Social work with older people: Continuing Professional Development Pathway

The purpose of the Pathway is to increase consistency and success in recruiting, developing and retaining social workers whose work improves the experiences and outcomes for older people, their carers, families, networks and communities.The Pathway sets out the kind of learning and development that will help social workers gain the capabilities in the Statement. The Pathway will raise awareness for social workers and those who support them (employers, educators, managers, policy makers etc.) about the importance of social workers continually learning.The Pathway highlights the kind of support that is needed for social workers to develop. It will help social workers to get the development opportunities to become expert in social work with older people, and will help to foster leadership in learning and development.The Pathway also highlights the importance of recognising social work expertise. This will contribute to social workers being and feeling valued, to higher morale and retention, and therefore to better services for older people and their families.The Statement and Pathway were developed by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) in partnership with stakeholders, including social workers and older people, those who support them as carers and family members, and relevant professions and organisations. They are owned by the social work profession, through BASW. They are endorsed by the Department of Health and implemented by the adult social care sector.