Cyngor Gofal Cymru / Care Council for Wales

The Care Council for Wales has welcomed the publication of today’s reports (20 October) which provide an overview of the steps being taken to safeguard and protect children in Wales.

The Care Council also highlighted the importance of the social work degree and additional training for social workers in Wales, which are provided through a strong partnership between colleges and employers. In many parts of Wales, these partnerships have resulted in improved recruitment of social workers and have enabled employers to directly influence training and to make sure it meets their needs.

Responding to today’s reports from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW), Rhian Huws Williams, Care Council Chief Executive, said: "During the past 18 months, we have built on the achievement of the degree courses to make sure there is better information to plan for the future, as well as high-quality training, before and after social workers qualify, to keep pace with what is needed in the workplace. We are also working together to ensure that newly-qualified social workers are properly supported so that they can work safely and effectively."

Among the Care Council initiatives to help safeguard children are:

• A long-term study of newly-qualified social workers, which helps assess how well-prepared they are for the role and areas that may need to be addressed in their training;
  A pilot project to better define the roles and responsibilities of child care social workers and the qualifications best suited to those roles, particularly in relation to the new pioneer Integrated Family Support Teams for families where children are at risk and their parents have a history of substance misuse and mental health problems;
• A model to collect workforce information for social work training to help employers know how many qualified social workers they need and higher education institutions to know how many should be trained;
• A review of child care teaching and learning on the social work degree and recommendations that will be considered by the National Strategic Partnership for Social Work Training;
  The development, with employers, of post-registration learning opportunities for qualified social workers working in child and family services;
• Guidance on the first year in practice for newly-qualified social workers and their employers.