Social Work Career Progression

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1 Social Work Career Progression This progression process forms part of the Workforce Planning Strategy and will make a positive contribution to the recruitment and retention of staff. It helps the Local Authority to demonstrate Local Government objectives in ensuring that social care workers are appropriately skilled, trained and qualified, and to promote the uptake of training at all levels. This guide has been produced to assist Team Managers with Social Workers wishing to progress. The Social Worker should notify their team manager of their intent to progress. This will be raised and recorded formally through supervision. A request for progression will be considered if managers are in support of progression. The endorsing Team Manager should send a completed application to the CPP inbox. Career progression will be determined on the social workers ability to meet the following criteria dependant on the area they wish to progress to- Progression from Grade 8 to Grade 9 (main grade Social Worker) That the Social Worker: Is permanently employed Has been qualified for at least 2 years as a social worker Independently carrying a full case load as locally agreed Provides a high quality and effective social work service to respond to the needs of children, young people and their families/carers in a timely manner and within statutory guidelines, Directorate policies, standards and procedures. Has met the 10 competency requirements of the Knowledge and Skills statement for approved child and family practitioners (DFE 2014) Has undertaken statutory work including Children Protection/ Looked After Children OR Has demonstrated a sufficient level of competence within a Family Support Settings Has worked collaboratively with a wide range of partner agencies Use the Safeguarding procedures to investigate and manage risk where individuals have suffered or are likely to suffer significant harm.

2 Manage and monitor a workload of complex, specialist and generic cases and organise work activities taking into account the need to prioritise tasks and responsibilities. To undertake enquiries, interviews, assessments, observations and gather information from partners, service users, children, young people, carers and families and formulate plans to meet assessed needs It is expected that workers in this grade will continue to develop their practice as required by the HCPC and will demonstrate commitment to completing regular training and learning opportunities. Is not subject to capability, disciplinary or sickness absence procedures. In order for consideration of progression, the social worker must have completed or be able to demonstrate commitment to complete Training in the following areas: Direct work and the Voice of the Child Restorative Practice Total Respect Graded Care Profile If similar training has been attended in a different local authority, provide evidence should be shown to the team manager and documented within supervision/my appraisal to support this. Progression from Grade 9 to Grade 10 (Senior Social Worker) That the Social Worker: Is permanently employed Has been Qualified a minimum of 2 ½ years Independently carries a full case load as locally agreed Has Exceeded the 10 competency requirements of the Knowledge and Skills statement for approved child and family practitioners (DFE 2014) Has demonstrable experience of undertaking statutory work including Children Protection/ Looked After Children OR Has demonstrated a considerable level of competence within a Family Support Settings Manage a complex caseload and their time effectively in order to work within timescales and meet all statutory duties. Has worked collaboratively with a wide range of partner agencies Able to evidence continued learning from training and development opportunities which is embedded into their practice Play leading role in practice development in the team and help sustain a learning culture. They will be able to demonstrate evidence of working flexibly and responding to the changing needs of the service. Page 2

3 Act as a social work role model, setting expectations for others and contribute to the public face of the organisation Contribute to organisational developments.. Provide supervision/support to colleagues as requested. Support others to manage and prioritise work deputising as needed and directed in managers absence Assess and support the work of social work students and NQSW. Model and help others with effective workload management skills, promoting wellbeing for team and colleagues Promote up to date expectations about practice norms, identifying and working alongside managers to help resolve poor practice issues. Demonstrate and model the effective and positive use of power and authority, whilst recognising and providing guidance to others as to how it may be used oppressively Demonstrate ability to interpret and use current legislation, guidance and thresholds in order to make timely decisions and support others in their analysis and decision making Develop knowledge in one or more specialist areas of your practice. Expand your knowledge to inform the connections between this and other settings or areas of practice It is expected that workers in this grade will continue to develop their practice as required by the HCPC and will demonstrate commitment to completing regular training and learning opportunities. Is not subject to capability, disciplinary or sickness absence procedures. It is the prerogative of the panel members on final decisions on what grade a social worker shall progress to as a result of evidence heard on the date of panel. This can result in a social worker progression to either grade 9 or 10. Appeals If social workers are dissatisfied with the outcome of the decision made on their progression they have a right to appeal. Appeals must be submitted in writing within 10 working days of receiving the panel decision and direct to your Manager who shall refer this the Chief Officer Sue Butcher. The Chief Officer (or representative) will have a discussion with the social worker to discuss the reason for appeal. If the Chief Officer believes at this point that the worker has grounds for appeal they will attempt to resolve the situation with the progression panel chair and make whatever recommendation for action is deemed best in the spirit of natural justice. The Chief Officers decision at this point will be final and no further appeals will be accepted. Page 3

4 The role of the Team Manager The team Manager s role is central to enabling the social worker to progress. It is the responsibility of the team Manager to ensure that the social worker fully understands their role and duties and undertakes them to the required standard, and to aim towards developed criteria for progression outlined in this document. In supervision and appraisal the Line Manager will begin to explore with the practitioner their individual learning needs and go on to ensure that properly supported opportunities to gain wide ranging experience in practice are provided. Supervision and my annual review will also be the avenues for continual exploration and support in more detail. A plan can then be formed to ensure that the social worker has a wide range of experiences and complexity within their casework to suit their progression and development needs. The team Manager should ensure that the social worker is able to attend both the required training events, as well as those, which contribute to relevant continuous professional development. Finally the team manager will complete relevant sections of the progression application form to endorse the progression of their staff member in preparation for panel attendance. Any application without manager endorsement will not be considered. Page 4

5 Referral to Moderation Panel: Where the criteria are met the Social Workers team manager will refer to the moderation panel to assess the application for progression. Application for Career Progression Pa Team managers and social workers shall complete attached application form detailing experiences and manager s recommendation of why they are putting the social worker forward for career progression. All applications must be completed and sent to the Centre for Professional Practice internal address CPP@dudley.gov.uk no later than 1 month prior to the next panel date. For progression, a case file audit will be completed by the Centre for Professional Practice. An Advanced Practitioner shall liaise with the team manager for five cases that may be audited as part of the progression process. One case shall be selected from the nominated five. This case file audit shall focus purely on the case that the social worker requiring progression has been the allocated social worker with oversight of key documents such as assessments, chronologies, case notes and care plans. An Advanced practitioner from the Centre for Professional Practice team shall also complete one observation of the social worker in practice, gaining feedback from services users and professionals to gain an insight into the social workers practice. The Advanced Practitioner shall provide feedback to panel with grading of quality of practice and any viable recommendations of support for the social worker. All feedback shall take place in a Pre panel meeting for all panel members and the advanced practitioner. In preparation for the Panel, Social Workers will need to complete a log of how they have met each of the Knowledge and Skills Statements in their practice. Social Workers are asked to provide case examples of their practice under each section of the KSS. Support shall be offered by an Advanced Practitioner within the Centre for Professional Practice should this be required. This is to be sent to the CPP team no later than 2 weeks before panel date. panel preperation kss evidence 2017.do The findings used from the case file audit, observation and information within the application shall be used to support the decision for progression. Page 5

6 Moderation Panel The moderation panel will be chaired by Head of Service for Safeguarding and Review and will be attended by at least one other HoS, HR and an Advanced Practitioner from the Centre for Professional Practice The moderation panel shall take place on a quarterly basis. Each panel shall have opportunity for up to five social workers to be heard for progression. Where necessary because of demand extra panels may be arranged at the agreement of panel chair. Further guidance relating to the requirements of these themes are set out in the knowledge and skills statement The panel will ask questions about the case to seek assurance that these competence themes have been met. The decision of the panel in respect to these will be whether evidence has been provided or not. Outcomes of the case oversight and observation shall be shared and discussed within the panel. If the Social Worker presents the required evidence the panel will endorse the application and the progression will be awarded. If the Social Worker has not provided sufficient evidence, support and guidance will be provided to assist and reapplications can be explored at future panels. The social workers Team Manager has responsibility for deciding if and when the Social Worker is ready to re-submit to the progression panel in the future. The outcome of attendance at panel shall be notified to the relevant HoS who will relay to the social worker within one working day. If the decision is made to turn down the application for progression, applicants will be advised on areas they need to develop prior to making a further application the chair of the panel will provide written feedback within 1 week of the Panel providing details of the decision. This should form part of a personal development plan to be reviewed in supervision and through the PDR process. Agreed progression changes in pay shall begin from one month post the progression panel date. Relevant HoS shall inform HR of any agreed progression for social workers with relevant grades within one week from Panel. If you are a team manager wishing to make a referral to the moderation panel or have any questions please contact: Sophie Gilbert - Advanced Social Work Practitioner Sophie.gilbert@dudley.gov.uk Page 6