SCIE media releases 2004
SCIE report looks at making social work education truly reflective of the views of service users and carers
10 March 2004
A new report from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) looks at how service users, carers and social work education providers can work together to improve social work training.
Under the Care Standards Act 2000, service users and carers must play a role in all parts of the design and delivery of the social work degree. This includes student selection, design of the degree, teaching and learning provision, preparation for practice learning, provision of placements, learning agreements, assessment of students and quality assurance.
The guide, called Involving service users and carers in social work education by Enid Levin, looks at what social work degree programme providers across England are doing to meet the requirements.
The research found that imaginative ways of involving service users and carers were being implemented, but concluded that progress was uneven across the country.
Commenting on the scope of service user involvement in the degree, Chair of SCIE, Jane Campbell, said, "The involvement of service users and carers in the degree involves a lot of people working in new ways, from services users and carers, to lecturers, administrators and students, to employers, to providers of practice learning and to practice assessors. The guide provides a resource to all of these groups about what's working well in service user participation and what's not. It also provides a step-by-step guide for planning effective service user participation.
"I look forward to the next generation of social workers having a deeper understanding of the expertise and experience of those who use social care services. This will lead to inclusive social care outcomes.";
The guide outlines the principles that should underpin involvement and the issues to be considered in preparing for it, and provides practice examples and directions to documents, websites and contacts.
It will be followed shortly by a report called Living and Learning Together, based on a joint SCIE and General Social Care Council conference held in November 2003, and will contain examples of different and imaginative approaches to involving service users and carers in social work training.
If you would like a copy of the guide or you would like to join the SCIE mailing list to hear about other upcoming publications and events, please phone 020 7089 6840 or email publications@scie.org.uk for your free copy. The report is also available from the the Publications section of this website.
Media contact
Margaret Lynch | Press Officer | T: 020 7089 6858 | M: 07834 194 896
Notes to editors
The guide is being launched at the first meeting of the SCIE Partners' Council on 10 March, which will steer SCIE's Board on its priorities, programmes and performance. The Partners' Council will have up to 45 members nominated by service user organisations, carers and stakeholders and will represent the four UK countries. At least one third of the members will come from organisations of people who use services or carers.
To receive a copy of Involving service users and carers in social work education by Enid Levin please contact Margaret Lynch, Press Officer on 020 7089 6858.
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) gathers and publicises knowledge about how to make social care services better. SCIE is an independent organisation and a registered charity and was created in response to the government drive to improve quality in social care services in England and Wales. SCIE produces knowledge reviews, resource guides, practice guides and position papers on key social care issues. It also administers an electronic library for social care called eLSC, which contains extensive social care knowledge and can be accessed online at www.elsc.org.uk. All SCIE products are available free from the from the Publications section of this website, by emailing publications@scie.org.uk, or by phoning 020 7089 6840.
