SCIE in Northern Ireland

SCIE extended its remit to cover Northern Ireland in 2005. Since this time SCIE has undertaken a range of projects, and participated in social work and social care initiatives within Northern Ireland. These include:

• Provision of independent perspective as external ‘critical friend’ to various social services working groups.
• Participation in NISCC's Review of Social Work Roles and Tasks – briefing the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland (DHSSPSNI) on the England review 'Social work at its best', and the experience of the Scotland and Wales reviews
• Support on the evaluation of the impact of social care workforce registration and the implementation of codes of conduct and practice standards.
• Production of a report on user involvement in health and social care in Northern Ireland. This report, produced in partnership with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), looked at the development of the service user and carer involvement movement in Northern Ireland.
• The implementation of the regional pilot of Guide: Think child, think parent, think family (2009). Northern Ireland and five sites in England piloted the implementation of the recommendations outlined in the guide. An evaluation of this project was also undertaken.
• An evaluation of therapeutic approaches used in residential childcare (in partnership with Queen’s University, Belfast).
• Involvement in the establishment of an information hub, Safeguarding Adults at Risk Information Hub (SAaRIH) which brings together information on research, law, guidance, practice and policy on safeguarding adults across the four UK countries and the Republic of Ireland on one site.
• Updating of the social care governance workbook for Northern Ireland. An evaluation of the impact of the workbook was also undertaken.

The SCIE Board of Trustees and the SCIE Co-production Network have representatives from Northern Ireland. Sean Holland, Chief Social Worker for Northern Ireland, is a member of SCIE’s Board of Trustees. The work programme is supported by a steering group. DHSSPSNI contributes funding to SCIE that enables access to SCIE services, and supports the member of SCIE staff based in Northern Ireland.

Current projects are underway as part of the SCIE Northern Ireland work programme commissioned by the Department for Health Social Services and Public Safety and others. A range of SCIE products are reviewed to ensure they reflect the Northern Ireland legislation and policy context. SCIE resources are disseminated within Northern Ireland to inform practice and service developments.

• SCIE resources developed in Northern Ireland Open

  Service user involvement

  • Position paper: Working together: Carer participation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2006)
  • Participating and learning: Citizen involvement in social work education in the Northern Ireland context: A good practice guide (2006)
  • Report: Looking out from the middle: User involvement in health and social care in Northern Ireland (SCIE, NISCC and RQIA 2008)

  Residential child care

  • Knowledge review: Working with challenging and disruptive situations in residential child care: Sharing effective practice (SCIE and QUB 2008)
  • Report: Therapeutic Approaches to Residential Child Care (2012)
  • At a glance 58:Therapeutic Approaches to Residential Child Care (2012)
  • Social care TV Therapeutic Approaches to Residential Child Care (2012)

  Parental mental health and child welfare

  • At a glance: Think child, think parent, think family: a briefing for senior managers (2010)
  • At a glance: Think child, think parent, think family: Putting it into practice (2012)
  • Guide: Think child, think parent, think family: a guide to parental mental health and child welfare (2011)
  • Report: Think child, think parent, think family: final evaluation report (2012)
  • Report: Think child, think parent, think family: interim evaluation report (2011)

  Social care governance

  • Social care governance: A practice workbook for Northern Ireland (2nd edition 2013)
  • Report: Reviewing the impact of the Social care governance workbook (2013)

• Relevant SCIE resources Open

  At a glances

  • At a glance 64: Co-production in social care: What it is and how to do it (October 2013)
  • At a glance 61: Co-production and participation: Older people with high support needs (September 2012)
  • At a glance 60: Preventing loneliness and social isolation among older people (May 2012)
  • At a glance 51: Mental health service transitions for young people (December 2011)
  • At a glance 49: Improving access to social care for adults with autism (October 2011)
  • At a glance 40: Personal budgets briefing: Learning from the experiences of older people and their carers (March 2011)
  • At a glance 39: Challenging behaviour: a guide for family carers on getting the right support for teenagers (March 2011)
  • At a glance 38: Challenging behaviour: a guide for family carers on getting the right support for children (March 2011)
  • At a glance 37: Challenging behaviour: a guide for family carers on getting the right support for adults (March 2011)
  • At a glance 36: Personal budgets briefing: Learning from the experiences of people with mental health problems and their carers (February 2011)
  • At a glance 31: Enabling risk, ensuring safety: Self-directed support and personal budgets (November 2010)
  • At a glance 28: Sustainable social care: the natural environment (August 2010)
  • At a glance 24: Ethical issues in the use of telecare (May 2010)
  • At a glance 19: Building user and carer involvement in social work education (November 2009)
  • At a glance 11: Reaching parents: implementing parenting programmes (July 2009)
  • At a glance 4: Changing social care: an inclusive approach (May 2009)
  • At a glance 2: Improving outcomes for people in shared living arrangements (April 2009)
  • At a glance 1: Learning together to safeguard children: a systems model for case reviews (January 2012)

  Guides

  • Guide 51: Co-production in social care: What it is and how to do it - Accredited (October 2013)
  • Guide 50: Effective supervision in a variety of settings - Accredited (May 2013)
  • Guide 48: Dying well at home: the case for integrated working - Accredited (May 2013)
  • Guide 44: Mental health service transitions for young people - Accredited (November 2011)
  • Guide 43: Improving access to social care for adults with autism (2011)
  • Guide 29: Changing social care: an inclusive approach (April 2009)
  • Guide 28: Using SCIE resources (2009)
  • Guide 26: It's my story: helping care-experienced young people to give effective media interviews (January 2009)
  • Guide 25: Having a break: Good practice in short breaks for families with children who have (December 2008)

  Research briefing & reports

  • Research briefing 43: Effective supervision in social work and social care
  • Research briefing 40: End of life care for people with dementia living in care homes
  • Report 61: Co-production and participation: Older people with high support needs

  e-Learning

  • e-Learning: Parental substance misuse (2011)

  Web resources

  • Induction standards for Northern Ireland
  • Care Skillsbase

• Other resources Open

  • Social Care Institute of Excellence endorsed interview on championing 'Spirituality in social work' (2013); Belfast Met's Gerry Skelton Interview on Spirituality'

• Health and social care in Northern Ireland Open

  Northern Ireland is unique within the UK in that since the 1970s statutory health and personal social services are integrated. A Review of Public Administration led to restructuring and organisational change of public services during 2007–2009, and was deemed as the most significant and far-reaching restructuring in Northern Ireland for over 30 years, aiming to produce more streamlined and economically efficient public services, by reducing the number of organisations and therefore better integration. More recently, in 2011 the Transforming Your Care review highlighted the need for substantial changes to the way health and social care is provided. The review focuses attention on quality and outcomes for people who use services, with emphasis on preventative care, early intervention and increased choice, coupled with more localised service provision based in communities. The current programme of reform is situated within a background of increasing social need and demand for health and social care services.

• Key health and social care organisations in Northern Ireland Open

  General policy directions and overall resourcing of services is the responsibility of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS). The Office of Social Services (OSS) is a professional grouping located within the Social Policy Group of the DHSSP, which works to ensure that social work and social care services are responsive to the needs of people living and working in Northern Ireland.

  The Health and Social Care Board is responsible for assessing need and for commissioning health and social care services. Statutory functions are exercised on behalf of the Health and Social Care Board by the five health and social care trusts:

  • Northern Health and Social Care Trust
  • Western Health and Social Care Trust
  • Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
  • Southern Health and Social Care Trust
  • South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

  The Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency (NIGALA) represents the views and interests of children in specified court family proceedings.

  The Patient and Client Council (PCC) provides an independent voice for patients, clients, carers, and communities on health and social care issues.

  The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services.

  The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) has responsibility for the registration of the social work and social care workforce, and regulation of standards of training and practice.

  The Public Health Agency (PHA) is responsible for public health and social wellbeing improvement and protection and health and social care research and development.

  There is a range of voluntary, community and private social care provision in Northern Ireland. Further information is available on the CommunityNI and NICVA websites.