National Assessment and Accreditation System

Rachael Wardell, Chair of the ADCS Workforce Development Policy Committee, said:

“Although we welcome the government’s commitment to raising the quality and confidence of the social work workforce, our concerns around the implementation of the National Assessment and Accreditation System remain. Since the government consultation on this issue, there has been a phased rollout in a small number of local authorities, with variable impact and uptake. We understand that an independent evaluation is being carried out into how the System is being implemented in these areas which will consider several factors, from the views of social workers and the support offered to them to the impact on workforce planning and CPD. We look forward to the findings of this evaluation. As yet there has been no commitment from government to fully fund any further roll out of the System nor to make it mandatory and to implement at pace if it is taken forward. This is crucial if we are to avoid the creation of a two-tier system in which some high quality social workers are accredited and others aren’t. ADCS believes the amount spent to date on the National Assessment and Accreditation System would be better spent on developing a national recruitment and retention strategy to encourage more people to into the profession, and in particular to want to stay.”

ENDS

---

---