Press Release

Newly qualified social workers not equipped to risk assess, GSCC poll finds

23 February 2010

A recent poll carried out by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) shows that 93 per cent of social workers surveyed, believe that newly qualified social workers (NQSW) lack key skills when they enter the workplace.

Almost half of respondents to the poll in Social Work Connections, the GSCC's newsletter for social workers and students, thought that NQSW's needed more training in 'risk analysis'.

Under their code of practice, social workers must meet relevant standards of practice and work in a lawful, safe and effective way (6.1) and maintain clear and accurate records as required by procedures established for their work (6.2). Past GSCC conduct hearings have featured cases relating to poor risk assessment where a social worker has failed to adequately identify risks putting children and vulnerable people in danger.

Other suggested areas of training for NQSWs were experience of working with different groups of service users and communication skills.

In a question about introducing a clear career structure for social workers, as recommended by the Social Work Task Force, over half of the social workers wanted to stay in the frontline and follow the 'Advanced Professional' route. Of all the respondents, the fewest wanted to go into management roles (21.8%).

Janet Foulds, Social Worker/ Manager, Children's Services in Derby comments:
"The need for advanced professionals is particularly pertinent in the current climate. Public confidence in our profession has been badly affected by the vilification of social workers involved in recent high profile cases and the media backlash has affected recruitment and retention.

Good social work practice flourishes when there is a stable, well trained workforce and where social workers can stay in frontline practice long enough to become experts in their own field. With no acceptable career structure, too frequently we lose social workers from direct practice after a relatively short time.

I would choose the advanced professional career route because I enjoy social work with children and families and welcome the chance to develop skills and specialise in practice."

The GSCC's Chair Rosie Varley: "The findings of this poll reinforce the recommendations made by the Social Work Task Force, not least the assessed year in employment which is already a well established practice in other professions. The creation of an assessed and supported year in employment is key in building a confident and experienced workforce.

It is also important to maintain and encourage high quality placement opportunities for students on social work degrees, where they are able to gain hands on experience in risk assessment and work with service users. Proper supervision, training and assessment result in practitioners who are skilled, competent and capable of dealing with the complexities of social work.

The GSCC exists to ensure public protection, and as part of the Social Work Reform Board, we look forward to helping to implement the recommendations to raise the calibre of newly qualified social workers."