Developing A Wider Children’s Workforce
Unlike registered and regulated professions, such as social work or teaching, there is little cohesive strategy or development activity for a significant but varied section of the workforce who work directly with children and families across services from early help to leaving care. Local authorities and their partners require staff to be increasingly flexible in times of dramatic reconfiguration of services and this involves taking on new tasks, working differently with other staff or working with a wider group of families in roles such as family support, outreach, ‘troubled families’-style lead professionals, key workers or personal advisors.
ADCS Workforce Development Policy Committee, with partners Virtual Staff College (VSC) and Research in Practice (RiP) want to create the opportunities for local and national organisations to promote the importance of this work and embed high standards. ADCS, VSC and RiP organised a 1 day summit which looked at the evidence, existing resources and local practice and start to explore a national framework and options for local and regional employers to design tools and strategies which develop both the staff and the organisations that we need to meet the needs of children and families in continuously changing times.
Below, we have uploaded some of the practice examples and tools or frameworks which colleagues from local areas have shared with us. These are shared on the basis that they may be useful to colleagues and are not owned or quality assured by ADCS, RiP or VSC. We are very grateful to those who have shared their work, some of which is still in the early stages, and we hope that others find this useful too.
Practice examples
Cornwall County Council - Developing the early help workforce
Hampshire County Council - Training and development pathways for the ‘wider children’s workforce’
Additional info:
Hampshire ISS and Locality Team Learning and Development Pathway
Hampshire learning needs analysis
Hampshire multiple and complex needs course
Hampshire occupational map
Hampshire Offer
Hampshire Pathways
Hampshire working with parents course
Kent County Council - Social care capabilities framework for registered workers
Lincolnshire County Council - Wider children’s services quality assurance and development frameworks
Additional info:
- Lincolnshire children’s service Quality Assurances Framework
- Lincolnshire children’s service workforce development strategy
North Tyneside Council - ‘Family Partners’ workforce development strategy
Nottingham City Council - Core training standards for whole children’s workforce
Additional info:
Sandwell Council - ‘Artemis’: e-learning for the whole workforce
Staffordshire Council - University certificate in promoting excellence in practice: building resilient families and communities
Suffolk Council - Supporting staff working directly with families in non-professionally accredited role
Torbay Council - Developing clearer career pathways for children’s services practitioners
Additional info:
Walsall Council - Shared capabilities and continuous professional development framework
Additional info:
Wigan Council - An effective workforce for early help delivery
Additional info:
Wokingham Council - Restorative Practice approach to workforce development
Additional info:
Yorkshire & Humber regional partnership - Professional capabilities framework for the wider children’s workforce
Additional info:
Additional information
Children England & Safe Network - Practice overview
RiP - Management development programme for integrated early intervention
National Skills Academy for Social Care - Leadership Qualities Framework
CWDC - Common standards factsheet
NSPCC - Reframing: building a shared understanding
Skills for Care & Development - poster
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