. people will be expected to apply for vacant posts. Q1.3 What about those in post already who do not have PQ? A1.3 It is known that many haven t got PQ awards yet but the courses are in place and available for staff to start. We have an issue around take up at present, for instance we had a Leadership and Management course this year and only 2 managers enrolled despite a widely cast promotion. I think this is about making sure that managers have the time and space to take up these courses. The opportunities are already there and run each year. People wishing to progress should now seek to take up these opportunities. Q1.4 Question regarding progression through the Career structure with reference to grades. Currently employees tend to get the job first and then do the training at a later stage, how will this work with new career structure? A1.4 At each stage employees would be expected to apply for promotion once they become completely competent at the level they are working at and they should have the opportunity to do further training. There will be competency profiles for every level which will allow much more of a focus for the individual and Manager. There will be a degree of support and employees will know when they are assessed as competent at that level by their manager. Q1.5 Are there links with PQ training and the strategy? A1.5 Yes, the scheme has been built around the national task force proposals and PQ training proposals. We have been explicitly clear about requirements for training at each level, and what will be mandatory PQ requirements for promotion and the timescales to achieve awards. 1

2 Q1.6 I have not completed the PQ and am currently a Social Worker on Grade G, does this mean I will be demoted? A1.6 In CYPS the Social Worker job will remain on Grade G. The introduction of the F Grade is concerning Probationary Social Workers. The Job no. will still remain at G 561 for Social Workers. There is no a creation of new jobs. In CYPS the workforce will be re-titled as Senior Social Workers. Q1.7 Could you apply for a Senior Social Worker position if you have not completed PQ? A1.7 Yes Q1.8 Can t tell from the Senior Social Worker job description whether PQ is required? A1.8 New Social Workers would be expected to do the PQ and existing staff would be given the opportunity to do the PQ over the coming years. Q1.9 What is the future for SW traineeships? A1.9 At this stage we have every intention of continuing to invest in grow your own although it is very expensive In fact it is the most expensive training we do in DCC. It will continue to be an important aspect of our Social Work career structure but the number of places each year will always be limited and funding in the future is uncertain Q1.10 Is there activity taking place about the quality of training and education? A1.10 Yes, it is a requirement of task force, there is lots of work taking place in this area. Practitioners are part of that process. We are also trying to engage with practitioners about the quality of induction and induction training. CQC are very outcome focused Q1.11 Is there going to be a commitment for employees to have time off for training as we will still need to manage our individual case loads? A1.11 We do have to give a commitment as an organisation and we need to focus on the Importance of the workforce. It is about the ability to free up more Social Worker s time. The target areas include recording, IT, processes that drain time and are frustrating to our Social Workers. We acknowledge there are lot of frontline staff that get caught up in being task driven as time constraints make it more difficult. It s about looking at how we can separate task driven and reflection to improve social work practice. If we don t invest then we are not going to progress. On a locality basis we need to look at backfill/cover arrangements so that people can attend training. There is a need to make sure the job is done but it s about creating a balance so that employees can still attend training. Supervision sessions need to be more structured in terms of coaching and mentoring and be moving towards a different system. There will be 45 days backfill provision built in that has been agreed by Workforce Development 2

3 Q1.12 I have concerns over the lack of opportunities regarding the PQ and feel excluded, I was told No when I asked in September A1.12 This applies to all Social Workers, every Social Worker will have to go through the PQ award and this has to be addressed by senior management within your area. Suggestion to raise this with your individual line manager first if it remains an issue. Q1.13 I am currently in a small team of Health Care professionals I would like to do PQ training but I haven t be able to take the time to do so. A1.13 The Investment has to be around people so they can train but we acknowledge that it can be challenging to release people but feel we need to stick to the principle around this. A small team requires robust management and individual circumstances need to be worked through to make training possible. Q1.14 Explain issues surrounding the above when Line manager is a Nurse employed by the NHS A1.14 In both ACS & CYPS there is going to be investment in a Lead Social Worker strategic role, who would be involved in team meetings with senior management representing Social Workers but also getting decisions made. This is currently going through the Hay process in ACS and CYPS. There will be an OT lead also and other significant investment. This has been supported by senior management and we hope that these kinds of issues will be resolved by these new roles. Q1.15 What are your thoughts on undertaking the PQ training, I have seen colleagues struggle by doing PQ and trying to juggle their caseloads and end up having to do a lot in their own time. I would like to suggest the possibility of a short break, 1 month to do work with another team and then spending a couple of months reading and doing work away from the office. A1.15 We acknowledge that this is a good point and is not just about the PQ and that employees are not necessarily able to be released, there is no easy answer. Employees need to have the ability to develop professional skills and we are supporting that by providing the training and the backfill funding so they can be released. We recognise the need to invest in staff and ensure that staff are getting the maximum chance to develop in their professional role nevertheless it is also important that staff invest some of their own time and commitment to the training as well. We also need to remain mindful of the current climate as there are challenges ahead. 45 days backfill have been calculated to support PQ training Q1.16 What provision is there with PQ training for reduced case loads? A1.16 Both directorates have to be much better at supporting staff undertaking training and do currently have a number of measures to support staff undertaking PQ training. In CYPS they are looking at other arrangements to support workers undertaking PQ training. Feedback processes for PQ students has been improved in recent years to identify any issues early in the training programme. This assists in identifying support requirements. This is intended to support the responsibility of the individual leavers for their development. 3

4 Q1.17 I feel sabbaticals should be an option as I don t think it s possible to do the PQ and manage caseloads A1.17 We need to work out how this could be made easier maybe by going to a different team, but it s about management within localities so we will need to get the right balance that is at the same time affordable. Eileen Munro says we have driven down process into the role too much and this is especially true in Social Work so we know this also needs to be improved and it will contribute to making it easier to train. Q1.18 There is lots of training available but there is a need to have an individual responsibility A1.18 Agree that it is up to the individual to take up the training and acknowledge that some Social Workers can t do training and feel disadvantaged. There is a challenge of equal opportunities as regards to access to training and staff and managers need to ensure they manage this together. The offer of training and the provision is readily available. Q1.19 In terms of the PQ, is there going to be opportunities to do more locally for example I live in North Devon but training is in South Devon A1.19 There needs to be a balance and right opportunities in place. Expectation sets demand and if we have a greater demand we can look at moving locations yes. Q1.20 I would like to know what DCC will do in practice not theory regarding releasing employees to do further training? A1.20 There have been 45 days funding set aside for backfill so this gives TM s the tools to be able to implement this. We recognise that this is a challenge and not easy but we need managers to help make this work. Q1.21 How will CCW s progress into this qualified structure? A1.21 We have offered traineeship schemes for many years and acknowledged there is national shortage of Social Workers. There is a need to get the right balance investing in the CCW s as well as training our existing workforce and we want to continue investing but it is extremely expensive. We acknowledge applying for funding for a Social work degree is competitive and people do get disappointed. 4

5 Section 2 - Practice Manager Q2.1 How will the Job Descriptions for Practice Managers reflect the differences for where there are Advanced Professionals and where there aren t? A2.1 The Advanced Professional role is not looking to undermine the role of Practice Manager. It is looking to strengthen profession practice and provide a robust structure which will provide career opportunities for SW s and JDs need to reflect this. There is to be a review of the job description of the Practice Manager role and this will need to consider where there are AP s and where there aren t. Q2.2 Have you considered that some PM s may wish to become Advanced Professionals? A2.2 Our aim is to maintain an adaptive approach. Some pieces of work due from the reform board we won t have until next year but we don t want to limit our progress and will simply respond to those at the time. As regards the PM role, we intent to complete a review of the Job Description by the end of the year, and this review will include PMs. This will not necessarily go through the Job Evaluation process again, it will depend on how drastic the changes are that come in; whether there are real material changes. The JE team will be involved and will advise accordingly. Q2.3 Concerns that Senior Social Worker role will be acting as a Practice Manager, and feel there is a need to clarify different roles and the relationship between the Senior Social Worker and Practice Manager. Concerned that the Ops Manager role will disappear and it will in effect move everything up in CYPS. A2.3 There is an intention to review the role of the Practice Manager but no intention to remove the role or management responsibilities from them to pass to Senior Social Workers. Each team will be made up of different experience and qualifications which will enable some to support students or take on developmental responsibilities. The role of Practice Manager will have more financial responsibilities and we intend the new arrangements to enable them to do their important jobs more effectively. In CYPS Senior Social Workers have direct frontline involvement with Children and in some services don t have Practice Managers. How we operate may change due to current financial constraints however we do not want to erode Practice Managers role but feel they should have more strategic responsibilities With regard to the Practice Manager across ACS & CYPS we will be looking at the Job description. This work has been commissioned by the Corporate Leadership Team. It is due to be completed by the end of In ACS there are OT PMs and this will probably remain the same although in CYPS they have to be SWs. Q2.4 Will Practice Managers have to apply for their own posts? A2.4 This will be determined by the outcome of the review. If the posts remain the same, with the same grade and numbers of posts then no. If the job descriptions were to change, and the grade and number of posts change then yes. Q2.5 Will Managers who are qualified Social Worker s be expected to do the PQ? A2.5 The strategy requires certain levels of PQ at all stages. For Manager s this will be the leadership award, which they will all be expected to undertake. 5

6 Section 3 - Advanced Professional Q3.1 Who will manage the Advanced Professional role? A3.1 Operations managers in CYPS will manage the new generic AP role. However it is expected that there will be some new concepts about supervision from the Munroe report and within the TEAM work taking place in CYPS Within Mental Health, professional supervision of the AP role will be from Head of SW, line management comes from an operations manager. Q3.2 I would like to know what the expectations for the Advanced Professional role are? A3.2 There is a clear difference between the Practice Manager and the Advanced Professional but they will need to work together in partnership. The Advanced Professional role is a new one and we are keen for this to grow and develop and this may have local variations. There is an aim to recruit colleagues with flexibility as one of their strengths and who want to drive this forward positively. Q3.3 How many generic Advanced Professionals will there be in ACS? A3.3 None at this time. The introduction of the new Senior Social will be new and significant change for ACS; additionally ACS will also have the 2 new lead posts for Social Work and Occupational Therapy. There will be 6 Advanced Professional across CYPS. There are other posts in ACS which operate at the Advanced Professional level, posts such as the Adult Protection Officer, Senior AMHP s, Emergency Duty Team workers. In CYPS the lead SW role will be undertaken by the policy managers roles, currently held by Andrea Morris and Maria Kasprzyk. Q3.4 What about APs in CYPS will they also be created from the current workforce? A3.4 Yes, they will come from within existing resources and will create opportunities for existing staff. We know that not all SW s want to be SW managers. CYPS want to agree their new structure and move forward from the ongoing discussion around JE grades and structures and differences between posts and directorates Q3.5 Where are the Advanced Professionals in Mental Health located? (posts currently called Senior AMHP s) A3.5 They are located within a function. Whilst they are located in a particular team they will offer professional supervision to AMHPs in other teams. Q3.6 As regards day to day management of cases, how will that differ within the AP role in CYPS? A3.6 The AP will be moving away from hierarchical approach of the past. They will have more authority on a day to day basis. Organisationally we need to mature into an authority that allows more decision making back at the root level. Currently a lot of practitioners on the front line are limited in their decision making. An AP will be able to, and further, they will be able to take some of the responsibility of practice issues away from the PM. Ops managers will still be there for complex cases. Munro s review states that the judgement of SW s is what matters. Rather than defensively following a set of rules as rote. We need a return to SW as a profession and 6

7 having that professional judgement as being important. Allow SW s to be accountable for their own work. In this respect the AP is a new and different role. Q3.7 Who will cover Advanced Practitioner s workload in the case of absence? A3.7 This is still being considered. Ideally it would be another AP or possibly, in part, by the Practice Manager and ultimately this level of detail still needs to be worked through and resolved in the implementation phase. We recognise that it wouldn t be ideal for a PM to cover in terms of the AP being a case holder that is a known factor. Q3.8 Regarding the Job description of the Advanced Professional role, are they still going to be working in the front line and not become removed? A3.8 We envisage the Advanced Professional as managing caseloads but still managing a couple of staff and are case reviewing. We feel they should still be accountable case holding workers so intend them not to become remote from teams but in fact central to them. Q3.9 Concerns over role of Advanced Practitioner having to manage a caseload and supervise probationary social workers. I feel this needs' to have serious consideration. A3.9 We acknowledge this is going to be a challenge, working alongside individuals, mentoring and modelling. We are mindful of the need to be careful not to be overloading people. There needs to be some kind of management within teams to be able to do this and to develop different ways of working. But we do need to be able to free up Advanced Practitioners to be able to coach, mentor, must not disinvest. Q3.10 Are AP s going to have authority over their budgets? A3.10 Yes, in CYPS they should have same level of delegated spend but that has yet to be reviewed, maybe that the PM maintains. The concept of the AP role though is that their time remains largely in practice and that they don t get caught up in bureaucracy or limited by hierarchical structure. It will be looked at and they will likely get a level of control but with the focus being not to burden them. Currently in Mental Health the PM maintains responsibility for the budget and the SW s can spend up to a certain level before having to consult. This is the difference between the SW and PM. The PM role is far more managerial. Q3.11 If AP s are going to be mentoring new qualified employees they must have a reduced caseload, who will pick this up? A3.11 We are moving away from the traditional model of how Social Work is managed. The Advanced Professional will be managing a small group of employees this may include a CCW under their umbrella and how the work is done will be managed by Advanced Professional. Ethos is that a small staff group are allocated for line management to the AP for each unit. There will be a focus on reducing case loads and to provide more pararity across the piece Case loads need to be more rational, not only for the Advanced Professional but for the Social Worker. 7

8 It will be about devolving some of the decision making closer to the front line within parameters and creating degree of flexibility with teams but also led by Ops Managers in their localities. However we still need to recognise that will still be hit with demand issues and there will be no extra money that will be flooding into the system. Q3.12 I still have concerns over how many staff the Advanced Professional might be managing as well as balancing caseloads and accountabilities A3.12 In CYPS we will be able to provide further detail once we roll this out, it will become clearer and effectively this model will be creating a team within a team. There will be a group of staff that they directly line manage. It is complex but the benefits out weigh any risks. It is not about undermining the Practice Manager role they will decide in terms of where cases go and still have HR and financial responsibilities. It is about supporting PMs to do their jobs. We envisage that the shape will look differently across CYPS and ACS but we must adopt a flexible approach in how we work. Q3.13 As regards the AP role, will there be more opportunities for completion of PQ awards? A3.13 Yes, PQ is required for progression. There will be a specific award for AP role. This is in development nationally. Further detail is in the career structure. Q3.14 Is it a requirement that Advanced Professionals complete PQ training? Are you talking about employees getting the job and then finishing PQ based on what is in the job description? A3.14 We need to stress the importance of the getting the right people that are motivated to making it work. We need to identify the appropriate PQ training and whatever the assessment of competence is for APs yet but it is set as an expectation that they complete either before or whilst in post. Q3.15 In the Advanced Professional and Senior Social Worker job description it mentions teaching and assessment so will both roles be involved with students? A3.15 Yes we are keen that everyone has a wider role of supporting students and this creates opportunities for flexibility. We need to create more opportunities for social work placements to happen. Section 4 - Senior Social Worker/Social Workers Q4.1 Will there be a number of Senior Social Worker places that need to be applied for or will there be automatic progression? Can existing employees apply if they don t have the PQ? A4.1 Yes, Senior Social Worker post will need to be applied for and are not automatic progression. Senior Social Workers should have the opportunity to gain the PQ. We acknowledge problems there have been surrounding different grades of Social Work and hope that the new career structure should iron this out. In terms of post qualifying there are 3 levels and one each linked to level of career structure, its all written into the career structure document. 8

9 There will be sufficient provision to train the existing workforce but any new recruits would be expected to complete post qualifying training and it would be a condition of their employment. Q4.2 Will there still be a difference in grades between CYPS and ACS? A4.2 CYPS and ACS can both have grade F and Grade G Social Workers. Directorates will determine how many of each post they require. What will happen in practice is that CYPS will have a higher number of G grade Social Workers and ACS will have a higher number of F grade Social Workers. Q4.3 So there isn t a drive to get us on a National Pay Scheme? A4.3 No we have been informed that there is no intention to have national pay scales for social workers, though the National Joint Council are looking at creating some generic job descriptions that local authorities might be able to look at in the future. The JE Policy allows us to look at market supplements and can apply for a Market supplement should we continue to struggle to recruit in any areas, an example of this is with G grade AMHP Social Workers. Q4.4 Why is there still disparity between ACS & CYPS regarding pay? A4.4 We acknowledge the disparity but jobs were re-described and evaluated and they came out at the same grades as currently operates. The same process was applied to both. Q4.5 Is there going to be enough jobs to accommodate all the current G grade posts? Have you done a review of the roles that are affected? A4.5 It is not about creating new posts but largely replacing existing roles although there is some added investment into new posts in ACS but this needs to be found from vacancies elsewhere. Ultimately this detail will be resolved in the implementation process. Q4.6 Within CYPS, Social Workers are paid at Grade G so will they be Social Workers or Senior Social Workers? Will that mean that less experienced SWs will be supporting NQSWs? A4.6 Social Workers will be working to the same job descriptions so will be renamed Senior Social Workers. How we differentiate, for example who will be supporting students etc will be down to common sense, any previous experience and depending on different localities. Within each band there is bound to be some discrepancies in terms of experience and competence. Who will be supporting students will depend on training and other qualifications and we will expect managers to use a common sense approach. We are going to have to accept there will be these anomalies. We hope that the new career structure will help and dispel some frustration that was felt around JE but acknowledge that there are no easy answers. There will be some issues with the career structure and how it will role out but we feel that more professionalism has been added in. The new structure allows more of a structured benchmark and is more focussed on jobs but would certainly welcome other s engagement in the detail. Q4.7 Does the new structure mean that some Social Workers on Grade G could have years of experience and be on the same grade as someone that is newly qualified, how will this be managed? 9

10 A4.7 All NQSWs will start on grade F across DCC. Once they have completed their probationary period in CYPS however they will be able to apply for a grade G post and because there are so many posts at that level they are likely to get one. Q4.8 Will Senior SW posts be created from current workforce in ACS? A4.8 Yes, the detail of location and implementation proposals need to be agreed following the briefing events, but it is proposed that current Grade F Social Workers will be able to apply for these posts. Q4.9 Where will the ACS new Senior Social Worker posts be distributed? A4.9 The Senior Leadership Team have still to make decisions about the distribution of these posts. They are not 15 new posts being added onto the Social Worker workforce, these are current F grade posts or vacancies being changed to Senior SW posts. Q4.10 There are going to be 15 senior posts across ACS, has there been a decision on how those posts are going to be spread? A4.10 This depends on the size of the teams so no we have not yet concluded this work. Certain complex issues like how we convert existing posts into Senior Social Workers will need to be resolved first. There is a lot of detailed work to do in the weeks ahead while we implement this work. Q4.11 Will Social Workers at Grade F be able to supervise students and do the qualification for the Senior Social Workers? A4.11 Yes but supervisions will be done mainly by Senior Social Workers. There is an expectation that all Senior Social Workers to complete the PQ and a commitment to do so. In ACS to apply for a Senior Social Worker role you will not necessarily have to have the PQ initially but there would be an expectation that you would gain PQ is successful. 45 days backfill have been added in so that employees can undertake PQ training. Q4.12 Could an Adult Social Worker remain as a Social Worker or is there an expectation that employee should progress through the career structure? A4.12 At every level of the career structure there is a competence level in each and there will be an opportunity to do post qualifying training. If staff do not want to progress into promotional posts we only expect staff to be fully competent in the role in which they are employed. Q4.13 As part of the review, particularly in ACS, what has been looked at in terms of salary? We are paid less than other local authorities so therefore find it hard to retain and recruit new Social Workers A4.13 Whilst doing the SW Workforce Strategy we undertook considerable work to re-describe the roles and have the new JDs evaluated. Social workers were involved in that process along with their managers TUs and the JE team. The results were the same although the creation of the new JD for Senior SW ensured we have equity across DCC. Nevertheless we also did a lot of work around looking at what other employers in the south west are paying social workers and that is how we were able for example get approval for a market supplement for AMHPs. Job descriptions went back to the JE team and CYPS Social Worker came out at a grade G and ACS still at a grade F. 10

11 Q4.14 How will the role of Social Worker continue in the light of our health partnerships? So that there isn t a disparity in practice. A4.14 We recognise that there is a challenge for anyone working with partners. Most of the Social Workers in health are DCC employed. There is a split of opinion on whether this is more or less beneficial. Some would prefer to move into health employment we understand. Either way, the complexity of working with two employers is well known to DCC and account is taken wherever possible. Q4.15 What if there isn t a Senior Social Worker position, would my grade go down? A4.15 Your salary won t change as a result of this work, this is just a case of changing job titles and in CYPS & ICS all Social Workers will be under the new job title Senior Social Worker. Q4.16 I am the only Social Worker in Discharge at Derriford Hospital. There is a health professional and one Community Care Worker on the team and there is a need to recruit another one. When considering the structure of the team I am the lowest paid professional on the team compared with health. There doesn t seem to be equality and it doesn t fit comfortably with me. I feel that this dispararity needs to be recognised if we talking about Social Work being a profession. A4.16 We acknowledge individual frustration and the disparities that exist between NHS and DCC pay rates but both are different organisations with processes and appointments agreed long ago. Unfortunately therefore this is not something that we can do anything about. At this time pay increases are not on anyone s agenda for obvious reasons in the current economic climate. Q4.17 Question regarding newly qualified Social Workers, are Advanced Professionals going to manage NQSW? How long do you stay as a Probationary Social Worker? A4.17 NQSWs could be managed by either the Advanced Professional or the Practice Managers so not necessarily just the role of the Advanced Professional. There is no hard and fast rule as it will depend upon localities and what works best for each team but the concept is that they would yes. NQSWs would be expected to complete their Assessed Year in Employment within that timeframe yes. We are extending the probationary period to accommodate that. Q4.18 How will recognition be given to SWs who go to work with charities and later return to work in LA s in terms of starting salaries? A4.18 A number of schemes are in operation for returners which has a robust induction programme as a critical part of professional development. Operational managers need to ensure that they allow time for this to take place and workforce development support to ensure it happens. Currently appointing officers have discretion to take market factors into account when making salary officers and can look at employment with other agencies. This will not change. One outcome of the corporate recruitment process has been greater consistency about salary offers taking into account the previous experience of candidates. 11

12 Q4.19 In the job specification for the Senior Social Worker it has best interest assessor for ACS in the essential section but there are not that many people qualified in that area? If you don t have this can you still apply? A4.19 We recognise that we will have to make a compromise as regards to employer s expectations and the opportunities need to be available especially during implementation. The career structure is where we want to get to. Q4.20 If I complete a Best Interest Assessor course will I become either a Senior Social Worker or an Advance Professional? A4.20 No, the Best Interest Assessor course trains you to undertake a particular type of assessment. It isn t a type of assessment which defines posts as being Senior Social Worker or AP level, it is about other activities they will be required to undertake. Q4.21 How will we make sure that Senior Social Workers are supervised by a Social worker? A4.21 The idea is to reinforce social work and put it back to the manager. The focus is going to be on social care not social work and it s about redefining social work as a profession by elements in supervisions. In ACS Senior Social Workers will take on supervisions of less experienced Social Workers. There will also be a Lead Social Work post and Lead OT which are shortly due to be HAY evaluated and they have a regular appearance at management team meetings. They will also provide practice supervision support where necessary to more experienced staff where there is no Social Worker PM. This is one of the reasons why the career structure has been put into place. Eileen Munro states in her findings that fair, professional judgment needs to be stronger. There is a need to build in quality supervisions which are reflective and look at ways for improvement Q4.22 Does this mean Social Workers may be managed by someone who isn t a Social Worker? A4.22 Yes, in ACS some teams practice manager is an OT. The new structure provides a strong focus however now on practice supervision from a qualified Social Worker. Q4.23 I have been a Social Worker for 20 years so qualifications that I have done years previously are not recognised. I feel that there is a need to recognise past qualifications A4.23 Past qualifications would be recognised in the recruitment process. There is a need to look at the current workforce to ascertain where different skills and resources lie. Q4.24 Are any other qualifications required to move from Social Worker to Senior Social Worker other than the PQ? A4.24 Not directly no, for each level of role we have created a competency framework and this will be used in the selection process for each level. Employees will work with their Manager to ensure they are working towards and meet the criteria of that level. There should be a commitment to work towards the PQ. There are not that many employees that have the PQ so it won t prevent anyone applying for the Senior Social Worker position. 12

13 Q4.25 Social Worker student placements are very time consuming require supervisions etc. What are your ideas around high quality placements? A4.25 The creation of the Senior Social Work role includes taking some responsibility for resolving these issues, supported by the new Lead SW roles. It s not just the Social Work Manager that will get involved with students in the future. Within ACS for the Senior Social Work role there is backfill time built in to allow taking on other roles and responsibilities. We have tried to add a bit of extra capacity by adding the backfill. Senior Managers are supporting this not just the Practice Managers so we must make it work together. Q4.26 There have been employees who have left DCC for the NHS, what degree is DCC valuing their workforce for retention purposes? A4.26 DCC are demonstrating how much we value the workforce by investing in the workforce in this time of economic decline in public sector spending. We hope that this is recognised by staff. We are aware that there is not going to be a National pay scale for Social Workers and there is a push to move away from centralised control to localised control. They are also trying to create more generic role descriptions; so that these can be used in Local Authorities alongside JE to gain some consistency, when these are available we will look at them alongside our own. We acknowledge frustration but we still have to remain with the DCC JE scheme. Q4.27 I would like to ask why this implementation has not happened earlier, it now seems like Social Worker is creating a professional identity. Salary is critical to all of us but I feel there was a framework previously and why didn t JE look at the professional nature of the work. A4.27 In terms of timings, social work has changed; there are different ideas of how different functions fit together. In DCC Social Work lost its way in the last decade. Munroe says well intended people have made zero difference on our abilities on the front line. Historically in social work we invested in process and were bureaucratically driven and it seems that people had forgotten that social work is about people. Decisions closer to the front line are a driver and all new territory. Social work was previously made up of typical hierarchical systems which delayed decision making. The new career structure is trying to address this and to create roles where there is professional accountability to the front line DCC is further ahead of game than other parts of the country and it is felt that this helps draw a line under some of the JE issues but we do acknowledge JE is still painful among some of the frontline staff of course but we must use this opportunity to draw a line under it. The career structure is how we are going to progress across ACS and CYPS as a profession. If we had this idea years ago perhaps would have invested in this however the social work taskforce brought the issues in social work to the national political stage and this provided the impetus locally as well at a corporate level to really take this work forward. 13

14 Q4.28 How is DCC trying to encourage qualified Social Workers back into the profession for example after career breaks? A4.28 There is the Return to SW Programme. CYPS got funding support from the Children s Workforce Development Council intended for this scheme where we attract Social Workers back into the industry. It is supported by academic intuitions. This happened initially in CYPS but will be rolled out in ACS later. Section 5- AMHPs Q5.1 What is happening with recruitment for AMHPs in Complex Care Teams? A5.1 The ACS leadership team took a decision to increase the headcount of AMHP s in the CCT workforce and bring this to 11. Currently vacancies in CCT s are being looked at to see if they can be advertised as AMHP grade G social workers and the recruitment will be handled as part of the new corporate Social Worker recruitment campaign working in the Council. AMHP vacancies in the workforce assigned to Devon Partnership Trust will also be advertised at the same time. Q5.2 Will AMHP s in CCT s get the market supplement? A5.2 Yes, a market supplement application was made because of the difficulties recruiting and retaining AMHP Grade G Social Workers actively on the rota. A 3k market supplement was approved for a 12 month period from beginning of July The supplement is payable for AMHP grade G social workers regardless of whether they work in the assigned workforce or the CCT s. Q5.3 I am employed by Devon Partnership Trust as a Social Worker, how close will DCC work with us? Is there a link with partner agencies? A5.3 In ACS Social Workers were involved on the sub group that looked at Job descriptions but career structure only applies to DCC staff only. It is recognised that the social work professional works alongside many other professionals. Section 6 - Practice Education Q6.1 Could you outline the role of the Practice Educator? A6.1 At the moment they are Senior WD Advisors so they are taking responsibility for an aspect of Workforce Development. In this case they are making sure there are good quality practice placements for students, support and encourage good relationships with universities, providing support to students undertaking their degree and improving practice education and teaching on the degree at the University? Q6.2 Practice Educator, is that Learning Development Officers? A6.2 There are currently two Practice Educators they are called Senior Workforce Development Advisers. The Practice Learning and Development officer Job description is to be reviewed. Q6.3 Where does PLDO sit within new structure? A6.3 Senior Social Worker grade G. 14

15 Q6.4 Practice Educators are there any thoughts of them carrying caseloads and not being so distant? What do they actually do as I feel it would benefit them to carry some caseloads as it would keep them abreast of what s going on. A6.4 The role of Practice Manager is being reviewed. We will be reviewing the Practice Learning Development Officer Job description at the same time. We acknowledge they can be quite remote and isolated from other areas but they can add value around support and are among the most experienced Social Workers so the review will address this. Q6.5 In the Practice Learning and Development team it s hard to stimulate placements in ACS. What is the expectation in terms of posts in Older People team? A6.5 There will be 12 Senior Social posts so we will expect our social work education team to be working with them and the Lead Social Worker to ensure we develop sufficient high quality placements as required. Q6.6 I feel we need to ensure that higher education providers get students ready so they can actually do the job when they start A6.6 You are absolutely right, we feel that as an organisation we need to have a direct influence on the universities, be more demanding and have a degree of influence over the content and teaching on the programmes. This is part of the practice educators and practice Learning Development Officer roles. It s also about getting the balance right and being able to develop students on placements as well as expecting better teaching on degree programmes. Section 7 - Numbers/Timescales/Implementation Q7.1 Regarding timescales, what is Devon s in bringing this all into effect. A7.1 We intend that an outline document will be finished at the end of this month and implementation will start from the 1 st November this year. In Adults services the creation of lead Social Work and Occupational Therapy roles will happen immediately. In Children s services two individuals, currently service improvement managers, will be focussing on social care governance as of now. Other pieces will be brought in more gradually and some e.g. Social Work licensing we know will not be brought in until Essentially most will start to go live from the 1 st November. Q7.2 What numbers are attached to each post? A7.2 Where we are with budget there is no money for additional posts so we will be changing existing posts. There are no new posts in CYPS. It will be looked at service by service starting with 6 APs in CYPS and then we will evaluate to ascertain what we do next. It could end up that there will be an AP in each team around the county. With regard to the functions of some teams in CYPS there is an issue in seeing how the AP role would actually work for example; how would they fit in? Considering that some are already working at a high level, it s a matter of seeing if the first 6 are a success and how we can roll this out further. We will be seeking to select people who really want to make this new role work and are excited by the opportunity and driven to make improvements. We recognise that much of the success rests with selecting the right 15

16 people for these roles, people who will help us develop it further and really embed it in the service. Q7.3 Are there going to be any additional posts? A7.3 It is about converting existing posts rather the creation of new posts. Keri Storey will be leading details on the Complex Care teams. In CYPS with the Advanced Professional role there will be 6 at the first phase. The Ops Management Group are looking at the structure and part of the work will be looking at the conversion of Social Worker posts into Advanced Professional posts then working things out at the localities. Q7.4 How many Advanced Professional will be in ACS and what is the timetable for the implementation? A7.4 We aim to start implementation from 1 November The new lead in ACS will be implemented as soon as possible. There will be a review of Practice Manager job description and role of Practice Learning and development officer which we hope to complete by end of December. Q7.5 Is there someone working on a formula to determine how these posts will be distributed? A7.5 There is a structure that exists and Keri Storey, Michael Lloyd and Terry Grace are all leading for their operational areas on the implementation process. Q7.6 Do you already have funding for these posts? A7.6 Yes we already have funding and go ahead but further detail will follow Q7.7 When will posts be advertised? A7.7 Further detail will follow as regards to different localities and posts as part of implementation, which as we have said will start from 1 November. We are seeking to do this rapidly but it is difficult to add an end date due to the complexity. Q7.8 As regards to this new structure, what will success look like? A7.8 Some piloting has happened already. Some LA s already have some AP roles. Eileen Munro s part A report has been written with regards to this, and looks positive. One aspect of what we d consider a success would be around the autonomy of the AP and their ability to make decisions. Also a range of things including how the staff feel about the role and does it help us retain staff. As a result of the new role, do SW s feel that they can progress and be supported to do so. We will know from feedback from our NQSWs that we have struggled to give them what they need to begin their SW career; success would be that this is massively improved. Ultimately we hope that many of the Taskforce Recommendations will be resolved as a result of implementing this new career structure as highlighted in the presentation at the start of the briefings. As regards numbers there will be: 15 Senior SW s posts in ACS 12 in older people (including sensory) and 3 in Learning Dis. 3 will be new. We know we need more AMHPs in CCTs so there will be funding for and additional 7 of those as well. There will 16

17 be none of the generic AP role for ACS however, only existing AP roe such as EDT, Senior AMHPs etc. The Lead Social Worker role is currently being HAY evaluated but there is an intention to start everything as soon as possible Section 8 - Funding Q8.1 What will be the impact of the comprehensive spending review? A8.1 There could be some political pressure from the new coalition government. It s more than a financial issue, there is impending political context. Q8.2 In view of what is happening on the 20 th October (Government Spending Review) is there going to be a commitment to fund this? A8.2 Yes there is a commitment across CYPS, ACS and corporately to implement this. But of course we must also remain cautious as we are operating in uncertain times. Section 9 - ACS Specific Q9.1 Historically in Learning Disability services the number of SW s has grown organically. Will this be reviewed/change? A9.1 In Learning Dis there are 14 SW roles so very few in each team. This is a result of organic change. So yes this will be reviewed and we hope to replenish any shortfall but with the focus on responding locally to what is needed rather than setting target amounts Devon wide. Our aim is that the process becomes more flexible and quicker in implementation than has been the case. Operations managers will have more of a say in this process as regards their perceived needs. Q9.2 Is ACS going to actively recruit managers? At the moment there is a temporary arrangement in South Hams. A9.2 The intention is that we populate the structure we have got. Vacancies are being held for now in some cases and in the long term will be sorted out we hope, yes. It will depend on the vacancy management process of course. Q9.3 Question from a member of the ACS Central Safeguarding team 4 new posts created last year the team have 8, 10 + years of experience so would like to ask where the Safeguarding team would lie on the new career structure given the level of experience within the team A9.3 We have no intention of changing the grades as they are now at the moment so if you are currently on a grade F then that would remain the same. However you would be equally able to apply for any promotional opportunities elsewhere in ACS or CYPS. For example there will be 12 senior social workers in ACS spread out across the teams. 17

18 Section 10 - CYPS Specific Q10.1 I have a concern that employees who have been only qualified for a couple of years being classed as a Senior Social Worker before they should be as regards to levels of experience. A10.1These concerns are recognised and that is why the career structure has been created but we feel that the ability to operate at a Senior Social Worker level isn t necessarily correlated with how many years experience you have. It is about how you perform. Previously there have been anomalies and this potentially creates some consistency across CYPS as everyone will be Senior Social Workers. Q10.2 In CYPS there may be lots of Senior Social Workers that will want to be Advanced Professionals A10.2 Yes we are hoping this will be an enormously positive development and the next 12 months will be critical to developing and embedding this role in the 6 teams and if successful might become wider. Q10.3 In CYPS what is the makeup of the establishment in Teams? A10.3 The Ops Managers in the localities will have a degree of resource i.e. how many Social Workers they require for the demographic area and team needs. They will be able to define and redefine establishments within their parameters. In each different locality there won t automatically be a budget to allow everyone to be on a Grade G and they will also need to be able to offer probationary Social Workers positions. The Ops Managers will need to manage resources regarding vacancies as they arise as employees need to be able to progress within the structure. Q10.4 In CYPS would it be Senior Social Workers or Advanced Professionals that would take on supervisions. F grade Social Worker posts don t exist within CYPS A10.4 The mechanics will become clear when this is rolled out however there will be greater accountabilities for Advanced Professionals with a couple of staff that they manage which may include CCW s. There will be an F grade SW role in CYPS for the probationary social worker. Q10.5 I work within the Integrated Children s Service, and was lead to believe that this Career structure would not apply to us? A10.5 It would apply, this is a Social Worker career structure and the principle is that everyone will have same opportunities within DCC. The complexities are down to the individual manager to resolve and how this is implemented but would still need to tie in with main stream Social Work. Q10.6 Will SW in Youth Offending Service become Senior Social Workers on Grade G? A10.6 Yes, proposal is that all SWs in CYPS currently on Grade G will be re-named Senior Social Worker. 18

19 Section 11 - General/Other Q11.1 To accommodate the new structure is there going to be existing posts that drop off? A11.1 In CYPS first phase there is going to be 6 Advanced Professionals. It is not about new posts but changing existing posts, no loss and no gain of posts. In ACS the lead post will be additional. The next piece of work is ascertaining which roles are affected in introduction of the new G grade, where we are changing an existing F grade post. It is therefore about conversion of roles and the need to take careful steps at the implementation stage. In ACS however there will be 3 additional F grade posts. Q11.2 Will there be a selection process for all of the roles? A11.2 Lead roles in ACS are new roles and are just about to be JE evaluated and will then be advertised. We will be reviewing the Practice Manager role and the Practice Learning and Development role. There will be a recruitment process to move staff from F to G. ACS have made budget provision to cover things like market supplements. This answer will be resolved in the implementation phase but as rule of thumb if it is a promotional post then it will require a competitive process. Q11.3 What kind of consultation/discussions have you had with BASWA and or the unions? A11.3 There will be a total of 6 of these sessions spread across Devon with a union representative at each; we have also had a separate session with them prior to these events. Unions have also been involved throughout the work in ACS on the workforce strategy and in CYPS on TEAM. Jacky Wilson HR Manager has been involved in this process. At JCC we have talked about career progression and its wider implementation. Q11.4 Has this been run by BASWA? If they are likely to be the college of the future, should we not be talking to them? A11.4 They have not been directly involved, but feel this is a good point as we are involved in sub groups and are quite far ahead of the game and this is a good suggestion. Our destiny is in our own hands however and we have the opportunity to shape this for ourselves. The language from the new coalition government is for driving things locality, essentially a get on with it ethos and as a local authority we will need to work to this within our own framework. Nevertheless BASA could be informed as a positive way of charging forward. Q11.5 Corporate Recruitment - how does that balance with individual teams? A11.5 Corporate recruitment is much more efficient and cost effective so we will continue to support this across the two services however we are keen on putting more control to the localities and there will be opportunities to select staff to fit in with the balance of the team. There is a need to maintain flexibility within the workforce areas within parameters i.e. what posts are needed etc so PMs need to be involved in the process appropriately. 19

20 We are keen that Ops Managers define and drive this at the localities. Q11.6 What is the progression after the top level of the career structure? A11.6 In terms of career progression we are talking about different approaches now and the aim is to try to develop more of a distributed leadership. Eileen Munro states we should try and cut through bureaucracy. We have a firm belief that those with Operations and strategic responsibilities need to sit closer to the front line. The question is how we introduce Practice Managers to more strategic roles There will be a level of accountability that we have not had historically and more of an emphasis on putting decisions to the front line, for example Advanced Professionals and lower tiers of management. There is now an element of career progression through the new structure. We feel we will be able to gain more practical solutions from Practice Manager than higher management as they have greater involvement with front line service so we are investing more into the front line. In terms of ACS the career structure gives us opportunity There will be an opportunity for more Practice Managers to be part of the panels when they have a vacancy in their teams and make systems more efficient. Q11.7 Expressed concerns that there might be certain limitations in terms of opportunities. Devon is a large area and some teams may not have the same opportunities as others? A11.7 Now there is a structure for social work, there will be opportunities that are attractive to employees within and outside of Devon County Council. We have tried to address previous issues and feel now there will be a smoother transition into career advancement. We are keen on ensuring there are opportunities to move across those service areas in a more fluid way or there are not any barriers for staff to move into other areas. The Investment in skills makes the difference between adequate and outstanding and we have not had a streamline approach prior to this career structure. Q11.8 For me, doesn t begin to address disparity between different roles in Health and DCC and between SW s and OT s A11.8 DCC and the NHS are different employers but acknowledge this is an issue. OT s are employed on DCC terms and conditions but NHS salary bands. NHS pay scales are higher, OT s are not on Devon pay bands. We have JE in DCC and other groups on different salary bands, for example Solbury, Youth Workers, Teachers etc. We have different pay bodies, DCC salaries are determined by NJC and HAY and we can not use these systems for OT pay. This explains why we have the differences and this is unlikely to change. Q11.9 Comment regarding lack of appetite as there was no national lead but I feel that there has been a lot of appetite for this for a long time within teams. A11.9 We acknowledge that there may have been an incentive locally within teams but this becomes difficult if it is not supported by Senior Managers and by the wider organisation for whatever reason. 20