Transcript An HE role: partnership with the public sector to develop

An HE role: partnership with the
public sector to develop the
foster care workforce.
Pritpal Sodhi – Kent County Council
Claire Thurgate – Canterbury Christ
Church University
• Historical Context – why are we here?
• Developing the foster care workforce for
Kent
• The way forward – benefits and
challenges
Historical Context in Kent
• Approximately 680 foster carers caring for more than
900 looked after children.
• Move from support to supervision – a changing culture.
• Recognition of the need to have a skilled workforce
supporting looked after children – The Children Act 1989,
2004, Care matters a time for change 2007, ECM 2004.
• Payment for skills introduced – 2006.
• CWDC – Training, support and development standards
for foster care - 2007
Developing the Foster Carer Workforce
in Kent
• Matching children’s needs with foster carers skills.
• Recognition of skills and knowledge of the foster carers
role – changing expectations.
• Reward for continuous “professional” development –
Foundation Degree Children and Families
FD Structure - WBT
Level 1 - Compulsory
Skills for learning, Communication with children, Children’s cognitive development
Contextualising children and families, Physical and emotional development of
children, Keeping children safe.
Level 2 - Compulsory
Integrated working in the assessment of children, Child protection in the
multi-agency context, Critiquing research methods.
Level 2 – Work-place modules
Child Care Management
Foster Care/Social Care
Generic
Foster Care / Social Care
• Social Care Practice
• Values in Social Care
• The Organisational Context of Social Care
Work-based tasks enables the student to
demonstrate skills and knowledge appropriate to
their workplace.
The Way Forward – Benefits
• Tiered workforce structure – induction – HE accredit courses.
• Changing status of the foster carer – confidence and self-esteem.
Role modelling – lifelong learning.
• More skilled carers – promoting placement stability.
• Multi-professional structured learning – understanding roles within
the children’s workforce.
• Flexible Career development.
• Bespoke programme driven by employer needs, delivered in the
workplace and University environment.
The Way Forward – Challenges
• Tiered workforce – resistance to changing culture.
• Changing status of the foster carer – application and
acceptance in the workplace.
• Multi-professional structural learning – recognition of
individual roles, ownership of learning.
• Flexible career development – work/study balance.
Partnership working - Challenges
• Understanding employer/HE culture.
• Workplace support – who provides? Academic/financial
• Decision Making/Communication/Funding –
internal/external.
• Driving development/responding to national directives.
• Engaging employers and universities.
• Validation process – responsiveness to need.
Context
• KCC have adopted a tiered workforce structure
for foster carers. In September 2006 this
incorporated the FD. Benefits include
continuous professional development and the
increasing recognition of foster carers within the
social care workforce. This has resulted from
open communication within the design and
delivery of the FD to meet our individual
workforce needs.