Social Work Reform Board Newsletter NEWSLETTER Issue Two December 2010 Welcome to the second edition of the Social Work Reform Board newsletter Today the Reform Board publishes a progress report, Building a Safe and Confident Future: One Year On, giving an overview of Social Work Reform Board activity over the past year. You can read more detailed information about our first five proposed reforms in Building a Safe and Confident Future: One Year On, Detailed Proposals from the Social Work Reform Board which accompanies this report. There is also more information about the Reform Board and the Social Work Task Force on our website www.education.gov.uk/swrb. The five areas of reform are; o An overarching professional standards framework o Standards for employers and a supervision framework o Principles that should underpin a continuing professional development framework o Proposed requirements for social work education o Proposals for effective partnership working The proposals made are work in progress and the sum of much activity and discussion by the hundreds of people who have been involved in our reform process over the past year. We want to test these proposals further with social workers, service users and carers, educators and employers to help shape our future direction and are seeking feedback over the next three months, until 31st March 2011. The report marks a staging post in the journey of social work reform but the proposals within it provide a foundation for helping us, together, to deliver a better future for social work. Moira Gibb CBE Chair, Social Work Reform Board 1 Social Work Reform Board Newsletter Get involved If you are a social worker, a service user or carer or you work in an organisation that trains or educates social workers, some or all of the five proposals we are making in this report may affect you. Now it’s time to test how practical these proposals are and how effective and sustainable. We are seeking views and feedback over the next three months, until 31st March 2011. There will be further opportunities to get involved in shaping the direction of social work reform and we will provide regular updates in our reports, website and newsletter. You can: Find out more about each proposal in Building a Safe and Confident Future: One Year On, Detailed Proposals from the Social Work Reform Board at www.education.gov.uk/swrb/documents.shtml. Think about how the proposals would work in practice in your area or organisation. Test the proposals to see what works and what doesn’t work in your area. Tell us about your views and experiences of testing the proposals. We want to understand whether these proposals will work as intended and are particularly interested in hearing from you about: - Challenges and opportunities in implementing the proposals; - How well, or not, the proposals fit together; - Cost implications; - Implications for social workers and organisations in different settings, including those working in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors as well as for independent social workers and those employed by agencies; and - UK-wide issues. You can let us know about your experiences of testing the proposals by: - Emailing us at: information.swrb@education.gsi.gov.uk - Contributing to national and regional meetings, workshops and conferences, details of which will be posted on our website and in our newsletter - Sending your comments to your representative organisations and asking them to submit them to the Reform Board. 2 Social Work Reform Board Newsletter Contact us You may have received this newsletter because you previously supplied your email address for the SWTF newsletter. We would like to continue sending you newsletters from the Social Work Reform Board. New subscribers are also very welcome so please share with your colleagues. To unsubscribe please reply to swrb@education.gsi.gov.uk with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line of your email. 3