Welcome to Social Work Connections

A warm welcome to the first issue of Social Work Connections, our new quarterly newsletter, which is designed to provide you with a regular update of news and information relating to social work and the GSCC.

At present, over 90,000 social workers and social work students are registered with the GSCC, and Social Work Connections is primarily intended for them, but we hope that others will also find it interesting. Over time, we will develop different versions of the newsletter for other groups of social care workers as they join the register.

We care about the same issues you do – professionalism, educational standards, and open and transparent regulation – and our aim is to use these pages to help and support you. We hope you find them useful, informative and accessible. Please do let us know how we are doing – constructive feedback, whether positive or negative is most welcome. I would also urge you to take part in the polls that the Social Work Connections website will hold each month. We will be using these to get a flavour of what matters to you in the wide arena of social work.

Education - from the general to the specific
15th July 2008
Each edition of Social Work Connections, the GSCC's new quarterly newsletter, will include an online poll to survey members' opinions on an important or topical issue.
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Future of social work – making a real difference
1st May 2008
Social work constantly renews itself. It has a good record of developing practice in response to the changing needs of people who use services and the changing expectations of politicians.
Read more...

Post-registration training and learning – positive and necessary
1st May 2008
When you renew your registration, you will need to be able to demonstrate that you have kept your skills and knowledge up to date. You would not expect to be treated by a doctor who had not kept up to date with new research – people who use social services have a right to expect that social workers are in touch with the latest evidence about good practice. Read more...

New study to review the codes of practice
1st May 2008
In 2002, following extensive consultation with the social care sector, the GSCC together with our sister bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, published the first-ever codes of practice for social care workers and employers. Read more...

Conduct and fairness
1st May 2008
Fortunately, very few social workers will ever have to face a conduct case; clear evidence that the vast majority of social workers carry out their work with honesty, integrity and professionalism. Read more...

Renewing your registration
1st May 2008
Signing up to abide by the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers is an important part of registration. It brings a range of opportunities, but also responsibilities to social workers. The codes benefit the sector by setting out the standards of conduct expected of everyone working in social care and letting people who use services know what standards they can expect. Read more...

New resources from SCIE
1st May 2008
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is responsible for advancing and disseminating good practice to the social care workforce. Read more...

Update on GSCC plans to register the home care workforce
1st May 2008
Last year, the government announced that it would be asking the GSCC to open the Social Care Register to other parts of the social care workforce, starting with home care workers and their managers. Read more...

Qualifying this summer?
1st May 2008
If you are due to qualify this summer, we will be contacting your university to ask them for your result in early June. Read more...

Update on post qualifying awards
1st May 2008
If you are already qualified, have you thought of doing a post qualifying (PQ) course? In September 2007 the GSCC implemented a new PQ framework and we have introduced five new PQ awards, offered at different levels. Read more...