Care in Practice Framework sent to all social care employers in Northern Ireland

The Social Care Council has written to all social care employers in Northern Ireland to help support them and their staff as the Department of Health’s Social Care Workforce Strategy is implemented.

Earlier this year, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (the Social Care Council) launched a new interactive web resource to guide the social care workforce through the Care in Practice (CiP) Framework.

This Framework supports social care practitioners to pursue learning and development opportunities and qualifications by navigating and exploring social care career pathways enabling informed career choices.

As the regulator for approximately 42,000 registered social care practitioners in Northern Ireland, the Social Care Council believes that investing in and supporting all social care staff in their work will help them to make a difference in providing improved care and support in their communities and for the people they care and support.

The Social Care Council has now written to all social care employers with useful information about the CiP Framework and to share new resources. These include:

• Information about the CiP Framework launched in December 2024 by the Department of Health, alongside the new Social Care Workforce Strategy.
• Opportunities for social care practitioners to follow two interlinked pathways that are set out as part of the CiP Framework including a Continuous Professional Learning Pathway and a Qualification Pathway.
• Clear pathways to help social care practitioners get started on following the CiP Framework including summaries of the two pathways at each level, links to additional resources and case studies with stories and films showing career progression.
• Accessible information about qualifications to support career progression which will help social care practitioners move through their desired pathways.
• Support for the social care practitioner’s learning and development.

The Social Care Council is encouraging social care employers to discuss the new CiP Framework with staff, both individually and in team meetings, and support them on their learning journeys. In order to support employers, the Social Care Council has sent posters and flyers for prominent display in staff areas. They feature web resources and scannable QR codes to allow staff to find out more.

A number of social care practitioners have already undertaken the Level 2 Certificate in Safe and Effective Practice which is the entrance level qualification available for social care staff and more information is available through the qualifications webpage.

Where can the CiP Framework be accessed?

Funded by the Department of Health, the CiP Framework’s interactive web resource can be accessed by going to the Social Care Council website at:

or by scanning the following QR code:

We are asking all employers to share this information and the resource with staff so they can use it to support their continuous professional learning (CPL).

The Social Care Council welcomes opportunities to engage with staff and teams, and any other group, either face-to-face or online, at times convenient to you. To take up these opportunities please contact Alison Shaw at: Alison.Shaw@niscc.hscni.net.

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Notes to editors

1. The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (Social Care Council) is the regulator for all social workers and social care practitioners in Northern Ireland.
2. With one of the largest workforces in the health and social care sector, its registration currently stands at approximately 49,000.
3. You can access the new free interactive web resource on the Social Care Council website here: careinpractice.niscc.info.
4. If you have a question about the new resource, contact: workforcedevelopment@niscc.hscni.net.
5. How did we get here? Take a look at our information on social care workforce reform in Northern Ireland.