The professionals who work in social care come from a wide range of backgrounds and work in a range of different settings which can be challenging and demanding. It is also true to say that there is an increasing complexity in the needs of the people they support. This means ensuring there is a well-led, skilled and valued social care workforce in place, is even more important.
In this week’s ‘Care to chat?’ podcast we hear about what is happening to support this right now in Northern Ireland with significant developments underway, including the Department for Health’s (DoH) new Social Care Workforce Strategy and the Care in Practice (CiP) Framework.
The Strategy includes seven priorities including; Priority 3: Social care practitioners will have access to qualifications and opportunities to develop and progress through on-going learning relevant to their role and function.
Dr Wendy Austin MBE hears from Ricy D’Cruz, a Care Assistant with Macklin Care Homes, Norah Christie, Head of Operations at Praxis Care (temporary), Mervyn Bothwell, a Professional Adviser with the Social Care Council and Jane McMillan, who is a Professional Social Work Officer, Office of Social Services at the Department of Health.
They talk about their experiences and understanding of the new Care in Practice Framework (first of its kind) which has been designed to support social care practitioners to develop professionally by providing two interlinked pathways:
- a continuous professional learning pathway, and
- a qualification pathway to support your career progression.
This includes the creation of a brand-new level 2 qualification – the Level 2 Certificate in Safe and Effective Practice.
The key takeaway for listeners is that social care practitioners need to be valued and recognised, and that social care needs to be seen as a career of choice for people with the right caring.
These reforms are a good news story of transformation taking place across health and social care.
The Social Care Council releases a new episode every fortnight, discussing current topics about social care and social work regulation in Northern Ireland. Download, subscribe and listen to the latest Social Care Council ‘Care to chat?’ podcast episode today here, or by searching ‘Care to chat’ in your podcast player.
Episode 4: ‘Recognising our worth’ – new developments in social care career progression – (39 minutes)
For more information:
As the Care to chat podcasts are designed with the social care and social work workforce in mind, we would like to invite suggestions of topics that our listeners would be interested to hear covered. If you have questions, suggestions or feedback about the podcast, email: comms@niscc.hscni.net.