Changes to re-registration and new system developments
Dear registrant,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support during our registration system upgrade and management of post-upgrade issues.
I am pleased to confirm that all of these issues are now resolved, our online registration system is fully functional and our staff continue to support registrants and new applicants when they need our support.
This email also contains the following important updates about other new developments which will be taking place over the coming months.
Notice: ‘Re-registration’ link used during the pandemic, will be discontinued from 12 December 2024
During the Covid-19 pandemic we introduced the ‘Re-registration’ link as an emergency measure to help registrants return to the Public Facing Register (the Register) if they had been removed for non-payment of their annual fee, and/or failure to renew their registration. We are now standing down this measure and returning to the previous re-registration arrangement.
Registrants currently receive three reminders to pay their fee or to renew their registration which provides sufficient time to respond by their due date. We will be standing down the Re-registration function on 12 December 2024 and will support employers and registrants to manage and communicate this change.
It is important that you continue to maintain your registration, pay annual fees and complete registration renewal where appropriate using the online services available on ‘My Portal’.
You can raise any registration issues by contacting us by using our online form, or by calling us. Find out how on our website.
Update: New registration developments
Social Care Council App
We are developing a Social Care Council App which will provide easy access for registrants to maintain their registration. We have been working with registrants to design the App and are planning to release the first phase of the App in January 2025.
Registrants using the App will receive notification alerts sent straight to the App if it is downloaded on their mobile phone. Payment of annual registration will be available through the App alongside a facility for registrants to maintain their employment and personal contact details.
Streamlining the application process
Aligned to the development of a new Social Care Council App, we are continuing to improve the digital application process for new registrants. As part of this we have designed a number of new registration application pathways which will provide a more streamlined application process for new social work and social care applicants.
Developments on the Employer Portal
We have been listening to employers and endorsers who have asked for additional functionality within their Employer Portal to manage their registrant population and their endorser group. We can confirm that this new functionality will Go Live on the Employer Portal on 2 December 2024 to enable the management of endorser roles and the ability to search and find a new registered employee and add them to the Employer Registered list.
New! Online portal for raising concerns coming soon
We will be launching a new online portal for raising concerns about the standards of practice of individual social workers and social care practitioners on 2 December 2024.
Anyone who raises a concern with the Social Care Council will now do this through an online referral portal, which has replaced the form and email process that had been in place.
To submit a concern, instead of completing a form and emailing it to the Social Care Council, anyone wishing to raise a concern can simply go to the referral portal and submit their query using a simplified process, with helpful links along the way to additional information about the Fitness to Practise process.
Thanks again for your ongoing support.
Yours sincerely,
Declan McAllister
Interim Chief Executive Officer