Meet our new Chief Executive and Executive Management Team
March 2010
We are pleased to announce that we have appointed a new Chief Executive, Penny Thompson, who will join us by 1 April. A trained social worker, Penny has over 20 years' experience in social care and local government, including as Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hackney, and Social Services Director of Sheffield City Council. She is currently co-director of independent public sector consultancy PeysnerThompson Ltd.

The GSCC parliamentary reception 2010
March 2010
An audience of over 150 Members of Parliament, Lords, and other key stakeholders from across the social care sector came together to hear about the work of the GSCC at a parliamentary reception in the House of Lords earlier this month. The high attendance at the event showed that the sector understands the vital importance of regulation in protecting the public and raising standards in the profession.

Social Work Reform Board
March 2010
The Social Work Task Force, which reported in December 2009, made a series of recommendations about the future shape of the profession. The government aims to publish an implementation plan at the beginning of March and has established a reform board to advise on what should be in that plan – and to prepare the ground for change by bringing all the key bodies together to help in the delivery of the reforms.

Social Work Task Force report launched
December 2009
Moira Gibb, flanked by two secretaries of state and a rock star, launched the Social Work Task Force report Building a Safe, Confident Future at a meeting in London on 1 December.

Get the picture with Social Care TV
December 2009
Social Care TV is a new broadband service for everyone involved in the social care sector.

MyGSCC – the GSCC’s electronic registrant service
December 2009
Social workers and social work students need to maintain their registration with the GSCC in several ways; qualified social workers need to renew their registration every three years, complete post registration training and learning (PRTL), pay their annual registration fee, and promptly advise the GSCC of any changes of circumstance. Social work students are also required to pay their annual fee, and advise GSCC of any changes in their circumstances.

The GSCC launches Grow Your Own Social Workers: a Toolkit
December 2009
The General Social Care Council (GSCC) recently launched the Grow Your Own (GYO) toolkit, a step-by-step guide to help students, employers and universities get the most out of GYO schemes. GYO schemes are used by local authorities and the voluntary and private sectors to support their employees, or potential employees, to qualify as social workers.

Policy update
December 2009
The external policy environment is constantly changing. As the social care workforce regulator in England, and a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), the GSCC needs to keep on top of relevant policy developments.

Conduct committee
December 2009
We are often asked why it is that our Conduct Committee can find facts in cases that have been dropped by prosecuting authorities or those where the individual was found not guilty in court.

Strengthening provision of practice learning
September 2009
Practice learning is an integral part of social work training, giving students the opportunity to start to put their knowledge into practice. In some areas the supply of quality placements is not keeping pace with student intakes and there are particular shortfalls in the provision of statutory placements. This concerns us because of the impact both on the quality of training and on employment prospects of graduates, as some employers will only consider graduates who have had a local authority placement.