Post Qualifying Learning

As a qualified social worker its easy to get caught up in the work, easy to become bogged down in assessments, crisis and supporting families and other workers.  But sometimes what it is not so easy to do is to look at your own training needs.  Thankfully as a Children’s social worker there is plenty of training available and funding for the in training and safeguarding conferences.

However, as I attended University this week I learn that the specialist training award is being stopped.  I have to admit that this was not really a surprise.  As the Social Work Reform Board have made clear recommendations in order to improve the outcomes for children, families and also to ensure the profession is able to practise safely and confidently.

Confidently is the key word, Courts are wanting deadlines and delay to be slashed and in order to do this social workers must be allowed to complete accurate and in depth assessments, which will stand up to challenge in court and demonstrate experience and knowledge in the subject.

As a social worker it seems that where ever I go the people I meet want to tell me their story.  This is a good skill when it at work, but when at home it makes me cringe when I hear of stories of poor social work practise. And in most cases it usually involved a lack of cultural understanding at all levels and a lack of probing into what really is going on.  Of course, when hearing these stories my own little alarm bell goes as I only hear one side of the story further reinforcing the obvious danger of relying on limited information.

So hearing the training was going to stop I was excited that there would be some exciting new training that would further develop my learning and understanding.  Instead I was greeted with a wall of confusion and uncertainty.  There maybe in house training provided or there maybe a masters in practise teaching or even other modules being designed and offered by the University.

Leaving me wondering what this new post qualifying training will look like, and if it is in house will it be provided by social workers who no longer want to practise and hold negative views about the system they have been working in for so long.  

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