Social workers ready to be first in the country for new accreditation
A group of social workers from Birmingham Children’s Trust have completed months of training to be one of the first cohorts in the country to complete a new accredited qualification.
Earlier this year the Department for Education scrapped its national assessment and accreditation system (NAAS) for children’s social workers and plans to introduce a replacement accreditation programme early next year.
The group of 14 social workers took part in a training programme to prepare them to complete the final assessment when released from the Department for Education. The sessions covered how to embed their learning from their ASYE, how to bring good practice into the session and a deeper dive into social work models.
The last session ended with each person sharing their knowledge of John Burnham’s Social Graces framework and their motivations for working in children’s social care by presenting their professional identify. Each person also received feedback from their managers and discussed their career path within Birmingham Children’s Trust.
Sophie Gilbert, Practice Academy Manager, said: “At present we are still waiting for finalisation from the Department for Education when the assessment for the programme will be relaunched.”
“This exercise is really important to support this group of social works to be ready to sit the assessment and complete the accreditation as it gives them a sense of the who the individuals are, promotes relationships-based practice, and makes them think how past experiences can influence how we think.”
The replacement accreditation programme is designed to be “more sustainable” and deliver “a better overall experience for social workers” that was “more meaningful” for them and employers.