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In this issue:		08 September 2011


Section 1	Introduction	Print-friendly version
Section 2	News
Section 3	Features

September 2011 • Issue 14

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Difficulty in finding a full time job

PQSW - Agency workers

Newly international qualified SW

An SOS call from a newly qualified social worker
Read our new blog from newly qualified social worker Sofie Franklin and discuss it with her and your peers on the forums now.

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Welcome to the September 2011 issue of Social Work Connections. In this issue you will find an update on our forthcoming autumn events with employers and social workers on how the transfer of our functions to the Health Professions Council (HPC) will affect you. We hear from two newly-qualified social workers (NQSWs) on their different experiences since qualifying and their next steps into a social work career. You also get a sneak preview of a case study from our upcoming report into professional boundaries and find out the results of our last poll into how important it is for a practice assessor to be a registered social worker. We hope you enjoy this edition, do let us know what you think by posting a comment on an article that interests you or share your opinions with other social workers and students by joining our private forum on the main website: www.gscc.org.uk/login.php

GSCC Events This autumn we will be visiting employers around England to explain the transfer of our functions to the Health Professions Council (HPC), and what this will mean for social workers and their employees. Workshops are being provided to inform social workers about changes to registration, fees, conduct, fitness to practice and continuing professional development (CPD). Read more
Involving social workers in the transfer Ahead of the transfer of our functions to the Health Professions Council (HPC), the HPC are encouraging social workers and all those with a stake in the important work that social workers do to have their say and get involved! Read more		A child-centred system: The Government’s response to the Munro review of child protection We have welcomed the Government’s response to the Munro Review of Child Protection, published in July. The Government has accepted all of Professor Eileen Munro’s recommendations, which include improved relationships between higher education institutions (HEIs) and employers, and offers further contributions to the Social Work Reform Board’s Capabilities Framework. Read more

Coming soon – The College of Social Work Social Worker of the Year Awards Conduct hearing outcomes		Meeting the GSCC requirements for post-registration training and learning (PRTL) General Medical Council keen to hear from social workers

GSCC secures first conviction of pretend social worker

Image of a man holding his identity badge - (c) Koray Gokhan

Earlier this year we won our first ever case against someone falsely using the legally protected title 'social worker'. A woman was convicted and fined for the offence of holding herself out as a social worker with intent to deceive, which is a criminal offence under Section 61 Care Standards Act 2000, when neither qualified nor registered as such. We have taken prosecutions forward in the past but this was the first one to be successful.

The defendant had worked for a fostering agency as an unqualified social work assistant. During the course of her employment she gave references for two former colleagues where she stated that she was a senior supervising social worker and their line manager. She also obtained a reference from a social work student in which the defendant was referred to as a supervising social worker. This was done in order to secure employment for herself and others.

Image of Newly Qualified Social Worker Lisa Cassius - (c) Lisa Cassius

I’m Lisa Cassius and I am a newly qualified social worker (NQSW) who recently qualified after a long four years of study. I am fully aware that the job market for NQSW's is very poor, what with the recession and job cuts throughout the private and public sector.

Image of Newly Qualified Social Worker Sofie Franklin - (c) Sofie Franklin

I'm Sofie Franklin and I graduated from De Montfort University in 2009 with a BA Honours in Social Work. The modules I studied at university include social work theories and methods; law; rights and policy; research and ethics; social work skills; policy and evidenced-based practice; inter-professional education and society; and organisations and people.

Image of a service user giving feedback - (c) John Birdsall

If you qualified as a social worker during the last 12 years, your course will have benefitted from input from people who use services. The GSCC's Social Work Education Group has developed its own programme of working with service users to raise standards in regulation.

A guide to professional boundaries in social work

Over 90 per cent polled say it's 'very important' for practice assessors to be social workers

Newsletter of the General Social Care Council

Editorital statement
Social Work Connections, the offical electronic newsletter of the General Social Care Council, is produced by the editorial team of the GSCC and provides a quarterly round up of news and information for registered professionals working in the field of social work.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission

ISSN 1757-5354

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Edited by the GSCC
socialworkconnections@gscc.org.uk

GSCC Events

Involving social workers in the transfer

A child-centred system: The Government’s response to the Munro review of child protection

GSCC secures first conviction of pretend social worker

Finding a job: NQSWs Lisa Cassius' experience

Finding a job: NQSWs Sofie Franklin's experience

Regulating social work education and involving people with experience of services

Newsletter of the General Social Care Council