Children s Social Care. Workforce Development Strategy

Transcription

1 Children s Social Care Workforce Development Strategy Children s Social Care in Medway Make a Difference Excellence in children s social care is our key objective and our Workforce Development Strategy gives our staff the competencies, skills and knowledge to achieve this by improving the outcomes for children and families. Our workforce is our greatest asset and the workforce development strategy has been developed to ensure we deliver first class professional development opportunities to our staff whilst supporting internal and external influences. Our improvement notice, the new OFSTED inspection framework and the College of Social Work focuses on the importance of excellence in social work practice through workforce development and this strategy not only aims to support that improvement but ensures Medway is an innovative and challenging place to progress professionally, making us the very best learning organisation. This strategy sets out the expectations of our professional development programme and the very many ways we support our workforce to get there. The key to the success of this strategy is ensuring professional development is embedded by supporting all learning styles using e-learning, workshops, learning walks, peer support groups, professional guest speaker events, team learning and support days and division development conferences. Through our leadership development programme our managers will also be given the skills, knowledge and focus to be a champion for the workforce development within their services. Medway is excellently placed to take full advantage of partnership working with the University of Kent at Medway and Canterbury Christchurch University. These

2 partnerships ensure we are able to offer the very best, up to date development opportunities. All of our professional development is linked to the Professional Capabilities Framework from The College of Social Work ensuring our workforce is well equipped to deal with not only the local context but the national one when undertaking any type of development. Our expectations at Medway are high and in return for offering an excellent workforce development programme we undertake feedback, regular supervision and a personal development review process every 6 months. This feedback directly contributes to the provision required for the forward plan and is therefore essential to ensure we are delivering the best service for children and families of Medway. This vision for professional development forms the basis of the role of the Medway Social Work Academy. Medway s Social Work Academy is supporting and developing a skilled permanent social care workforce. The Academy is forging links with Higher Education, internal and external Partnerships with the Police Protection team, Legal Services, Housing and Public Health to name a few so that partnership working forms a key part in the workforce development plan. Children s Workforce strategic development The children s workforce development team was set up as a response to the requirement for children s services to have a strategic and workforce development strategy, linked to overall Council wide one, agreed and shaped by social care and HR professionals. The team is made up of HR professionals and social care experts who support the social care department with workforce development capabilities that support Medway through the improvement journey and beyond. Workforce Development Objectives Knowledgeable, dedicated professional workforce Safeguard children, young people and their families Embed effective partnership working Strengthen and empower our leadership and management Recruit and retain a workforce of proud, competent professionals Link all professional development to the Professional Capabilities Framework

3 Develop a learning culture that respects, challenges and supports Use performance and quality assurance data to measure impact, evaluate and shape the plan Whilst these objectives are not exhaustive they reflect the key areas we think will make a real difference to the children and families of Medway. Other issues that have workforce development implications have just as much importance and will feed into the overall programme such as promoting equality and diversity and ensuring the participation of children, young people and families. Learning, Training and Development The workforce development requirements will be achieved by: Developing robust evidence based mechanisms to ensure priority education and training needs for all staff within the children s workforce are identified to support the effective provision of current and evolving services. Commissioning and implementing professional development programmes which meet the identified needs and ensure all staff, at all levels, are suitably equipped to provide excellent services. Creating systems which enable the workforce to take responsibility for their own continuous learning, quality improvement and effectiveness Developing our on line training infrastructure, accessible to all staff to record, evaluate and enhance learning. Ensuring professional development providers are working alongside the workforce development team to provide innovative and bespoke training opportunities that reflect workplace priorities and provide value for money Providing leadership development for all managers and prospective managers to form a robust succession plan Provide all staff with an induction and professional development plan which can be clearly mapped through supervision, personal development reviews, learning walks and quality assurance. Developing a Medway Social Work Academy to ensure all of the objectives of the workforce development strategy are being met and impacting positively on the improvement of practice.

4 Safeguarding children and young people Workforce Development will ensure that our children s social care workforce fully understands their responsibilities for the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people. They will be equipped with the competence and experience to identify a child or family in need so they can confidently and professionally undertake early intervention measures. The Children s Social Care Workforce Development Strategy is part of the overall Medway Council workforce development strategy ensuring that the collective workforce of Medway Council understand their role in the safeguarding of children and young people via induction and the most up to date and relevant training targeted to different professional groups. Embedding effective partnership working Medway has strong links with the University of Kent and Kent at Canterbury. These partnership relationships ensure we are shaping the professional development opportunities for our workforce. A jointly funded post between Medway Council and the University of Kent of IRO/Lecturer has been established to support both partners in achieving innovative and challenging practice and learning. Student placements are being supported through a newly established student unit and executive board which selects the best students for placement within Medway and commissions and supports the professional development of our Practice Educators (PEPS). The Social Work Academy are partnering with the local universities to ensure a tailor made professional development programme is in place to support our PEPS and equip them with the skills required to meet the new standards. The children s workforce development team work closely with the Medway Children s Safeguarding Board to deliver a cross partnership training programme.

5 Strengthening and Empowering our Leadership and Management Ensuring that anyone who undertakes a management or supervisory role is given the guidance and professional development to become leaders is an essential part of professional development. The Social Work Academy leadership course ensures all our managers are advocates for children s social work professional development and will be responsible for ensuring their teams feel supported in using innovation and the very best up to date research to form their everyday practice. The structure within the social care teams provides clear career pathways for the workforce to ensure we have an effective succession plan and can grow our own talent. Recruit and retain a workforce of proud professionals Recruitment and retention is a national issue for children s social care. Medway strive to attract and retain the very best candidates, showcasing as an employer of choice by: Dedicated recruitment micro-site Headline sponsor of key recruitment events Children s Social Care specific marketing Make a Difference campaign Tight controls on the use and cost of agency staff Gateway interview and selection procedure Continuous total reward review The professional capabilities framework is used to test the skills and experience of people to ensure we understand their strengths and development needs. A robust and challenging induction programme for all new employees tailored to suit their level of entry is mandatory. Using online skills analysis questionnaires, personal development reviews, supervision and performance data we create a career development plan for social workers at all levels. We offer corporate membership to the college of social work to all registered social workers. We continue to evaluate and undertake benchmarking in the investment in our workforce to ensure we remain an employer of choice with an enviable development programme and benefits package.

6 All professional development is linked to the professional capabilities framework The professional capabilities framework (PCF) is at the core of our children s social care workforce from recruitment procedures to senior management objective setting. The PCF has been brought in to specifically ensure that the workforce for children s social care are provided with training to ensure they are competent and professional practitioners. Not only will all training support the PCF but it will also form part of management development, personal development reviews and supervision to ensure it shapes the culture and expectations of the service. We have linked all of our workforce development to the PCF by: Developing job profiles which specifically link to the required competence, behaviours and skills identified in the PCF for the job level Ensuring all of our recruitment activity includes a competency based interview linked to the requirements of the role laid out by the PCF Creating a comprehensive training and professional development programme which meets the requirements of the PCF Ensuring managers are undertaking regular supervision to assess against the PCF Linking the 6 monthly personal development review process (appraisal) against the PCF Developing a progression scheme through the job roles which gives clear and robust opportunities for promotion. Develop a learning culture that respects, challenges and supports. Our vision to develop a workforce of proud, competent and professional staff will be achieved by: Providing our workforce a safe environment to try out new and innovative ways of working and such as focus groups, learning walks, peer support and action learning sets so we can challenge and educate in a respectful and thought provoking way. Inviting expert speakers from external agencies to share their learning experience and be on hand to answer any practice issues.

7 Regularly evaluating all aspects of the Children s Workforce Development Strategy so we can enhance our culture of continuous improvement and further enhance our relationships with our partner agencies. Rewarding excellence in practice through workplace recognition schemes, personal development review outcomes and performance based pay progression. Use performance and quality assurance data to measure impact, evaluate and shape the plan Measuring the impact of professional development is crucial. The workforce development strategy is used in conjunction with the Performance Management Framework and the Quality Assurance Framework to ensure we are measuring the impact of learning and development activity. Performance data and quality assurance information are to be used by managers to monitor and evaluate the performance and progress of individual social workers, and to support the identification of training and development needs. Analysis of the data and information, will also identify broader training and development needs to support team and overall performance improvement. Managers will be supported to develop their own use of performance data and quality assurance information, to identify areas for improvement for individual workers and their teams. The development of a performance focussed culture, led by managers who understand and can influence their teams to perform better, is a key part of workforce development strategy.

8 Continuous Professional Development Pathway Our aim is to offer the children s workforce a clearly defined, challenging and professionally guided workforce development programme which combines mandatory training with aspirational and innovative opportunities which supports continuous professional development ultimately leading to better outcomes for children and families. Newly Qualified Social Worker (ASYE) 10 day induction including partner agencies such as Police, Heath and local Universities Professional development pathway for all staff ASYE using supervision, quality assurance and personal development review outcomes. Monthly ASYE Action Learning Sets Weekly supervision for first 6 weeks moving to fortnightly supervision thereafter Bespoke Internal and external CPD programmes Celebrating excellence in practice through monthly service recognition and annual corporate award scheme Professional Development for Social Workers who have completed ASYE Induction (for staff new to Medway) Bespoke professional development pathway for all staff using supervision, quality assurance and personal development review outcomes Monthly development groups Weekly supervision for first 4 weeks in post, moving to fortnightly until 3 months in post, then monthly thereafter Internal and external CPD programmes

9 Social Workers three years plus experience 10 day Induction (for staff new to Medway) Weekly supervision for first 4 weeks in post, moving to fortnightly until 3 months in post, then monthly thereafter Bespoke professional development pathway using supervision, quality assurance and personal development review outcomes Internal and External CPD Programmes Opportunity to become a research champion using our corporate membership to Research in Practice (RIP) Monthly one 2 one coaching sessions with a senior practitioner Medway leadership development programme Experienced Social Worker (Senior Social Worker) 5 day Induction (for staff new to Medway or promoted) Weekly supervision for first 4 weeks in post, moving to fortnightly until 3 months in post, then monthly thereafter Bespoke professional development pathway using supervision, quality assurance and personal development review outcomes Practice Educator training to Stage 2 ASYE Assessor Training Opportunity to become a research champion using our corporate membership to Research in Practice (RIP) Monthly one 2 one coaching sessions with a senior practitioner Medway leadership development programme Advanced Levels (Advanced Social Work Practitioner/Social Work Manager) 5 day Induction (for staff new to Medway or promoted) Weekly supervision for first 4 weeks in post, moving to fortnightly until 3 months in post, then monthly thereafter Bespoke professional development pathway using supervision, quality assurance and personal development review outcomes ASYE Assessor Training

10 Fully funded Masters degree (MA) opportunities for specialist areas Opportunity to make an application for a fully funded Phd qualification Internal and External CPD programme