SCIE media releases 2004
National social care organisations demonstrate joint working and commitment to service user involvement
25 June 2004
An increase in funding to support service user and carer involvement in the social work degree, announced by Health Minister Stephen Ladyman last week, has been welcomed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and Topss England.
The announcement follows discussion between the Department of Health (DH), SCIE, GSCC and Topss England which led to an agreement that the organisations work together to improve service user involvement in the social work degree.
The DH is increasing funding to universities to support service user and carer involvement to £640,000 from £420,000, which will be distributed by the GSCC, and will commit £1.34 million in total in 2004/05, with the remainder to be distributed to SCIE and Topss England.
As the organisation responsible for developing and promoting good practice in social care, SCIE will develop a strategy to support service user and carer-led organisations in fulfilling their role.
Topss England will be asked to establish learning materials for service users and carers and to ensure that training is offered across the regions as part of their support for service user and carer involvement in all social care training.
The GSCC has been asked to provide advice, based on its monitoring of the existing service user involvement grant, about the outcomes which might be expected from the successful application of the funding.
Health Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman, said, "User involvement is central to the social work degree and to creating person-centred services. Collaborative working is also central to the social work degree and the work that SCIE, the GSCC and Topss England, will take forward is a good example of this. We are confident that with their remits to improve social care and their commitments to working with service users that they will deliver quality results."
Chief Executive of SCIE, Bill Kilgallon, speaking on behalf of SCIE, GSCC and Topss England, said, "We wholeheartedly believe that service user involvement is the only way to make sure services are meeting people's needs and to ensure that upon completing their social work training students are equipped to work with service users. We are looking forward to taking this work forward."
Media contact
- Margaret Lynch, Press Officer, Social Care Institute for Excellence, T: 020 7089 6858, M: 07834 194 896
- Angela Spiers, Communications Executive, General Social Care Council, T: 020 7397 5803, M: 07771 914 481
- Kevin Thomas, Managing Editor, Topss England, T: 0113 241 1204, M: 07866 740 279.
Notes to editors
- SCIE produces free paper and web-based publications which draw out key messages for good practice in social care and identify areas where more research is needed to inform good practice. SCIE's work includes projects on services for adults, children and families; participation; human resource development; social work education; e-learning and the use of knowledge in social care. SCIE also owns and runs the free Social Care Online (www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk). For more information about SCIE visit www.scie.org.uk.
- Topss England is the employment-led strategic body for workforce development in social care, now in the official development stage of forming a sector skills council to be called Skills for Care, with its UK partners.
- The General Social Care Council is responsible for upholding and promoting high quality social work practice, accrediting universities to offer the new social work degree and approving social work degree courses. A list of approved social work courses can be found on the GSCC website at www.gscc.org.uk/universities.htm.
- SCIE has already done some work on involving service users and carers in the social work degree. Resource guide 2: Involving service users and carers in social work education can be downloaded from SCIE's website.
- The social work degree was introduced in September 2003 and replaces the Diploma in Social Work. The new degree, accredited and approved by the General Social Care Council, was introduced to encompass greater practical experience and to improve the skills base and competence of newly-qualified social workers. The Requirements for social work training specify that service users must be involved in all parts of the degree. Additionally, students are required to complete a minimum of 200 days practice placement in at least two practice settings, gain experience of legal intervention and provide services to at least two different users groups.
