Social Work Policy Panel newsletter October 2023

This month

• Notes from September’s meeting – on workforce planning and the National Social Work Agency (NSWA)
• About the Social Work Policy Panel and: give your feedback!
• Dates for your diary: December meeting

Notes from October’s meeting: Workforce Planning and the NSWA

We met on 31st October to hear from Philip Gillespie from the Office of the Chief Social Work Advisor who spoke about the workforce planning work that is ongoing to support the profession and the development of the NSWA. If you missed it, Philip’s presentation is attached to this email.

Prior to the session we asked attendees to tell us what they thought were the most important functions for an agency such as NSWA to have. The top three were: oversee and standardise learning and development, standardise terms and conditions, and set national rates of pay. The responses also included:

• A national role in maintaining and promoting professional identity, particularly when it appears to be dominated by health perceptions of the role or reactive responses by government to crises.
• More funding, more staff, more services.
• Be the key driver for improvement work in social work and social care.
• Promote the profession.
• Recognise and support the contribution of paraprofessionals.
• Support protected learning and reflection time.

Discussion points included

• The stability of workforce numbers despite increasing demands on social workers, particularly in children and families’ services, which reflects the Setting the Bar findings suggesting that people are leaving the profession.
• Frustrations in the workforce that the social work voice can disappear in multidisciplinary services.
• A desire for pay terms and conditions that reflect the unique value that social work brings to communities.
• The importance promoting social work as a profession supported by suitably resourced statutory placements to ensure NQSW’s are well prepared.
• The need for a national voice reflecting the profession, influencing national policy but with the freedom to positively criticise.
• Standards that ensure professional quality without adding to the scrutiny burden
• A need for standardised access to continuing professional learning and development.
• A desire from the workforce to see the output of their contributions to policy development.

Date for your diary: December meeting

12th December 12 – 1.00pm; to be confirmed

We look forward to talking with you soon.

About the Social Work Policy Panel

The panel exists to build bridges between frontline social workers, and the organisations and projects which develop and implement policy and practice for the profession.

It’s jointly run by the Scottish Association of Social Work, the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser, and Social Work Scotland. 

Any social worker including, student or newly qualified social worker is welcome to join as a one-off on a particular topic of interest, or as a regular – it’s a space for you to ask questions, share your experience and views, talk to colleagues across Scotland, learn about how policy affects day-to-day practice, and develop closer links between the work you do and the future of social work. 

As a social worker, we know you’re busy and facing lots of competing pressures, so you taking time out to engage with the wider issues facing social work means a lot, and you might not always find the time. That’s why we want to make the panel as meaningful to you as possible.

What you told us:

We asked you what we should be covering in our future sessions and you told us:

• Workforce
• Disparities in role focus (ie Adults vs Childrens) and rural vs urban 
• Self-Directed Support implementation

You also told us that it was really important to ensure that the impact of policy on social work identity is explored in these sessions. We will ensure that we do this in all future sessions.

If there are any topics that you wish to nominate for future session please let us know through the panel mailbox: SWPP@basw.co.uk 

You also told us that a facilitated conversation after a presentation is your preferred format for the sessions but that there are session where breakout rooms are more effective for you. We will ensure that future sessions are designed with these preferences in mind.

Free coaching service for all social workers and social work students in Scotland 

What is the Social Work Professional Support Service (SWPSS)?

• A FREE and independent peer coaching service by and for social workers
• Has an ambition to have an impact on the culture of practice enabling social workers to be able take care of yourselves
• Facilitated by experienced and trained social work coaches who volunteer their time
• Provides you with a safe and empathetic space to think through any professional and/or personal challenges you may be facing
• Offers a confidential peer to peer listening space
• Supports self-care, wellbeing and empowerment