The employers of social workers are to receive extra funding to monitor and develop the practical skills and learning of newly qualified recruits.
Under plans announced by Children’s Minister Tim Loughton and Care Services Minister Paul Burstow, £2,000 will be made available to employers for each newly qualified social worker they take on. The Government claims that the funding is intended to help new social workers become competent and confident professionals.
The money will be used to enable employers to provide regular support for social workers, to implement an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE), which supersedes the Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) framework from September 2012, and to carry out assessments of new social workers during their first year of employment.
Earlier this year, Moira Gibb, Chair of the Social Work Reform Board, issued advance information on ASYE to employers so they could start preparing for implementation. Employers of newly qualified social workers who undertake the ASYE will be entitled to receive this funding.
“We are committed to improving the quality and availability of training for all social workers in order that the most vulnerable children and adults in our communities receive the best possible support”, said Mr Loughton.
