Comment on ASYE report
Commenting on the latest Skills for Care ASYE report, Steve Crocker, ADCS Vice President, said:
“This report provides valuable insights into the ASYE programme during what has been an incredibly challenging year. As the report notes, we are now seeing a greater complexity of need being presented by children and families but all of us, practice supervisors, social workers and managers, have adapted and innovated leading to new ways to support our workforce and, crucially, to continue to support children and families. This year has been particularly difficult for those entering the workforce and employers have been working hard, putting in place measures to help with their development and wellbeing. Being in a team environment can be an essential part of an NQSW’s learning and so in the absence of this it is encouraging to see examples where employers have replicated this informal learning experience, such as through buddying. However, we recognise there has inevitably been variation across the country. This is in part because the programme is employer-led and therefore the approaches taken are largely informed by the local context.
“The report also raises important insight into anti-racist practice and inclusion within employing authorities. That BAME NQSWs experience disproportionally higher failure rates than their white counterparts is a serious and worrying finding that employers will be seeking to address. Diversity in the workplace matters because representation matters, this is true for both direct work with families and at a senior level. It is also important for children and young people to see that they too can aspire to a career in children’s services by seeing themselves reflected in the professionals who have such an important impact on their lives. We must therefore do all we can to not only encourage diversity within our workforce but also to create a culture that allows everyone to reach their full potential. This continues to be a focus for our national workforce committee, which encourages organisations to make use of The Staff College’s Cultural Competence toolkit to improve diversity in the workforce.”
ENDS